The Desert

439 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Theme of loss in poetry

The human heart not only supplies life but it also represents feelings and emotions. In the Desert uses intense imagery to paint a vivid picture while also using point of view and symbolism to send a message about human emotion and feelings. Although this poem is brief it contains a very powerful point about the human heart and emotions.
This poem appears to be written by a person that has just lost a loved one, although this poem does not seem to be about death. The poem opens with the image of a "naked" beast alone in a "desert". This paints an interesting image in the mind of the reader, but it also has a deeper meaning. This "beast" of a man was deserted and left alone by someone that he was obviously deeply in love with. He has lost all direction and purpose in his life. The author uses the point of view of the speaker to show just how pathetic this creature is. The speaker feels bad for the beast and attempts to speak to it, seemingly out of pity. He even calls the hopeless animal his "friend". This leads me to believe that maybe the creature is just an extension of the speaker, the part of him that cannot let go of an important love.
In the Desert is a poem that is symbolic of the way people react when their "hearts are broken". The heart, in this instance, represents love and happiness. When the man loses this love he feels as though his heart has been wrenched from his chest and devoured by a monster (that represents his current emotional state). The man is broken, battered and left to fend for himself. He is also filled with resentment and anger as is made evident by his "bitter-bitter" heart. This whole scenario represents the dependence of man on the love of another and his state of total denial and sadness when it is taken from him. The only beam of hope that I could find in this poem is when the man says that he likes his heart despite its bitterness.

Show More
Related

  • letter from john foulcher to editor

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    The purpose of the poem was to express my interests of nature and how I felt and what I experienced when I was in the woods at that time. There’s also that life and death aspect in this poem, in which the bird has the lizard in his mouth and also by the word “fire”.

    Read More

  • Housman's To An Athlete Dying Young

    1640 Words  | 4 Pages

    as told from the point of view of a friend serving as pall bearer. The poem

    Read More

  • Apology For Want Summary

    430 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Desert at Hand, the first poem she read to us, although by far the one which moved me the most, seemed very confusing at first. She opens "Love is also fragment: the cheek of the moon's fat-boy face giving itself up to be kissed, the ingredient phrase, I can't live without you, the sum of the few words that truly invent themselves - You are." At first, the impression of the poem's direction and attitude seemed positive, inspiring the thought that love really is self-sufficient despite it's fragility. Even the title The Desert at Hand seems to imply a biblical simile, that love is a test which can both test and strengthen you, just as Jesus' 40 days in the desert was a time of great temptation and redemption for him.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Mary Oliver's 'When Death Comes'

    1381 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the first instance, death is portrayed as a “bear” (2) that reaches out seasonally. This is then followed by a man whom “ comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse / / to buy me…” This ever-changing persona that encapsulates death brings forth a curiosity about death and its presence in the living world. In the second stanza, “measles-pox” (6) is an illness used to portray death’s existence in a distinctive embodiment. This uncertainty creates the illusion of warmth and welcomenesss and is further demonstrated through the reproduction of death as an eminent figure. Further inspection allows the reader to understand death as a swift encounter. The quick imagery brought forth by words such as “snaps” and “shut” provoke a sense of startle in which the audience may dispel any idea of expectedness in death’s coming. This essential idea of apparent arrival transitions to a slower, foreseeable fate where one can imagine the enduring pain experienced “an iceberg between shoulder blades” (line 8). This shift characterizes the constant adaptation in appearance that death acquires. Moreover, the idea of warmth radiating from death’s presence reemerges with the introduction to a “cottage of darkness” (line 10), which to some may bring about a feeling of pleasantry and comfort. It is important to note that line 10 was the sole occurrence of a rhetorical question that the speaker

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Benjamin Alire Saenz's To The Desert

    1218 Words  | 3 Pages

    If we have experienced it first hand, it tends to influence our writing in a positive factor. With that being said, we and our reader’s are able to reveal as to why we chose that topic or that underlying message within the sonnet. Benjamin Alire Saenz grew up on a farm in Mesilla, New Mexico. Growing up, he spent majority of his life living in New Mexico. After adventuring out and leaving his native home, he moved to Texas and was a priest for a few years. Knowing that Saenz grew up in the hot desert of New Mexico and his history with a religious role in a church, it gave him inspiration to write this poem. Individuals that enjoy reading his literary work have an understanding about why he chose the desert and the message being about having a spiritual connection and desire for god. After understanding and getting to know the author a little bit better, it helps a high school individual like myself perceive the prominent poem in terms of a poetry

    Read More

  • Frost's Desert Places

    507 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the poem Desert Places by Robert Frost, the author describes the scenery in which he came across with. It was on a winter day, and the day was turning into a night. As he went across a field, he saw that the ground was almost all covered in snow. But then he noticed a few weeds and stubble on the ground.

