Hope -- Lisel Mueller
It hovers in dark corners
before the lights are turned on,
it shakes sleep from its eyes
and drops from mushroom gills,
it explodes in the starry heads
of dandelions turned sages,
it sticks to the wings of green angels
that sail from the tops of maples.
It sprouts in each occluded eye
of the many-eyed potato,
it lives in each earthworm segment
surviving cruelty,
it is the motion that runs the tail of a dog,
it is the mouth that inflates the lungs
of the child that has just been born.
we cannot destroy in ourselves,
the argument that refutes death,
the genius that invents the future,
all we know of God.
It is the serum which makes us swear
not to betray one another;
it is in this poem, trying to speak.
B. You need to register and pay for AP tests by Friday. If you wait until Friday, you will also end up waiting in a line.
C. The following students need to turn in their "Snowstorm" essays to turnitin.com: Sharon, Kassie, Sandeep, both Jonathans, Connor P., Sanjana, Nupur, Tabron, James, and Niloy
38 comments:
I never thought the day would come were I would be the very first one to post on the blog... but nevertheless, I think this poem is actually very interesting. The use of metaphors in the second stanza comparing hope to the "many-eyed potato" where every small potential new plant tries to become whole or an earthworm segment "surviving cruelty" Both metaphors along with many other techniques in the poem create vivid images that the reader can relate to and form an understanding of the topic.
The poem is in free verse so it relies even more heavily on developing meaning through more prosaic elements. The personification on the last line with hope speaking for example. oR other metaphors in the second stanza further demonstrate this concept.
Well, my poem analysis muscles are wasted, so my analysis probably won’t be as intense as everyone else. But this is what I noticed in the poem:
The use of anaphoras is one of the most powerful elements used in the poem. The constant repetition of cacophonous word "it" adds explosivity and excitement to the poem and parallels the exciting and explosive nature of hope. It also creates a crescendo effect in the poem that builds up and gets “louder” as the poem progresses. As the poem ends, this repetition decreases, which creates a decrescendo. This in turn slows the poem down and emphasizes the last words in the poem, “it is in this poem, trying to speak.”
The poem also has an interesting tone. After reading the poem several times, I decided the tone was serious and had a quiet hope that was almost ready to burst.
Another important element used in the poem is kinesthetic imagery. The kinesthetic imagery in the phrase, “hovers in dark corners /before the light are on," gives hope an almost sinister personification, which I thought was strange. However, it describes hope in a powerful way because hope shines light in dark circumstances and gives us the strength to overcome when it is hard to see the solution and "before the lights are turned on." Other examples of kinesthetic imagery that add to the meaning of the poem is that hope "explodes in starry heads of dandelions turned stages" and "sticks to the winds of green angels." The words "starry", "wings", and "angels" give hope a spiritual and heavenly attribute, which helps convey the central message of the poem.
The use of consonance and assonance also enhances the poem's meaning. The poem uses many of 's' sounds at the beginning and end of words, creating fluidity and adding a musical feel to the poem. The constant repetition of the quick 'i' vowel also adds a punch and explosion to each line.
By personifying the word Hope, Mueller forces the reader to focus on hope because most of the lines start with It. Every time we see "It" I don't know about everyone else, but i replace it with hope. So in my mind, I'm constantly saying hope over and over and the descriptions after it give it a stronger meaning. So I think I'm trying to say that the use of repetition makes it stronger.
Also, the word "It" disrupts the flow of the poem making it seem more explosive and exciting only further emphasizing it.
Can I please just say I think Michelle hit this one out of the park?
Okay, anyways. So in reference to the title of the poem, I think Mueller gives hope a certain form in this poem, a personification of it that extends throughout the poem’s entirety. Unless I missed it, I believe the word “hope” is only mentioned in the title. If I am correct, I think this was a brilliant way for the author to convey the poem’s meaning without ever mentioning the word once. Mueller is saying that hope exists everywhere in life, it even “hovers in dark corners / before the lights are turned on”. The examples that the author uses to describe this hope are also not physically, attainable elements. One cannot hold “the motion that runs the tail of a dog” in their hands for all of eternity.
It seems like the overall message of the poem is that sometimes beautiful things land in your open hands, but you should never think to shut them tightly in your grip in hopes that the tightly you squeeze, the longer you’ll have these beautiful things. You would crush them and they will become less than they were. The important thing is to let beautiful things fly in and out of your hands and one will always follow the other.
This response will be a bit rushed as I am about to be off to our first lacrosse game in a matter of minutes...
