Rhapsody On The Road Annotations

This poem dramatizes the conflict between war and chaos to the need for rejuvenation and peace as the speaker explains that "it is a war or other"(line 9) and she is traveling on a journey to escape the war zone. She describes herself as "An animal/Insane for the destination"(lines 56-57) in which she hopes it will change her. The narrator describes the setting of the war with "Thunder and guns/The fires between us"(lines 50-51) under which represents the constant fear she lives in and her desperation for the journey to end by saying "How fair is it?/How far is it now?"(lines 1-2). Her journey through the "mud" gets her on "Adam's side" which is the beginning of her rebirth. The speakers rebirth is finalized when she's "stepping" out "Of old

For instance, the speaker first expresses this notion when she says, “Thick, red and slipping. It is Adam’s side, / This earth I rise from, and I in agony” (lines 36-37). The speaker utilizes “Adam’s side” as a euphemism to the biblical reference where Adam’s rib was used in the creation of Eve, in order to express her rebirth. However, even though the speaker is being reborn, the descriptions that she uses to express it such as, “and I in agony” provides a perspective that says that she is undergoing excruciating pain whilst being born; or in other words, it’s as if she’s giving birth to herself which may complement the agony she’s experiencing. But looking toward the final stages of her rebirth, she mentions that, “The carriages are cradles. / And I, stepping from this skin / Of old bandages, old faces / Step to you from the black car of Lethe, / Pure as a baby” (lines 64-69). The speaker mentions the “black car of Lethe” as an allusion to Greek mythology, where Hades’ Lethe River represents forgetfulness or oblivion. As a result, the speaker is signifying that her loss of memory is what recreates her as a new person, who is pure from any wrongdoings like that of a newborn

“The train is dragging itself, it is screaming –” this quotes provide significant personification, but it also changes how the reader will read the rest of the stanza and the final couplet. Furthermore, the poet adds an enjambment to the poem in order to follow up on the metaphor that she makes in line 35 which suggests that the mud on the speaker's feet is blood, and this adds to the setting that the speaker is in the middle of a war. Finally, the use of repetition in the poem allows for the author to create a sense of curiosity in the reader. Lines 1 and 2 are repeated throughout various parts of the text and serve the purpose of eliciting the reader’s interest. “How far away is what?” and “what is the speaker’s ultimate goal in this poem?” the reader may ask. The setup of this poem helps the reader understand where the poem is going and helps the poet convey this to the