    Read More

  • Food Deserts

    866 Words  | 2 Pages

    Food deserts are one of the main causes of obesity in lower income areas, and while initiatives are being created to solve this problem, more than just a few initiatives are needed to change the obesity issue.

    Read More

  • The Last Night That She Lived

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    The speaker started the poem by desiring the privilege of death through the use of similes, metaphors, and several other forms of language. As the events progress, the speaker gradually changes their mind because of the many complications that death evokes. The speaker is discontent because of human nature; the searching for something better, although there is none. The use of language throughout this poem emphasized these emotions, and allowed the reader the opportunity to understand what the speaker felt.

    Read More

  • Death of a Dog in Poem, Question by May Swenson

    590 Words  | 2 Pages

    This poem is about a person’s belongings which they are extremely attached to. They state it in the last line oft he second stanza when they say, "bright dog is dead." They clearly do lots of activities with this dog like hunt, camp, and go out riding. The person is unsure of what they plan to do when the day comes that their friend passes away.

    Read More

  • Physical and Mental Landscapes in Childe Roland by Robert Browning

    1110 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... the allegorical level, the tortured landscape the narrator depicts represents his own imagination, fallen prey to these negative forces. This is shown in his painful attempt to recall happier times; "Out went my heart's new fire and left it cold."

    Read More

  • One Art, by Elizabeth Bishop

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    the poet is trying to portray the fragility of a life, as it is created with the intent to be lost (death

    Read More

  • Innocence and Experience in William Blake's Literature

    493 Words  | 1 Pages

    A Divine Image gives human characteristics to the feelings of cruelty, jealousy, terror, and secrecy. The poem begins, "Cruelty has a human heart...

    Read More

  • Analysis of Ah, Are you Digging on My Grace?

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    The poem under analysis is called Ah, Are you Digging on My Grace? and it is written by the novelist and poet Thomas Hardy. There are two main speakers in the poem, although other characters were referred to as well. The first main speaker is a deceased woman, who is trying to identify the visitor of her grave. The second main speaker is her living feline companion, which responds to her questions. The dog quotes other characters whom presence is questioned by the woman. The referred-to characters are her lover, family members, and enemy. The poem is essentially a dialog between the woman and her dog. She is astounded to sense that someone is “digging” on her grave, and is disappointed every time she provides an anxious guess. The woman’s first guess is her lover, and asks if he is planting rue on her grave. Her feline companion (who she does not know is talking to her) informs her of her lover’s marriage to a wealthy woman, which she presumably cannot be hurt by anymore considering her death. She guesses again, and it lands on “kin”, who is a family member. She is notified by the dog of their acknowledgment that mourning will not be of benefit as she will not come back to life. The woman gives a final guess, and asks if it is her enemy. She learns the opposite, that her enemy has concluded the woman’s unworthiness after death. Desperately, she asks once more; and her dog, who is concerned of being bothersome, finally announces his identity. The woman appreciates her dog’s devotion and loyally, which she later learns is not so. Her grave became a random spot for the dog to burry its bone in. The poem’s time elapse is based on the start and end of a brief dialog between the woman and the dog. Presumably, it is set in a graveyard, o...

    Read More

  • Explication of The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    I found that throughout this poem there was much symbolism within it. Identifying that it was written in first person form showed that this poem relates to the author on a personal basis, and that it was probably written to symbolize his life. But when talking about people’s lives, you can conclude that people’s lives are generally and individually very diffe...

    Read More

  • The Feeling of Loosing a Family Pet

    925 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, the poem helps you to realize and accept that just like birth is natural, death is a natural process in life. No matter what, death is inevitable. But instead of holding on to the sad memories, you can use the happier memories to cope and deal with the loss of a loved one or family pet. However, you are able to be at peace with the fact that you loved them until the end.

    Read More

More about The Desert

Open Document