Author: a.cheng1

In “Bleecker Street, Summer,” Walcott discusses the loveliness of the summer, but deep down he feels empty inside and longs for the island he calls home. Although Walcott uses vivid imagery to describe how amazing Manhattan is, there is still a missing component to being truly fulfilled. In “The Fist,” Walcott explains how love is often painful, but he enjoys the pain. However, he feels that he may crossing into a dangerous territory where this pain may kill him. Both poems are similar to others in a sense that it talks more about the emptiness and pain that love often brings.

Throughout this poem, the theme of romantics is quite evident, “But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face.” The man genuinely loved this person, not only for their beauty, but their emotions and spirit also. In addition to the theme of romantics, the theme of aging is clear throughout, “And loved the sorrows of your changing face.” This suggests that there’s a certain attractiveness to youthfulness, but as they age their face loses this attractiveness and a certain sadness slowly replaces it. The poem, as a whole, has a nostalgic feel to it as if the author is of old age and writing back to a loved like his daughter or son. The poem also suggests that as you continue to grow, the more sadness and sorrow you feel, which of course is subjective.

The gilded coin represents a lot for Missie May, at first she wanted it since she has never seen gold money before. After falling for Slemmons’s charm, Missie realizes Slemmons’s status was just a front for empty and fake promises, much like the gilded coin. Instead of keeping her happy life with someone as content and genuine like Joe, Missie gave into her temptations and desires. Joe kept the coin in order to remind and symbolize that Slemmons and money was the reason why their relationship is still shaky. Joe continues to use the gilded coin to “buy” Missie’s services, whether it’s cooking a meal or sex. However, when their child is delivered, Joe finally lets go by using the gilded coin to purchase candy for Missie and his son, symbolizing Joe’s ability to forgive.

Gabriel is somewhat portrayed as above than the rest, he dumbs down his superior knowledge so others can “understand” him better. He tailors himself based on who he talks to in order to be admired by everyone. Although he seems like the perfect family man, his interactions with other woman end up being awkward or offensive, especially with Miss Ivor and Lily. Other characters seem dead on the inside while holding onto the past and unable to let go. Meanwhile Micheal wishes for everyone to live in the present and to not remind themselves of the past.

At first, the author does a good job painting a picture of how close Gabriel and Gretta are. They seem to be having a great time from laughing at inside jokes to bonding with family, but then Micheal Fury is brought up. The mood shifts and their relationship isn’t the same as before. It seems as if Gretta marries Gabriel in order to settle down and to embrace the tradition of marriage. In reality, Gabriel is merely a replacement and an extension of Micheal Fury for Gretta. They were never meant to be as Gretta’s love for Micheal Fury was much more meaningful and pure.

In Dickinson’s poem 314, she creates this extended metaphor comparing hope to a bird. It’s clever in a sense that readers are able to visualize what hope may look like. The last line says, “Yet – never – in Extremity, / It asked a crumb – of me,” which ties it all together displaying how hope is elegant, free, and selfless. In her poem 1263, she uses another metaphor where she compares the truth to lightning. The message of how the truth can sometimes be painful, is clearly communicated across the poem through lines like, “[The truth’s] Too bright for our infirm Delight.” In both of these poems and others, Dickinson’s use of metaphors allows readers to clearly visualize a complicated concepts, like death, hope, or the truth. The use of metaphors and imagery helps carry the message while making the poem enjoyable.