I interpreted Lisel Mueller's poem as being more about the "lifeforce" or "spirit" whitin all beings, than being about hope itself. Hope results from the recognition of this abundant spiritual force. When one agknowledges this spiritual force, they realize that there exists greater power beyond the tangible physical realm that we interpret via our body's senses. One can further conclude that this force "refutes death" by transcending the physical, which could lead someone to become very hopeful about the future. Aaaaah my dad is cutting me off. Time to head out! I will be back later with more...
Something that I noticed which seemed really powerful, even though Lauren already touched on it, is that Mueller doesn't mention the word hope once, in the poem. It is just in the title. (And who said titles weren't important!)
Mueller's use of personification, I feel like, gives the poem the most meaning.
First off, I think the poem is about hope and it's abilities. I mean everyone always hopes for somethings. I hope I win the prize. I hope I passed the test. I hope I get into the college of my dreams. I hope spring break is fun. All of these hopes that people have can be serious or materialistic. But I don't think it makes a difference. Hope is always there, even if "dark corners", which is a bit ironic, everywhere. Even in comparision to the earthworms! Earthworms are so unimportant and trivial. But he compares the hope that people have to the hopes of an earthworm, surviving.
The personification, which is almost in every line, adds to the meaning. Giving hope these human characteristics makes it seem more real. The metaphors/similies also add to the meaning because hope is compared to something trivial as earthworms but then something so necessary air the "mouth that inflates the lungs."
The anaphora of the word "it" also gives the word "hope" more emphasis. Because the word is actually never mentioned, you tend to think HOPE while reading the poem. And while I did that, it was easier for me to understand the extent of hope and what it can do. Hope gives us something to believe in, when all of our earthly things have left us.
Wow, great analysis Michelle!
Lauren, you made a good point that the word "Hope" is only used once in the title, which I didn't realize, but now I see that it adds to the poem's effectiveness.
I thought the strong diction choice was very effective in this poem. Mueller personifies hope in almost every line because of the strong action verbs used each time. This makes hope seem more tangible, although it really is an intangible thing.
I think there's also a tonal shift in the middle of stanza 2, with the line "It is the singular...of God." The poem becomes more serious then, and that one sentence summarizes the poem's theme that hope is eternal.
As others mentioned, there's a lot of strong visual and kinesthetic imagery here. It's interesting that almost all the metaphors relate to nature in some way - or to things living. Perhaps reiterating the message that hope is always alive.
The title has nothing to do with anything the poem talks about.
And what is this "it"? Am I supposed to replace "Hope" with all the "it"s? Is that what's going on here? 'Cuz Hope to me has something to do with humans, not all these inanimate objects...
But, I'll back down, I'll give Ms. Mueller a break. The sentiments of Hope are certainly comparable to the objects, actions and imagery the author inscribes upon readers' minds.
"It" is quite effective and, although repetitive, true to the purpose of the poem which could not be anything other than the author "trying to speak" of Hope's essence.
I personally find "the serum which makes us swear not to betray one another" to be the climax of the poem. As mentioned by Diya, this second, more 'serious' part of the poem transforms the sentiments of the frivolous objects in the first part of the poem into a meaningful sort of chemical which, instead of forcing us to tell the truth when undergoing interrogation, forces us to withstand betrayal and remain true to "one another". It's actually quite ironic, this serum found only in the concept of Hope, for only when one gives up all hope does one betray one's friends, allies or human race.
Ms. Mueller does give readers a firm conclusion in the end. This poem is a continual building of emotion.
Oh and here's what Nietzsche has to say:
"We talk so abstractly about poetry, because we are all bad poets."
HAHA
I must respond to Erik. Frivolous objects!!! Without the hopeful promise embodied in a seed, wouldn't we be living in a barren desert? Few things, if you think about it, are more serious than a seed. And even that earthworm plays an essential role -- it certainly gives my garden hope.
By the way, don't you like this upbeat, non-feminist, non-cynical poem for a change?
While reading the poem i noticed that the poem is jerky in nature. As pointed out before me, the use of anaphora gives the poem this jerky feel; especially coupled with words like "it". The repetition of "it" gives the poem a beat. I got caught off guard when I got to "it is the singular gift we cannot destroy in ourselves the argument that refutes death, the genius tat invents the future, all we know of God", because i expected the poem to continue with the word "it" after "ourselves". I'm pretty sure Mueller didn't use "it" after "ourselves" for the purpose of disrupting the beat of the poem.
Imagery plays an important role in this poem. It is heavily utilized in the first verse paragraph and most of the second verse paragraph. The imagery that i liked the most was "the motion that runs the tail of a dog". Through imagery, hope is depicted as the driving force of life.
