Summary Of It Seems As But All Paths Come Due

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Amanda Stevenson Dr. Sigler EN 317 1 March 2016 Due West of Relevant Although a town as small as Due West seems completely unknown, the diverse groups of people that have encountered it have developed contrasting views of it. Amanda Stevenson illustrates this in her poem “It Seems As Though All Paths Come Due.” Stevenson implicates pastoral imagery and varied perspectives to emphasize that what cannot be avoided should be appreciated. At first glance, the conflict in “It Seems As Though All Paths Come Due” appears to be man vs. man, however it is actually man vs. self. Written in the form of a villanelle, “It Seems As Though All Paths Come Due” does not break any structural rules for poetry. Included in the poem are five tercets and one quatrain. The villanelle, as opposed to say a sonnet, was more suited for this observatory moment. The constant ending rhymes, without the use of slant …show more content…

The first device used is a metaphor in second line which says “the towers are lighthouses.” The “towers” is an allusion to the Erskine Building towers, which are an iconic symbol for Erskine College in Due West, SC. A lighthouse is used by sailors to find their way back home. By directly comparing the towers to a lighthouse, Stevenson is acknowledging the idea that Due West is looked to as a home for many. Within the third stanza, alliteration is used in the line, “past, present, and prospective.” This is done in order to emphasize the impact the town of Due West has had on different generations. Lastly, an allusion is made to the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” in the final stanza. This allusion has a direct correlation to the religious background of Stevenson. In the hymn, the speaker is commemorating his life and is content with the life he has lived. The speaker in “It Seems As Though All Paths Come Due” wants the people in Due West to be able to mirror that same