ipl-logo

Life On Mars Poem Analysis

1821 Words8 Pages

Deep into The Reality of Life
Is there a life beyond earth? What is the mystery in space? Where do dead people go? If God exists what is the nature of God? The author of Life on Mars, Tracy K. Smith deals with these confusing and puzzling relationships of human existence with the universe. She has tried to explain this idea very well in two of her poems in the collection of Life on Mars: “The Weather in Space” and “The Speed of Belief”. In these poems, the use of “space” as a metaphor along with the use of repetition technique by Smith, allows the reader to accompany her on her journey of grief of losing her father, exploring questions about afterlife, and how the sense of optimism and hope can help tackle the hardest journey of life.
The …show more content…

The repetition of “walk” at the end of every stanza of this section “…on their slow walk/…run-no walk/…robes walk/…shadows walk/…hollow walk/…know-walk” (35-48) reflects how tough it is to move on from a loss. Through the line “Our limbs tangle in sleep, but our shadows walk,” (44) Smith tries to show how she has been affected by the memories of her lost father and how hard she is struggling to cope with his death. She emphasizes to walk away so that she can divert herself from his memories but ultimately, she wants the readers to realize that the only option left is to accept the truth and move on from the grief. According to an article Life On Mars, “The poems about Floyd are affecting and hauntingly convey Smith’s grief as she attempts to cope with his death. In referring to the unknowable expanses of the universe, she is able to express her feelings of both loss and hope.” (Malone, 2). The line “My father won’t lie still…/ all he must now know-walk?” (47-48) shows the positivity in Smith about how she believes that her father has not vanished away, rather his existence has just changed. She creates a sense of hope and imagination of her father in space so that she can develop enough courage to overcome the truth of his

Show More
Related

Death Over Water Poem Analysis

355 Words | 2 Pages

In the poem “Death Over Water” by Elizabeth Rhett Woods, juxtaposition between the beauty and grace of ice dancing and the savage fighting between two enemy birds is shown as an eagle is compared to “the male of a pair of ice dancers” (line 9), a gull to the female ice dancer and “a clamour of crows” (line 1) to the crowd watching them. The eagle is the dominant force in the fight that is in control of the movements of the birds maintaining “every advantage of size and speed” (line 17), comparable to the lead dancer of a pair. In ice dancing, the male is often guiding the female through the moves remaining “above and behind” (line 8) the female dancer at all times. The gull is at the mercy of “the enemy” (line 16) eagle and is forced to move

Read More

Examples Of Repetition In Night By Elie Wiesel

190 Words | 1 Pages

This section of the quote teaches you more about the mindset of Ellie’s father,

Read More

How Does Tracy K. Smith Create An Elegy In Life On Mars

1737 Words | 7 Pages

Smith’s life than she had ever intended. According to The Washington Post, the beginning stages of this book were written prior to her father becoming ill. Clearly, The Life on Mars poem collection was always something Smith wanted to create and originally no purposed to be an elegy. In an interview with The Adroit Journal Smith describes the process as “the sense of tribute developing gradually with Life on Mars. The sequence called “The Speed of Belief”, was written at the point during Smith’s father’s illness where death was not only possible but probable.

Read More

Freak The Geek Poem Analysis

500 Words | 2 Pages

Friendship is strong and can last a lifetime. In John Green's “Freak the Geek “a girl has Has problems in Hoover Prep School with older girls. She uses the power of friendship to get through tough times with her best friend. Lauren makes in through challenges and the struggles of Hoover Prep School with the power of friendship. This friendship leads to her being able to cope with the school and helps her build bravery at the same time.

Read More

History Lesson Poem Analysis

792 Words | 4 Pages

Poetry Analysis Once the poem “History Lesson” was written numerous poetry foundations celebrated it for many reasons. “History Lesson” not only makes an impact on literature today it has also impacted people also. This poem inspires people and moves them to the point to where they can find a personal connection to the poem itself and to the writer. Not only does it hold emotional value for those who were victimized and those whose family were victimized by the laws of segregation, but the poem is also celebrated for its complexity. The poem uses many techniques to appeal to the reader.

