Howard Nemerov's 'The Vacuum'

Secondly, the author uses word choice to show the speakers overall sorrow. Throughout the whole poem there are word scattered everywhere that describe the general emotion of sorrow, some of those word being “restless” (19), “torment”, and “troubled” (4). These words instantly give the connotation of feelings like despair and sadness. The speaker also uses literary elements such as simile to express sorrow, like when she says “These troubles of the heart/ are like unwashed clothes” (27, 28). Everyday people usually do not pay much mind to unwashed clothes, and usually look at it as something unimportant or irrelevant. When the speaker compares her internal troubles to something that holds little importance to everyday life and is also seen as unpleasant, the readers really get a look into the sorrow and sadness that the speaker is truly feeling. The speaker also uses word choice to help show the readers the true intensity of what she is going through.

Most people would not associate a joyous event and death. For instance, when someone is on a roller coaster, they hang on tight out of fear. The second stanza gives the details of how the father was knocking over pans and shelves. No fun event would require continuous destruction to the house. The reader also sees the mother in a seemingly helpless state as the father continues to damage the house. She seems to be in a state of dismay as her husband carries on his behavior. Her frown shows that his actions sadden her but she is powerless to stop him. One would think that a smile would be more appropriate. This supports the abuse aspect because she would not be frowning if it was a joyous exchange between the son and father.

Throughout this poem there are multiple ways Hall connects the poem to its core meaning. Located within the title, the word ‘dead’ is used to describe the machine. Being dead is the ultimate end of a life and that uncertainty of death sparks fear among many people. The inclusion of this certain word is used to set the tone of the poem as dark and gloomy and obtain the readers interest. Another method used by Hall to convey the theme of death was through imagery. The entire second stanza is a description of the pilot’s skeleton strapped within the crashed plane. Having such a graphic image portrayed, Hall is able to essentially shock his reader with the gruesomeness that death produces. One of the last things the reader may decipher from this poem is that life, just like war, is a trap. Within the third stanza, the pilot is said to be taking a train to work and is “held/ by the firm webbing” of the train. The webbing infers that the pilot, although not trapped in his plane, is trapped in the roles put forth by society.

In Graveyard Blues by Natasha Trethewey, the scene of her mother’s funeral is depicted. This was when Trethewey was 17, after her stepfather had killed her mother. Through the use of a controlled structuring of lineation throughout the poem, Trethewey conveys a calm tone. Also, by using word choices and repetition Trethewey is able to depict a state of grief. Finally, through the use of weather, she conveys a feeling of all – encompassing sadness.

This poem talks about nature and death. William Cullen Bryant shares that nature can make death less painful. He says that when we start to think about death, we should go outside, and look around and listen to the natural earth sounds. This is supposed to remind us that when we die, we will mix back into the earth. The poem tells us that when we die, we will not be alone. We will be with every other person that has ever been buried, In the ground, which in this poem is called the “great tomb of man”. It also tells us that even those that are still living will soon die and join in the great tomb of man. This poem is meant to comfort those that are afraid of dying and death in general. At the end of the poem, we are told to think of death as

In the final stanza, he makes the reader sad as he assumes the inevitable will happen and she will die. He expresses this through metaphors such as a “black figure in her white cave”, which is a reference to the bright white hospital rooms and although he is the black figure he thinks she just sees a shadow which could be the grim reaper or even death himself, coming to end her journey. No one wants to deal with the sorrow of losing a loved one for good, as

The speaker uses words such as “louring” (line 2), “deep deceit” (line 8), “grievous” (line 11) and “bale” (line 140. All of these words have sorrowful and despairing meanings to them which gives the whole poem an unhappy tone. The third and fourth lines discus that the speaker cannot even look at the beautiful face, which appears to grow more attractive daily, of the woman he loves. Moreover, the couplet tells the readers that the sorrow in the speaker’s eyes is there because of the pain he has felt due to his faulty relationship. The mouse that “lies aloof for fear of more mishap” (line 7) shows the misery felt by the speaker by using the words “aloof” and “mishap”. “Aloof” means to be stand-offish or reserved, which the speaker is because if he gets too close, he will be hurt again. “Mishap” means disaster or unfortune which altogether sounds miserable. Had the speaker used diction that was lighter or less depressed, the reader truly would not understand the misery the speaker has went through. The miserable diction depicts the deep wounds the speaker received from his love, shedding light to how much he really loved her and how bad she really hurt

The Vacuum by Howard Nemerov talks about a widower and his late wife, and how he uses the vacuum as a symbol for her death. The poem expresses deep sorrow and sadness that derive from the loneliness of the speaker, after his other half’s passing away. Nemerov attempts to take his readers on a grief-stricken journey, by strategically employing figurative language (mainly personification, metaphor, simile, and alliteration), fractured rhyme schemes and turns in stanza breaks in the poem.