I really enjoyed this poem! Anyways, the first stanza has alot of interesting imagery. The words, "dark corners," "mushroom gills," "starry heads," "wings of green angels", and "tops of maples," creates a detailed image of nature. The small details that Mueller described in the poem reminded me of photography because she was able to capture the overall feeling and image that hope has.
Also, throughout the poem, the word "it" was used repeatedly. It was interesting how she referred to hope as it, instead of using a "softer" less harsh word.
Another important element was the kinesthetic imagery, which some of you have mentioned. The way Mueller used motion enhanced the fluidity of the poem and this gave it a calm feeling. After i re-read the poem, I pictured the images in my head moving in slow motion, which created a more powerful and spiritual mood.
Nice observation about the word 'hope' only being mentioned in the title. It gives the poem even more power and deeper meaning.
I agree with most people about the meaning of the poem. Lisel Mueller personifies hope in order to convey its presence in everyday life. Its abundant presence in even the most trivial objects, like an earthworm or a potato, makes the reader realize that hope is indeed everywhere. I never would have thought potatoes or earthworms having a sense of hope, but they do. This realization makes the poem very powerful and effective.
Mueller uses a plethora of imagery throughout the poem to add onto the personification of hope. I also noticed that the images used slowly progress from small, uncomplicated objects such as "mushroom gills" to more complex and complicated organisms like maple trees, then dogs, and eventually humans.
The last lines of the second verse paragraph capture the powerfulness of hope. Mueller begins to use pronouns like 'we' and 'ourselves' to show that hope exists in humans as it does in nature. Hope is so powerful because it is the one thing we as humans cannot fight; it stands up against the threat of death; and it gives a pathway for the future. It's like all you need is hope. And the last line of the second verse paragraph states that hope is "all we know of God." We can't see or touch God like we can't see or touch hope, but believers know both exist.
I like this poem a lot... By using visual imagery and metaphors, Mueller makes hope more than just a feeling or an idea. Like Nima said, the poem provides vivid images that the reader can relate to. As you imagine the physical objects she describes, you get a more tangible idea of hope. I love how parallelism allows the metaphors in each stanza flow together so nicely. Hope "hovers," "shakes," "explodes," and finally "sticks to the wings of green angels that sail from the tops of maples." The diction in this stanza gives a sort of whimsical feeling. Whimsy can be related to positivity, which is definitely a feeling that hope brings.
Hope also "sprouts," "lives," and "is the motion that runs the tail of a dog, the mouth that inflates the lungs of the child that has just been born."
The diction in the second stanza relates hope to something that gives life. It is there from the very beginning (child that has just been born) and lasts until the last moments of life (each earthworm segment surviving cruelty). The contrast between words like dark and light and "surviving cruelty" also adds to the optimistic, HOPEful tone.
I also noticed the repeating "s" sounds. Although it was written in free verse and the stanzas don't have the same amount of lines, the ideas in each of the lines were grouped together well. The brevity of the final stanza also puts emphasis on the most important idea the speaker is trying to get across. And as others have said, it does seem more serious and it seems to say, This poem isn't just a handful of pretty metaphors.
I'd like to see Erik and Ms. Minor have an intellectual duke-out.
I think this poem finds its depth in the different situations Mueller uses to describe hope. I never think of each potato eye as the hope to grow, or the tail of a dog as hope. It's also important that she makes hope a tangible sort of object. If it's in the dark corners, if it drops from mushroom gills, if it's on the dandelions, we can feel it. I believe her purpose is to give someone hope (hence the "it is in this poem, trying to speak." line) and making hope seem like something you can grab is the most effective way to communicate her meaning.
I didn't really get the "serum which makes us swear not to betray one another" part. It sounds very dark and like it doesn't fit with the rest of the poem.
If I imagine this poem in my head with images in a small small mini movie, I could just visualized this fast-paced images racing and constantly exploding and surprising me in every moment. In the first stanza, there's a the "dark corners" followed by this image as "it explodes in the starry head". The visual imagery just from dark to exploding light illustrates the very meaning of hope.
The metaphors are in almost every line gives a different character of hope. One of the metaphors that really captured my attention is the line when hope is "the mouth that inflates the lungs of the child that has just been born" and followed by a powerful statement that "it" is that one "gift" the "we cannot destroy in ourselves, the argument that refutes death, the genius the invents the future, all we know of God". This whole portion is the climax of this poem for me. hope is life for all of us, from the weakest to strongest, from richest to the poorest. When we lose hope, we lose life.
