Analysis Of Hard Rock Returns From The Hospital For The Criminal Insane

Uniquely, Etheridge Knight’s first book, Poems from Prison, was published while he was incarcerated. One of the poems within his first book was “Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane”. This poem is written from the perspective of an inmate watching the changes of a fellow inmate known as “Hard Rock” for his strength, take-no-crap attitude, and temper throughout lobotomy procedures and electric shock therapy. This poem not only depicts events occurring around the time of its publication, but also coincides with events in the author’s life. While aspects of the poem are obvious, there remain various others shown only through context, format and symbolism. There are various excerpts within “Hard Rock Returns to

In a biography of Etheridge Knight, Shirley Lumpkin writes Knight was sentenced in “1960 for a robbery committed in Indianapolis, Indiana, to support his [narcotics] habit until November 1968 when he was granted parole” (2; par. 3). Knight’s incarceration coincides with the publication date of “Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane”, 1968. While the title includes “returns to prison,” it may be assumed to be metaphorical; but it’s literal meaning is portrayed in various ways throughout the poem such as references to the “screws” (line 17) meaning guards, “the hole” (line 17) meaning isolation, and “handcuffed and chained” (line 1) meaning he was actually physically restricted. All of these things together assure the reader the prison is literal nor metaphorical. Although Knight’s style and topic of writing strayed over time, his initial publications stuck primarily with the theme of prisons, implying his writing strongly reflected his life, situations, and state of

This poem, however, leaves room for the reader's imagination to flourish, yet depicts only one meaning. While remaining direct, the poem uses multiple similes to fully portray the extent in which Hard Rock and the other inmates have been affected by Hard Rock’s procedures and other influences of the time. One quote that exemplifies this especially well is when Knight writes, “Handcuffed and chained, he was turned loose, /Like a freshly gelded stallion, to try his new status”(lines 1-2). This excerpt shows the extent to which he is mellowed through common knowledge of the effects of castration. Furthermore, the poem is written so that each stanza fulfills one of the five components of literature therefore completing the full journey with Knight’s characters.. Whereas analysis tends to include reading and breaking something down, there are multiple aspects within Knight’s poem that are eye-catching before the poem has even been read such as the use of “WORD” and the use of numbers. “WORD” in the context of the poem refers to the chatter of Hard Rock’s newfound ‘tranquility’ and its capitalization emphasizes the importance of his state to the other inmates. The use of numbers is contextualized with the inmates being given numbers, something that related to dehumanization. Another aspect being portrayed is the struggles people of colour were facing at the time of the poem. All of these literary techniques