W.S Merwin: Some Last Questions by W.S Merwin

Friday, April 15, 2011

Some Last Questions by W.S Merwin

Some Last Questions by W.S Merwin

What is the head
     A. Ash
What are the eyes
     A. The wells have fallen in and have
        Inhabitants
What are the feet
     A. Thumbs left after the auction
No what are the feet
     A. Under them the impossible road is moving
        Down which the broken necked mice push
        Balls of blood with their noses
What is the tongue
     A. The black coat that fell off the wall
        With sleeves trying to say something
What are the hands
     A. Paid
No what are the hands
     A. Climbing back down the museum wall
        To their ancestors the extinct shrews that will
        Have left a message
What is the silence
     A. As though it had a right to move
Who are the compatriots
     A. They make the stars of bone

Analysis:

I chose to analyze this poem simply out of curiosity. The format and flow are unique from any other of his poems and the fragmented style and language leave much to interpretation. Each line poses a new question and the subsequent line answers it. However some lines reiterate the question from above, and then that question is answered differently. I’m not quite sure the exact meaning of his poem, both in a broad picture and with the individual line. I noticed that Merwin consistently refers to body parts “What are the feet”, “What is the tongue”, “What are the hands”, however the answers do little to respond in a literal sense. Instead the answers are abstract and seem to be referring to an outside occurrence, only Merwin understands.

Poem utilizes several literary devices, all of which contribute to the poems unique qualities. Merwin uses ANAPHORA in the sense that he continuously repeats his questions. He uses ENVOI to develop the conversational style of the poem.

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Lit. Devices

Allusion: A brief reference to a person, place, thing, event, or idea in history or literature. Allusions conjure up biblical authority, scenes from Shakespeare’s plays, historic figures, wars, great love stories, and anything else that might enrich an author’s work.
Anaphora: The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs.
Apostrophe: An address, either to someone who is absent and therefore cannot hear the speaker or to something nonhuman that cannot comprehend. Apostrophe often provides a speaker the opportunity to think aloud.
Cacophony: Language that is discordant and difficult to pronounce, such as this line from John Updike’s "Player Piano": "never my numb plunker fumbles." Cacophony ("bad sound") may be unintentional in the writer’s sense of music, or it may be used consciously for deliberate dramatic effect.
Caesura: A pause within a line of poetry that contributes to the rhythm of the line. A caesura can occur anywhere within a line and need not be indicated by punctuation.
Conceit: An elaborate, usually intellectually ingenious poetic comparison or image, such as an analogy or metaphor.
Elision: Omission of a final or initial sound in pronunciation.
Enjambment: In poetry, when one line ends without a pause and continues into the next line for its meaning. This is also called a run-on line.
Envoi: A short stanza at the end of a poem used either to address an imagined or actual person or to comment on the preceding body of the poem.
Euphemism: The substitution of an agreeable or less offensive expression in place of one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the listener.
Euphony: ("good sound") refers to language that is smooth and musically pleasant to the ear.
Figurative Language: A type of language that varies from the norms of literal language, in which words mean exactly what they say.
Litotes: Creation of a positive or opposite idea through negation.
Metonymy: Substituting a word for another word closely associated with it.
Scansion: The analysis of verse into its metrical or rhythmic components.
Trope: Figure of speech; figurative language.