3.26.2008

265. Getting Through by Deborah Pope

The perspective in this poem is from the point of view of a person who is feeling hopelessly in love with someone who they cannot tell that they are in love with. It is a poem of sadness and frustration, as the speaker tries to describe how their love is built up within them, dying to get out, but they know that it will fall upon deaf ears. The poem has no rhyme scheme, and is essentially one very lengthy stanza, without a parallel structure and no breaks in the stream of words that the speaker lets out. Despite its lack of rhyme, and its lack of separation, this poem is rhythmic and allows the reader to experience the stream of consciousness that the speaker is portraying. It is effective, although it is not particularly long, in creating a sense of silent desperation as the reader experiences, through words, the pain of the speaker.

The literary devices that the poet utilizes are imagery and diction, which contribute to the overall meaning and tone of the poem. In terms of imagery, Pope appeals not only to visual images, but also to that of auditory, because sounds play an important part in this poem. The first instance of imagery is the first three lines of the poem: "Like a car stuck in gear,/ A chicken too stupid to tell/its head is gone." These images are of movement and of a feeling of ridiculousness, seeing as a car stuck in gear is going to move unless the brake is pressed, and a chicken with its head cut off continues to run in circles despite its lack of a head. This sense of movement contributes to the speaker's desire to say more, but feeling stuck and ridiculous whenever they try to say anything. Some of the auditory images of this poem include: "...sound ratcheting on/long after the film/ has jumped the reel" and "...a phone ringing and ringing." These add to the never ending, urgent tone of the poem, and reflect how the speaker knows that they have to say something, but their thoughts are not coming out the way that they would like them to. Some of the word choices that I found particularly important were "blundering,""spilling," and "hurtling," which make the poem seem a little more chaotic, and add to the feeling of fright that the speaker seems to have. The final piece of imagery that Pope utilizes is the comparison of her words to a train that is going to a decrepit "boarded-up station,/closed for years" which helps to describe the fear the speaker has about professing their feelings.

I liked this poem because, as sure as I am that I do not entirely understand what Deborah Pope is saying, I connected to the scattered, fearful urgency of the speaker. It seemed like a situation that anyone has experienced in their life, where they want to tell someone how they really feel about them, but they convince themselves that it is not worth telling the person because they won't care anyway. I felt as though the poet was trying to show how, as difficult and stressing as being in love with someone is, if you never say it you are wasting a beautiful moment by worrying about it so intensely.

1 comment:

Mr. Klimas said...

Loss and abandonment are shown through the similes and extended simile.