Read More

Metaphors In In Search Of Our Mother's Garden

854 Words | 4 Pages

In Walker’s writing, her metaphoric message is expressed as a journey to understand elders cruel unjust past life, searching for a connection for her own

Read More

Vacation In Juan Forn's Swimming At Night

1463 Words | 6 Pages

to still keep established pace and tone, which is that calm, disassociated mood. At this point the father, the reader might think, is a construction of the husband’s mind, because the husband had focused on “the idea of never seeing him again. . . .” which struck him the most out of this chance meeting, rather than on the present moment of seeing him (Forn 345). However surreal this may be in real life, the narrator manages to keep the same weight through the pacing in the story to give this story a certain realism through the husband’s

Read More

The Borderlands Poem Analysis

544 Words | 3 Pages

The poem fully develops the idea of the limited of privileges that some might have according to the their races and the racial division. The “borderlands” is the division of a place, but in the eyes of Gloria she makes the character grow up in a place where there is a racial division. The character is in the middle of how of her race is important as her cultural ways get in the way of trying to practice each one of them. The poet writes in both english and spanish to explain how she speaks to the different races she carries. As you read the poem you can feel how the tone changes as the author is speaking of the different events that she goes through in her life.

Read More

At Mornington Poem Analysis

478 Words | 2 Pages

The poem, At Mornington was written by Australian poet, Gwen Harwood. It was published in 1975 under her own name. At Mornington is about a woman reminiscing about her past when she is with her friend. There are many themes explored in this poem including memory, death and time passing.

Read More

Funeral Blues And Remember Analysis

1774 Words | 8 Pages

The attitudes to grief over the loss of a loved one are presented in two thoroughly different ways in the two poems of ‘Funeral Blues’ and ‘Remember’. Some differences include the tone towards death as ‘Funeral Blues’ was written with a more mocking, sarcastic tone towards death and grieving the loss of a loved one, (even though it was later interpreted as a genuine expression of grief after the movie “Four Weddings and a Funeral” in 1994), whereas ‘Remember’ has a more sincere and heartfelt tone towards death. In addition, ‘Funeral Blues’ is entirely negative towards death not only forbidding themselves from moving on but also forbidding the world from moving on after the tragic passing of the loved one, whilst ‘Remember’ gives the griever

Read More

Perhaps The World Ends Here Poem Analysis

607 Words | 3 Pages

Joy Harjo’s poem “Perhaps the World Ends Here” implants an impression of the world as a kitchen table: “The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live.” (1). As I interpreted the poem, I perceived it as a brief analysis of life. Harjo elaborates life as one protracted feast, and our life ends when we eat the concluding bite of our meal: “Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table, while we are laughing and crying, eating of the last sweet bite.”

Read More

In A Library Poem Analysis

762 Words | 4 Pages

Poetry Explication: “In a Library” by Emily Dickinson The poem “In a Library” was written by Emily Dickinson as an expression of her love of books, and the way they can transport her. Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830. Emily Dickinson was born and raised in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Read More

Live Like You Were Dying Poem Analysis

1331 Words | 6 Pages

Tim McGraw is an American country singer and song writer. Many of his albums have been on top of music charts, making him the third best-selling country singer. The one song that really sticks out to me the most is “Live Like You Were Dying”. Tim wrote this song for his dad Tug McGraw who died of cancer earlier in the year. (Wikipedia, Tim-McGraw).

Read More

American Solitude Poem Analysis

1163 Words | 5 Pages

Poems are short meaningful pieces of literature that can be interpreted in multiple ways depending upon the reader at hand. That is what makes a poem unique compared to other literature pieces because in a poem the author tends to use figurative language to fulfill meaning behind their work. One poem “Love is a Sickness Full of Woes” by Samuel Daniel describes the pains of being lovesick. Love can either benefit us if nurtured and cared for, but if not tended to then let loose can ultimately hurt us. As to another poem “American Solitude” by Grace Schulman describes a life of solitude being most warming to the soul to ward off loneliness.

Read More

Poem Analysis: Nothing But Death By Pablo Neruda

1000 Words | 4 Pages

The poet compared the graves like a shipwreck that is the death will take the human go down and drowning to the underground like the dead bodies in the graves. The last line “as though we lived falling out of the skin into the soul.” is like the rotting of the dead bodies. The second stanza there is one Simile in this

Read More

More about Life On Mars Poem Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document