In Windfall, Maggie Anderson's use of grief in her poems are explicit in the beginning, then transitions to a more abstract implementation in the end, displaying how the poet's grief becomes stronger and more complex as the selection of poems progresses. In the first section, she describes the grief itself in an apparent way. By the the last section of the book, her illustration of grief is given in a very symbolic way.
The first section of the book gives very fixed expressions of grief. In the poem “What Grief Does”, Anderson is describing the feeling of grief in detail. She talks about how grief is a part of you forever and can drive you insane. She writes, “grief is the power of certain madness.../ This will never go away. It is your middle name” (Anderson 6). This explains that no matter how hard you try, you can't completely get rid of your grief. Grief causes you stress and depression that is hard to overcome. This poem describes grief in a very simple and comprehensive way, showing a very simple form of grief observed by the author.
Similarly, in the poem “Dancing in the Evening Sun” the author describes a joyous time in her past when her father would dance with her and her mother. She describes her happiness and laughter while dancing with her father, then transitions to the present and describes her loneliness. “Or now/... I'm alone/... I'm dancing alone,” she describes (17). She is distraught that her father is no longer there to dance with her like they once did. Her loneliness over her father's death is very apparently stated.
The second section is slightly less straightforward in describing her feelings. It is still obvious that Anderson is sad, but the extent of which is less clear. The poem “House and Graveya...
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...n the Evening Sun.” Windfall. Ed. Ed Ochester. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000. 16-17.
Anderson, Maggie. “House and Graveyard, Rowlesburg, West Virginia, 1935.” Windfall. Ed. Ed Ochester. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000. 23-24
Anderson, Maggie. “The Wash in my Grandmother's Arms.” Windfall. Ed. Ed Ochester. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000. 28.
Anderson, Maggie. “Ontological.” Windfall. Ed. Ed Ochester. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000. 47.
Anderson, Maggie. “Closed Mill.” Windfall. Ed. Ed Ochester. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000. 60-62.
Anderson, Maggie. “Black Dog Remembers.” Windfall. Ed. Ed Ochester. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000. 86.
Anderson, Maggie. “Late Apology.” Windfall. Ed. Ed Ochester. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000. 91.
As the first poem in the book it sums up the primary focus of the works in its exploration of loss, grieving, and recovery. The questions posed about the nature of God become recurring themes in the following sections, especially One and Four. The symbolism includes the image of earthly possessions sprawled out like gangly dolls, a reference possibly meant to bring about a sense of nostalgia which this poem does quite well. The final lines cement the message that this is about loss and life, the idea that once something is lost, it can no longer belong to anyone anymore brings a sense...
Alan Shapiro is a poet whom uses the sorrowful tragedies that occurred in his lifetime and turns them into beautiful poems in which he greatly expresses through his poetry. Most of his poems symbolize either a type of sorrow or tragic death, and the expressions used throughout his poetry make it noticeable that Alan Shapiro endured a life of hardship and tragedy. While Shapiro was growing up he lost his brother and his sister in which the poem “Sleet” by Alan Shapiro beautifully encompasses his feeling of grief and sorrow due to the loss of his siblings.
“Pass On” written by Michael Lee is a free verse poem informing readers on grief, which is one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome not only when losing a loved one, but also in life itself. “Pass On” successfully developed this topic through the setting of an unknown character who explains his or her experience of grief. Despite Lee never introducing this character, readers are given enough information to know how they are overcoming this difficult obstacle. In fact, this unknown character is most likely the writer himself, indirectly explaining his moments of grief. One important piece of information Lee provides is the fact that he has experienced loss twice, one with his grandfather and the other a friend who was murdered by the
Grief played a large role in the lives of the Boatwright sisters and Lily Owens. They each encountered death, injustice, and sadness. Grief impacted and left an imprint on each of them. Grief proved fatal for May. August knew that grief was just another aspect of life; that it had to be accepted and then left in the past. June and Lily learned to not let grief rule their lives. Life is not inherently good or bad – events not solely joyful or grievous – it is glorious in its perfect imperfection.
