Chengzhi Dong, Adam
Zongxiang Lou, Daniel
English1300 W4
Two Understandings about Life
The perspectives of life are different between a 16-year-old young person and an adult. In Geraldine Connolly’s poem The Summer I Was Sixteen (The Summer for short), a day is exciting and passionate. On the contrary, in Jane Kenyon’s poem Otherwise, a day is simple and peaceful. Though both poems flash back the memory, they have a lot of differences in tone, descriptive style and depiction of life.
After reading these two pieces of poetry, the most direct difference is the tone. Even though both poets use relevant words and phrases to set the tones which not only reflect the artistic conception of poems, but also leave some room for imagination. The base for The Summer is in warm colors. “Turquoise”, “beer cups”, these words let people feel excited. Besides, like “spread our chenille blankets across grass, pressed radios to our ears”, it creates an active atmosphere and reminds readers of their precious youth. In a word, the warm tone brings much energy to readers. Unlike The Summer, Otherwise cools down the settings. “At noon I lay down with my mate” and “dinner together”, these phrases show that a day is very simple. It’s closer to one’s daily life. In addition, the poet repeats “it might have been otherwise” again and again like a hint to make readers calm and think deeply.
Although the two poets both describe a day which presents deep thoughts in small moments, they choose two different styles to describe it. Connolly organizes her poem into 5 stanzas and each line is full and long. It seems that she tries to use this style to make a day looks longer in order to show that youth is like a party that never stops. Her poem captures that time perfectly and takes readers back to the beautiful summer. Kenyon’s poem, however, is divided into only 2 stanzas and each line is very short. This helps her to show that how fast a day is. A day easily passes away with only small things done. Furthermore, the day also symbolizes one’s life, and this short poem emphasizes the transiency of human life.
The final notable difference between their two pieces of poetry is the way they depict their lives. In The Summer, perfect life is like a party, according to “danced to the low beat of ‘Duke of Earl’”. As Connolly says, “through the chain link at an improbable world”, how beautiful it is to be this young and carefree, with infinite possibilities out there in the world. Above all, her aspiration of life is being crazy and making every day thrilling and passionate. Compared with Connolly, Kenyon shows readers an opposite perspective. The life she longs for is more like a folk song, simple and peaceful. “Got out of bed on two strong legs”, “All morning I did the work I love”, she yearns for a routine and simple life. At the end of the poem, “But one day, I know, it will be otherwise”, life is short and unpredictable; no one knows what will happen the next second and whether it will make life better or worse. Through this short poem, Kenyon tries to tell readers to enjoy simple pleasures in their lives and be contented with what they have.
Definitely, both poems are significant in symbolization. The Summer shows a long and exciting day with vivid details and sensory images, which reminds readers of their passionate and joyful youth. However, Otherwise tries to use a simpler and more direct way to describe a short but peaceful day. It shows readers that everything “might have been otherwise”. All in all, Connolly and Kenyon are both in critical stage of life, but choose to emphasize different parts based on their own understandings.