An Analysis Of James Wright's Lying In A Hammock

Time is limited and whether we realize it or not, that day will arrive when we run out. In James Wright's "Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota," the narrator soon discovers that time is up and runs out of it. As he scans his surroundings, he describes peaceful images, conveying no troubles in his life. Only until the end, a reader would conclude that he appears to not enjoy the way he is living. Readers of the poem might disagree about the true meaning of the impetuous conclusion, but the best interpretation of this is that he is regretful of the lack of accomplishments in his life and contains a scarce amount of time left to pursue anything at all.

The sense of time is apparent to allow for an understanding of the time that passes in his life. In the poem, he points out the "sunlight between two pines," leading to the idea that it is early in the day while the sun is still shining until he decides to lean back and watch “as

Home, the one place where one can always head back to, is nonexistent in the poem, and it is an essential part of living. One can analyze the meaning when he or she understands what he is conveying while he watches the chicken hawk “looking for home.” Wright also takes the time to mention the "empty house," leading to the question why is the house empty? It is unusual for houses to not contain anything internally such as furniture; the adjective "empty" can be seen as describing his life. He relates himself to the chicken hawk, but not only does he not possess a home, he is alone. At times in the poem, moments are present where he describes several of the images in the singular tense while the rest is plural. “The bronze butterfly” and “blowing like a leaf” both hint of his loneliness compared to the other moments such as “the cowbells” and the “two pines.” Being alone is a fear humans have, and in this case, he is by