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Theodore Roethke's Elegy For Jane

534 Words3 Pages

Similar to the mockingbird that became a symbol for a deceased beloved in the book Hunger Games, the somber poem “Elegy for Jane” by Theodore Roethke connects the speaker’s admiration and mourning to the animals of the sky. The poem reflects on the relationship between a recently deceased Jane and the speaker, her former teacher. In this poem, the speaker expresses an attitude of admiration and mourning toward Jane. Initially, the speaker describes his admiration toward his former student through depictions of her desirable traits “I remember the neckcurls, limp and damp as tendrils;” (1) and, “the light syllables leaped for her,” (3) are just some of the examples of the praise the speaker has for Jane. One consistent comparison in this poem …show more content…

Similarly to the expression of admiration, this is shown in the speaker’s comparisons of Jane to a bird, “My sparrow, you are not here, / Waiting like a fern, making a spiney shadow. / The sides of wet stones cannot console me” (14-16). This melancholy outpouring clearly defines the speaker’s grief. “If only I could nudge you from this sleep, / My maimed darling, my skittery pigeon” (18-19). In this, the speaker proclaims that he wishes he could awaken Jane. The connection of Jane to a skittery, aloof pigeon embodies the loneliness the speaker feels without Jane. These expressive outcries show the speakers mourning for Jane’s death. Furthermore, there is one crucial detail that is not included in the poem that signifies an important aspect of the speaker’s attitude towards Jane. Not once in the poem is it expressed that the speaker was Jane’s teacher. The only clue as to their relationship is located in the last two lines, “I [the speaker], with no rights in this matter, / Neither father nor lover” (20-21). While it is explained that they are not family or lovers, it is not clarified that she was his student. This is critical because it shows that, to the speaker, Jane transcended the classroom and became more than a student to him. As evidenced by the speaker’s great emotions, Jane had an important place in his heart and her passing affected him greatly. The omission of the fact that Jane was

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