To give the passage some context, the narrator has just discovered Bartleby’s passing as well as the rumor that prior to working for him, Bartleby disposed the “dead letters” in the local post office, otherwise known as the letters whose recipients died before they were delivered. This knowledge leads the narrator into a melancholy state, causing for the last passage to have a corresponding vibe. For example, the author has utilized diction having to do with illness, destruction, and death. The words “dead,” “pallid,” “flames,” “burned,” “moulders,” “grave,” “died,” and “despairing” are all used throughout the passage, some words numerous times. The diction is common and a combination of long and short words, so the meanings of the notable words are able to stand out. The noted words are all related to, or meaning, illness, destruction, and death, and all relate to Bartleby’s past, personality, and the narrator’s emotions at present.

In the poem the speaker tells us about how his father woke up early on Sundays and warmed the house so his family can wake up comfortably. We are also told that as he would dress up and head down stairs he feared ¨the chronic angers of that house¨, which can be some sort of quarrel between his father and his mother in the house. This can also lead the reader to believe that the father may have had been a hard dad to deal with. However the father would polish his son's shoes with his cracked hands that ached. This shows the love that the father had for his son and now that the son has grown he realizes what his father did for him. The sons morals and feelings have changed him because as he has grown to become a man he has learned the true meaning of love is being there for one's family and not expecting it to be more than what it is. Consequently this teaches him a lesson on how much his father loved him and how much he regrets not telling him thank

The relationship that the poem refers to is a domestic one- husband and wife- with the family and its occupants in the center. The speaker’s male tone comes from the way he talks about the house, his description of how it is falling apart, and how he feels inside. The age of the speaker is unknown, but he is undoubtedly old enough to recall a past event. Another indicator of the speaker’s male tone it is the trend for males to hide their feelings of pain -and what better way than to use the house as an implied metaphor. Rather than addressing anyone in particular, the speaker seems at first describing how the relationship starts to fall apart "It had begun with slamming doors angry feet scuffing the carpets/ dishes slammed onto the table/ Greasy stains spreading on the cloth" (2-4).

When a loved when is gone it feels like a hole in the world. With much grief he says, “Never again will anyone inhabit the world the way he did. Questions I have can never now get answers. The world is emptier. My son is gone. Only a hole remains, Avoid, a gap, never to be filled”(33). This phrase describes his emotions and how he views the world without his son. The author gives advice on what to say to someone who is mourning. He says to never say its Ok because its never okay and death is awful. “ What I need to hear from you is that you recognize how painful it is. I need to hear from you that you are with me in my desperation” (34). When some passes away no one really knows what his or her loved ones are feeling because each death is unique and each person is different. The wisest of words don’t even make the pain go away, and all that can be done is lending an ear to listen, a shoulder to lean on.

The theme of decay is evident throughout the story as well because it is the associated process with death and because of several descriptions in the story, such as the dim lighting, the creaking door hinges, and the loose floorboards, all which can be used as evidence of decay. The old man gives the reader the image of a man whose body is aged and frail as well.

The main theme Hall is trying to express is that once a person has a child, their lives are changed forever. In the first line, “My son, my executioner,” is saying that once a child comes into the world, in a sense the parent’s life is taken away. Yet as morbid as that sounds, the parent’s life is made eternal through their child forever. The father knows his time is now focused on his son. There is a reversal of roles, as the child gets bigger and stronger, the father gets weaker and will die. “Sweet death, small son, our instrument/of immortality.” Another problem was that the parents had their child young. That day the child was born, their lives were changed and it will never be the same again. “We twenty-five and twenty-two.”

“Home Burial” is mostly about a tense conversation between a husband and wife who recently buried their child. They show their grief and anger at the situation with insensitive words, such as the intimidating tone for ‘dear’. The wife is clearly upset after seeing the burial site of her child out of the window. This discovery is confronting but also fresh and meaningful as she is emotional and she wants to know why her husband is not showing grief. Frost illustrates a couple of broken structures in the poem. “What is it – what? She said. “Just that I see.” This quote is an example of the broken structure, it’s a metaphor for their relationship, which the title of the poem is also foreshadowing the collapse of their marriage. “A man must partly give up being a man with womenfolk.” This quote is juxtaposed with men and women used to show their divide between the husband and wife. “Two that don’t love can’t live together with them. But two that do can’t live together with them.” Is a paradox, it reveals the truth about their lives but they can’t resolve their broken relationship. The wife confronts the husband, “Who is that man? I didn’t know you.” This quote is visual imagery as she was looking at her husband digging the grave. She made the confronting discovery that had influenced her original thoughts of her husband. This poem links to the confronting discovery by showing the husband and wife’s different perspectives on their dead son and no matter how much the husband tries to understand her, they can’t mend their relationship. This discovery is also in “Will Grayson, Will Grayson”, as it can relate to “Home Burial” with a broken relationship. There are two Will Graysons with relationship problems with the same person, Tiny Cooper. The first Will’s relationship with Tiny is that they