The Reason Why The Closet-Man Is Never Sad

There are a vast number of poems that vary from overall message, level of difficulty, and use of literary devices. Poets will manipulate these factors to aid them in the process of creating a product that will embody their purpose. As a result of different mindsets and individual expression, certain poems are more difficult to analyze than others. To explore this concept it is necessary to analyze poems from each spectrum of difficulty. The poems “Messy room” by Shel Silverstein, “The Reason Why The Closet-Man is Never Sad” by Russell Edson, and “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson will exemplify this concept. “Messy Room” by Shel Silverstein consists of the author listing miscellaneous items strewn across the messy room. The author notes that a chair has become “mucky and damp” and that there was a “old smelly sock” stuck on the wall, which implies that the room is also unsanitary. The authors berates the owner of the room by stating that …show more content…
Closets and hallways generally are not areas of the house where you find life, substantial memories, or any emotional attachments. Edson states that “things happen in rooms” and the closet-man “does not like things to happen”. The closet-man’s specific distaste explains why the peculiar house does not have any rooms. “Closets, you take things out of closets, you put things in closets, and nothing happens…”, confirms that the closet-man, similar to the house, is not built to feel and thus incapable of being sad. It is also notable that when the closet-man is asked why he has “such a strange house”, he responds with “I am never sad”. The lack of emotion from a person is concerning and many would associate this quality as sociopathic or simply strange. The house is an embodiment of the closet-man, in the manner that they both lack signs life and