The Nature of Symbolism within Trethewey’s “Elegy” In this poem “Elegy,” Natasha Trethewey depicts the relationship between herself and her late father by means of a metaphor that carries throughout the entire poem. We see that an elegy is typically used to lament the dead, however the abstract language of this poem sends a more demining message. This connotative thought is exactly what Trethewey chooses to address through subliminal metaphors equipped with items typically used to destroy rather than build, along with symbolism that alludes to fighting adversity. The narrator immediately incorporates symbolism insinuating the emphasis on struggle in the first stanza. Symbolizing adversity, she tells the reader “I think by now the river must be thick with salmon. Late August, …show more content…
Trethewey immediately uses imagery to set the scene inviting your senses to help illustrate the image she has already relayed. This helped depict a more in-depth image of her poem “elegy”. After reading this poem several times, to build understanding, and break down literary elements; I came to the conclusion that Trethewey emphasizes the struggle to find balance. The balance between metaphor and symbolism, increasing throughout the entire poem showing battle between connotation and detonation. The struggle in which she used to connotation to portray the bigger picture, but also balanced out by denotation to show the subliminal messages of the relationship shared between the narrator’s father and herself. The balance between her reminiscing the past or holding on to so much aggression that she is forced to let go. These balances of struggle hold true throughout the entire poem to highlight the subliminal metaphors equipped with items typically used to destroy rather than build, along with symbolism that alludes to fighting