“Gouge, Adze, Rasp, Hammer”

In “Gouge, Adze, Rasp, Hammer,” Chris Forhan sets a heartbreaking and lovesick tone as he uses contrast, imagery, and syntax to articulate on his journey of getting over a loved one leaving. Forhan sets the human mind and body against the wonders of nature, explaining the beauty that the “scumbled clouds” don’t have any feelings or love lives to worry about. Nature is always beautiful, and it never has to worry about getting messed up. Forhan uses great detail and imagery to expound on the natural wonders of the world, emphasizing that the “pears, mellowed to a golden-green, glow like flames among the boughs.” His syntax is also very methodical. Every stanza is three lines, and that pattern does not break throughout the poem. Perhaps Forhan is sending yet another message that nature never changes, and also about how every day is the same without his lover. Finally, he contrasts nature with artificial tools, saying that they are forceful objects while plants and such are untouched, pure, and divine phenomena.

"Meadow"

In “Meadow,” Kate Knapp Johnson sets a lost but intimate tone as she uses syntax, diction, and imagery to emphasize the passage of time. It is very interesting to note the irregularity of the sentence division in the poem because it doesn’t line up with the stanzas. Instead of ending each stanza with a clear thought, the reader is left with an unfinished sentence ending in a verb, such as “I wanted to know just one thing (stanza ends)...about the soul.” Perhaps this conveys Johnson’s sense of total confusion as she tries to find her companion through the window. At the same time, Johnson brings the reader closer to her loved one by the word she uses to describe him/her. She makes up the word “withness” in saying that her beloved will always remain with her. This draws an intimate bond between Johnson and her reader. Finally, Johnson uses imagery to symbolize the passage of time. For instance, when she says “two inches of snow have fallen,” the reader can imagine the gradual precipitation and better understand how the author is feeling. Overall, Johnson does a great job of using these techniques to convey her message.

The Modern Prometheus

Soft pajamas lay idle in the closet

The two toddlers totally sprawled

eyes glued to the screen like a hawk.

Bedtime clothes right away, and no TV for either of them.

Midnight looms like New Year’s Eve.

In bed by 10. No exceptions.

Hard sour chewies dangle from their mouths

like gymnasts hang from wide beams.

Robbie should not have watched Daddy Day Care before using the restroom.

No sugary candy, none whatsoever.

They laugh, they play, they cry.

They litter the living room with toys

Their mother and father would scream sourly if they saw.

But Johnny didn’t care

because they smiled.

Domestic Work, 1937

In “Domestic Work, 1937,” Natasha Tretheway sets a colorful, hopeful, and ambitious tone, using syntax, imagery, and parallel structure to tell the story of a young maidservant wishing for a better life. The girl is a victim of the oft-discussed and studied gender role issue in society, where she is relegated to housework and chores instead of making a life and career for herself. Tretheway makes every line in the poem the same length, perhaps to convey the monotonous routine the girl settles into, cleaning and scrubbing every day without exception. Additionally, Tretheway uses vivid imagery to show the girl’s sorry plight, like when she “stared down her own face in the shine of copper-bottomed pots.” This makes her feelings much more real, and it contrasts the idea that the girl wants to shine in her own life but instead she shines pots and pans all day. However, Sunday is church day, when she “raises the shades, washes the room in light.” Sunday, the day when she doesn’t have to work and instead relishes in her religion, gives her hope that she will one day become a strong, independent woman. Finally, Tretheway uses parallel structure, italicizing lines after each paragraph when the girl talks to herself. This builds up hope and shows the reader that although she is relegated to robotic housework, the girl has a mind and an imagination of her own, one that is constantly changing.

Before She Died

In “Before She Died,” Karen Chase sets a nostalgic tone, using syntax and diction to capture the feeling of life without a loved one. Throughout the poem, Chase uses a great deal of punctuation, making the reader stop at several points throughout the reading. This reflects the theme of the poem, that life is absolute and that moments are fleeting. Chase is trying to tell the reader that you need to stop and appreciate each day, because you never know when the next one will come. Additionally, the vivid words in the passage describe the feelings the speaker is trying to convey, ones of love, mortality and emotional dependency. Through her dog Wool, who is “panting and aged,” Chase relays the idea that we get older and will eventually pass away. Furthermore, strong words like “finite” concretize the meaning of the poem.