Loss. Grief. Mourning. Anger. Disbelief. Emotions are in abundance when a loved one passes away. People need to find a way to cope with the situations and often need to express themselves by writing their feelings down in order to get them out. This is exactly what Paul Monette does in his book of poetry title “Love Alone” in remembrance of his companion Rog. Through writing his poetry Monette describes his emotions and the events that occurred during Rog’s battle with AIDS. By Monette’s transitioning through different emotions, the reader begins to understand the pain the author is dealt. Touching upon Kubler-Ross’ five stages of death including denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, Monette transitions to Rog’s decline in health. Using different fonts and no punctuation, the lines are interpreted by the reader using instincts to know when to begin and end a sentence. Evident in the poems “The Very Same”, “The Half-life”, and “Current Status”, Monette gives a description of loss that makes the reader tingle.
of the book. Ed. Charles Bohner and Lyman Grant. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2006. Fitzgerald, F. Scott.
In the last chapter of the book, Lewis describes what grief is like. “Grief is like a long valley, a winding valley where any bend may reveal a totally new landscape” (Lewis, 1961, p. 60). What is Lewis trying to say? Would it help you to picture grief this way? Why or why not?
The events in the novel are predicated upon the death of Joel's mother. The account of his mother's death and the upheaval it caused for him (p 10 ) is more poignant to a reader who has experienced the untimely death of a parent than to one who has not. The reader who has experienced the loss can identify with everyone “always smiling” and with the unexplainable changes in one's own behavior toward others as one adjusts to the emptiness.
Right from the moment Louise Mallard hears of her husband's death, Kate Chopin dives into a her vivid use of imagery. “When the storm of grief has spent itself” introduces a weather oriented theme (para.3). This imagery depicts a violent and dark setting that denotes death and grief. Her reaction to her husband's death ideally what society would expect. Her acute reaction instantly shows that she is an emotional, demonstrative woman. Even tho...
At a glance, the poem seems simplistic – a detailed observance of nature followed by an invitation to wash a “dear friend’s” hair. Yet this short poem highlights Bishop’s best poetic qualities, including her deliberate choice in diction, and her emotional restraint. Bishop progresses along with the reader to unfold the feelings of both sadness and joy involved in loving a person that will eventually age and pass away. The poem focuses on the intersection of love and death, an intersection that goes beyond gender and sexuality to make a far-reaching statement about the nature of being
I will discuss the similarities by which these poems explore themes of death and violence through the language, structure and imagery used. In some of the poems I will explore the characters’ motivation for targeting their anger and need to kill towards individuals they know personally whereas others take out their frustration on innocent strangers. On the other hand, the remaining poems I will consider view death in a completely different way by exploring the raw emotions that come with losing a loved one.
This book was an interesting read. Normally I do not go for the type of grief that is deposited in the book. I usually like happier books. This book is very detailed about the grief process, and I believe will help people deal with grief and loss.
Vol. 6. What is the difference between a'smart' and a'smart'? Detroit: Gale Books, 1984. 32.
Losing a loved one is one of the hardest experiences every person must go through. The experience does not end with the loss though, but begins with it. The loss of a dear person leads those left behind into a downward spiral of emotions and memories. A poem entitled “Lucy Gray” by William Wordsworth focuses on that loss and the emotions that follow it. By reading the poem one can objectively experience both the grief that Lucy Gray’s death brings on but also her parents’ acceptance of her death.
Funeral Blues by W. H. Auden is a short poem that illustrates the emotions that he is dealing with after the love of his life passes away. The tone of this piece evokes feelings that will differ depending on the reader; therefore, the meaning of this poem is not in any way one-dimensional, resulting in inevitable ambiguity . In order to evoke emotion from his audience, Auden uses a series of different poetic devices to express the sadness and despair of losing a loved one. This poem isn’t necessarily about finding meaning or coming to some overwhelming realization, but rather about feeling emotions and understanding the pain that the speaker is experiencing. Through the use of poetic devices such as an elegy, hyperboles, imagery, metaphors, and alliterations as well as end-rhyme, Auden has created a powerful poem that accurately depicts the emotions a person will often feel when the love of their live has passed away.