W.S Merwin: To Myself by W.S Merwin

Friday, April 15, 2011

To Myself by W.S Merwin

Even when I forget you
I go on looking for you
I believe I would know you
I keep remembering you
sometimes long ago but then
other times I am sure you
were here for a moment before
and the air is still alive
around where you were and I
think then I can recognize
you who are always the same
who pretend to be time but
you are not time and who speak
in the words but you are not
what they say you who are not
lost when I do not find you

Analysis:

Again we see a Merwin poem nostalgic in form with an overtly mundane tone. The poem may be alluding to former love or to companion, lost in the ages of time. In any case, the relationship has left an impact on Merwin’s life, “Even when I forget you I go on looking for you” gives meaning to this assumption. The author is obviously conflicted with this relationship, stating that he “believes” or thinks he knew “you” but can’t remember the place or time. The poem then shifts to a sudden criticism of the “you”. He states that the person in question is not what she/he pretends to be- “You pretend to be time but you are not time”.

Merwin employs the usage of ENJAMBMENT in order to add to the poems fluidity and purpose.

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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.