Neither Father nor Lover: Imagery, Metaphors, and Tone in Roethke’s Elegy for Jane
Theodore Roethke’s “Elegy for Jane” is a poignant poem in which he takes the reader on a journey through the brief life and death of a student, Jane, and the way that her teacher processes his grief. The speaker explores a great amount of his grief and a small amount of disbelief throughout the rather short poem. Roethke uses dark nature imagery, an extended metaphor with birds, and a grief stricken tone to portray that there are times where someone is mourning a loss so deeply even though they feel as if they have no right to be grieving at all.
The speaker in the poem is the teacher of the student who died, Jane. The way that the speaker talks about Jane is …show more content…
While most elegies end with a newfound sense of peace and consolation, this elegy does not fit that mold. The poem ends with the speaker still being quite upset with the death of his student who was thrown by a horse. In the beginning of the poem, the speaker paints an image of Jane for the reader. He helps the reader understand the type of person that Jane was. It also helps the reader understand why he is so broken up over the death of his student. The speaker begins to mention the grief he feels over the student that he lost in the 14th line. He states that nothing can console him. He once again uses his repeated use of nature imagery when he says “The sides of wet stones cannot console me, / Nor the moss, wound with the last light” (Line 16-17), to clearly state that nothing can make him feel any better. The speaker wishes that he could bring her back, but he feels like his grief has no real base because it’s not as if he was her father or lover. The speaker expresses that in the last line by saying “Over this damp grave I speak the words of my love/ I, with no rights in this matter, /Neither father nor lover” Line 20-22). This is something that the speaker has a great amount trouble with throughout the poem. He doesn’t know how to go about his feelings on the death of Jane. While he knows that he doesn’t have much of a claim to Jane, he feels like he has one …show more content…
The bird imagery and extended metaphors in which Jane is the bird, add into the idea that she was good and beautiful, but also fragile, like a small bird. The speaker uses his bird metaphor when he says “wren, happy, tail into the wind” (Line 5), “My sparrow” (Line 14), and “my skittery pigeon” (Line 19). These birds all have in common that they are all rather small birds. When he is portraying her as the wren, it is showing how carefree and happy Jane was. This is where he is painting the picture of Jane as the student that any teacher would want in their class. When the speaker says “tail into the wind” that represents how Jane was a free spirit. He uses sparrow when he is talking about how Jane is no longer alive. This part is where there is the idea of how Jane was fragile, like a sparrow. While with the pigeon, there is more to it than being fragile. Pigeons have the stigma of being dumb. A horse threw Jane and that resulted in her death. The fact that the speaker calls Jane his “skittery pigeon” could be him saying that she was being dumb for getting scared while she was on the horse, which in turn made the horse throw
Theodore Roethke’s “Elegy for Jane” is a poignant poem in which he takes the reader on a journey through the brief life and death of a student, Jane, and the way that her teacher processes his grief. The speaker explores a great amount of his grief and a small amount of disbelief throughout the rather short poem. Roethke uses dark nature imagery, an extended metaphor with birds, and a grief stricken tone to portray that there are times where someone is mourning a loss so deeply even though they feel as if they have no right to be grieving at all.
The speaker in the poem is the teacher of the student who died, Jane. The way that the speaker talks about Jane is …show more content…
While most elegies end with a newfound sense of peace and consolation, this elegy does not fit that mold. The poem ends with the speaker still being quite upset with the death of his student who was thrown by a horse. In the beginning of the poem, the speaker paints an image of Jane for the reader. He helps the reader understand the type of person that Jane was. It also helps the reader understand why he is so broken up over the death of his student. The speaker begins to mention the grief he feels over the student that he lost in the 14th line. He states that nothing can console him. He once again uses his repeated use of nature imagery when he says “The sides of wet stones cannot console me, / Nor the moss, wound with the last light” (Line 16-17), to clearly state that nothing can make him feel any better. The speaker wishes that he could bring her back, but he feels like his grief has no real base because it’s not as if he was her father or lover. The speaker expresses that in the last line by saying “Over this damp grave I speak the words of my love/ I, with no rights in this matter, /Neither father nor lover” Line 20-22). This is something that the speaker has a great amount trouble with throughout the poem. He doesn’t know how to go about his feelings on the death of Jane. While he knows that he doesn’t have much of a claim to Jane, he feels like he has one …show more content…
The bird imagery and extended metaphors in which Jane is the bird, add into the idea that she was good and beautiful, but also fragile, like a small bird. The speaker uses his bird metaphor when he says “wren, happy, tail into the wind” (Line 5), “My sparrow” (Line 14), and “my skittery pigeon” (Line 19). These birds all have in common that they are all rather small birds. When he is portraying her as the wren, it is showing how carefree and happy Jane was. This is where he is painting the picture of Jane as the student that any teacher would want in their class. When the speaker says “tail into the wind” that represents how Jane was a free spirit. He uses sparrow when he is talking about how Jane is no longer alive. This part is where there is the idea of how Jane was fragile, like a sparrow. While with the pigeon, there is more to it than being fragile. Pigeons have the stigma of being dumb. A horse threw Jane and that resulted in her death. The fact that the speaker calls Jane his “skittery pigeon” could be him saying that she was being dumb for getting scared while she was on the horse, which in turn made the horse throw