The main idea of the poem "September, 1918" by Amy Lowell is that through the darkness of war one can always find some spark of happiness.
The poem begins by stating, “This afternoon was the colour of water falling through sunlight; The trees glittered with the tumbling of leaves;” which gives off a positive vibe of everything being wonderful in a beautiful world. The first three lines are setting a calm tone and giving readers the impression that everything is alright.
The next part of the poem states, “Under a tree in the park, Two little boys, lying flat on their faces, Were carefully gathering red berries.” This section begins to raise suspicion in the reader and brings themselves to ask why the boys would possibly be laying on the ground to collect berries.
The final part of the poem draws the reader away from what they thought was a peaceful image by saying, “Some day there will be no war.” This line seems to allow readers to picture a more horrifying image of war, then what they had previously thought of as just a soothing Autumn day.
This writing reminds me of something that many people experience when they have bad days; it’s the little ray of sunlight that seems to brighten it up. An example of this could be seeing someone buy another person’s groceries or being apart of a group that gets recognized for all the great things it has done.
The author at the end of this poem seems to be looking back at the old days when thinking about how beautiful things were before the war but also looking forward to when the war is over. The author wanted to find the ray of sunlight that would get her through the terrible days they are facing. As much as she tries to ignore the negative, it’s all she can think about.
The last three lines of the poem state, "For I have time for nothing But the endeavour to balance myself Upon a broken world." These three lines show that Lowell knows how difficult it will be to get through the war, but that she must try to get through it even though she’s living in a terribly broken world.
The poem is a great work that describes how one may feel during a time of war, but also helps give people hope that the war may be over soon.
I appreciate how you interpret several passages of the poem to show her unfolding relationship to war, and how time shifts as we seek to find a ray of sun or a silver lining. Why do you think she pictures children under a tree as part of her ray of hope?
ReplyDeleteI like how you interpreted each line! I can agree with the fact that as I was first reading this poem I thought it was about a nice day outside, something peaceful. It's not until you get to the line "Someday there will be no war," that you realize that's not at all what this poem is about.
ReplyDeleteI think she pictures children under a tree as her ray of hope because children are often full of positivity and have a hard time seeing the negative in situations. No matter what kids want to be kids and will find something good out of a bad situation.
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