The Man in the Dead Machine
“The Man in the Dead Machine” is a poem written by Donald Hall. The title could represent a poem about a man in a broken automobile or body. The first stanza talks about a World War 2 carrier fighter lodged in vines. The pilot has a “clenched” hand.(5) His hand is either clenched because the pilot was crashing, or because he was in war, or both. The second stanza mentions the same scenario but in the future. The carrier fighter sits in the same spot that it was crashed into. The skeleton of the pilot is there. In the third stanza the setting is an alternate situation. In this scenario, the shrapnel missed him, therefore he never died. He lives his life, and every morning he takes the train. He carries a black case. The message that this poem is communicating is that ones life can end in an instant. Donald Hall uses similes, imagery, an allusion, and structure in the poem “The Man in the Dead Machine” to highlight that people should not take life for granted. …show more content…
One figurative device that is used is a simile. Donald Hall says that the vines are “as thick is arms” (4) This simile is used for exaggeration of how big the vines are. This is also a form of imagery. By comparing the vines to arms the reader gets an image of vines that are the size of arms. Another example of imagery is, “cracked leather of the seat”. (14-15). This phrase gives the reader an image of a worn down, cracked leather seat. Another example of imagery is, “his pale/ hands on the black case”. This gives the reader an image of the pale, perhaps old hands of a man holding a black work bag. Another figurative device in this poem is an allusion. The “Grumman Hellcat” is a World War 2 carrier
“The Man in the Dead Machine” is a poem written by Donald Hall. The title could represent a poem about a man in a broken automobile or body. The first stanza talks about a World War 2 carrier fighter lodged in vines. The pilot has a “clenched” hand.(5) His hand is either clenched because the pilot was crashing, or because he was in war, or both. The second stanza mentions the same scenario but in the future. The carrier fighter sits in the same spot that it was crashed into. The skeleton of the pilot is there. In the third stanza the setting is an alternate situation. In this scenario, the shrapnel missed him, therefore he never died. He lives his life, and every morning he takes the train. He carries a black case. The message that this poem is communicating is that ones life can end in an instant. Donald Hall uses similes, imagery, an allusion, and structure in the poem “The Man in the Dead Machine” to highlight that people should not take life for granted. …show more content…
One figurative device that is used is a simile. Donald Hall says that the vines are “as thick is arms” (4) This simile is used for exaggeration of how big the vines are. This is also a form of imagery. By comparing the vines to arms the reader gets an image of vines that are the size of arms. Another example of imagery is, “cracked leather of the seat”. (14-15). This phrase gives the reader an image of a worn down, cracked leather seat. Another example of imagery is, “his pale/ hands on the black case”. This gives the reader an image of the pale, perhaps old hands of a man holding a black work bag. Another figurative device in this poem is an allusion. The “Grumman Hellcat” is a World War 2 carrier