Last Hope Poem Analysis

Writings about differing topics from very unalike people who never knew each other may sometimes have a connection. “Ajar” by A.E. Stallings uses the story of Pandora’s box to represent the situation the family was in when the washing machine door was broken. “Last Hope” by Paul Verlaine uses the metaphor of a bird and a tree to represent the situation of he and his love. Though it may not seem as so, along with the dissimilarities, the two poems are also quite alike.

The two poems are similar in that they both have a subject matter relating to hope the theme of trying to stay positive although things get rough. In “Last Hope,” the speaker wishes that “[his significant other’s] love will keep [his] memory fresh” after he dies (Verlaine 14).

As the title suggests, this is his final hope. Though “nothingness, cold, owns my [his] flesh”, he still finds aspiration that his lover will remember him and continue to love him when he is gone (Verlaine 14). Likewise, in “Ajar”, although “woes flew and ran riot,” the “only thing to remain… was Hope” (Stallings 14;12). Even though problems flew out into the world, they still had hope.
The two poems are also similar in their structure; that is, they both are divided in stanzas with rhymes at the end of lines. “Ajar” rhymes “week”, “reek”, and “speak” in the first stanza, as well as “jar”, “are”, and “far” in the second (Stallings 1;2;3;4;5;6). “Last Hope” rhymes “tree” with “free” and “air” with “there” in the first stanza and “flesh” and “fresh” in the last (Verlaine 1;4;2;3;13;14). This was used by both poets to further the comparison of one thing being like another. Since both speakers use another story or situation to compare to their own, the lines in the stanzas do the same.
The poems do have their differences as well, however.

The rhyme scheme in “Ajar” is constant and extensive. This might be used to show the “one-in-the-same” aspect, emphasizing the last line in the poem “the woes were words, and the only thing left was quiet” (Stallings 15). This states that the Hope and the silence are the same thing. In “Last Hope”, however, the rhyme pattern isn’t consistent, other than at least one rhyme occurs in each stanza. In the first stanza, the second and third line rhyme with each other and the first and last line are paired as well. In the next stanza, the first two lines rhyme, but the last two do not. Since this poem has to do with the speaker reaching his timely end, this inconsistency represents the inconsistencies of life and how nothing stays the same forever.

The two also differ in the structure, a bit. Where “Last Hope” has only four stanzas, “Ajar” has five. The shorter poem is a representation of how short life is. In the second, longer work, it is a representation of how there is more to come and more to look forward to.

“Ajar” and “Last Hope” are similar and unalike in many ways. Where they are similar in theme and basic structure, the differ on the more specifics in how they are set up. But, despite having some dissimilarities, there is a clear connection between the two:

hope.