Haha Natalie. An "intellectual duke-out"! Haha of course.
I would agree with Jonathan about how the "it" disrupts the flow of the poem, but in a good way. It is an emphasizing word that signals the beginning of a new metaphor of what hope is. These metaphors also strengthen the idea of what hope is and make it something that we can relate to, thus, giving the poem deeper meaning. My favorite is "it is the motion that runs the tail of a dog."
Like Lauren said, I think the fact that the word hope is only used in the title provides an even stronger meaning to the poem-- brilliant. I like this poem.
Erik--I actually think the title has a lot to do with the poem. Without the title, we could easily dismiss the events in the poem as a string of common, everyday happenings and we would not know what it is referring to. But as we become aware of the subject, the power hope has over everyday life, and the world, becomes apparent. It’s also important because Hope, which is personified, is the very thing which “is trying to speak” within the poem.
Each example Mueller describes seems to be a metaphor for HOPE. As the dandelion grows old --sage-like-- the “starry heads explode” apart, hoping that the individual seeds being carried by the wind will find a suitable resting place to reproduce into a richer field. (This is strong visual imagery as well. I see many of those “puff-ball” things in an open field on a bright summer day.) An earthworm has the ability to “re-grow” its parts, and if it survives an act of cruelty --for example, someone cuts off a “segment”-- the earthworm hopes its body will compensate and re-grow the portion that has been lost. Also, like Ms. Minor said, it gives other things hope as well, like garden soil that has lost essential nutrients. A begging dog wagging his tail hopes to obtain a treat. The “mouth” hopes rich oxygen will flow through the airway and “inflate the lungs.” And it is something that drives many religions: the great hope that something/someone exists beyond physical death.
Because the poem seems to be written with no apparent structure, I think the sounds and patterns employed by the poet heighten the smoothness of the piece.
To me the last line is the most serious and effective one in the whole poem. "It is the serum which makes us swear / not to betray one another". I agree with Natalie that it is darker than the rest of the poem, but I think it is trying to express a thought that involves more serious feelings than most of the other metaphors in this poem. This line is about the strength and healing power of hope in society. After wars, disasters or other catastrophes, society end up like an open wound. It would be left exposed, vulnerable and would never heal if it was not for the serum described in this metaphor: hope. Hope allows mankind to rise from its ashes and begin building again.
The image of organisms in describing hope serves a double purpose in this last lines of the poem. It also ties all human beings together. The serum "makes us swear not to betray one another" because it makes "us" all one and the same. In the aftermath of disaster, we all have hope in common in the same way we all have blood in common. It creates hope in erasing all the differences on the past and focusing on a brighter tomorrow based on our mutual humanity
I felt the same thing as Michelle G. when I read the poem. The repetition of “It” used in the beginning of each different metaphor/personification creates a feeling that Hope is going to burst out soon. The crescendo effect is also added by the constant use of the “s” sounds in end rhymes such as “sages” to “angels”, and in alliterations such as “shakes sleep.” I really like how Mueller shifts from the repetition of just “it” to the repetition of “it is” in the second stanza. To me this adds a stronger effect on emphasizing the power and importance of fate. The last line of this poem, unlike other lines of this poem, is more gentle and quiet. The comma that is place in the middle of that line slows down the tempo of the reader.
Grace, good catch on how the metaphors/imageries “progress from small, uncomplicated objects…to more complex and complicated organisms…” I think this positioning is one of the most important aspects of the poem because as reader, we would unconsciously be more and more involved in the poem as the poem starts to relate to ourselves.
Tough crowd. Why so serious?
Please excuse my cynical tone for its sarcasm. These blog prompts needed some absurd baboonery... Perhaps it will give people more confidence in their expounding of philosophy... in the sense that they want to prove the baboon wrong. ;)
In my own ignorance I missed the entire progression of the seed - and the poem itself. "It" starts very small, as small as the spore dropping from a mushroom and evolves into dandelions, majestic maples, potatoes sprouting into more and more potatoes, earthworms regenerating even after being cut in half, all the way to a child breathing in the first pains of life; all in all: God.
Hope is life. And "it" evolves gloriously in this poem.
The first thing that came in my mind when reading this poem was the excellent imagery, and the poet's use of personification and metaphor to create it. The lines are intensely descriptive and the feelings created by each one vary, which makes the poem more interesting as you continue to analyze it. I definitely agree that the title is meaningful as it provides a word for the feelings explained in the poem, but I also think the word hope was intentionally left out of the poem itself to allow some ambiguity about the precise meaning. The fact that hope is a human feeling that we possess is true, but I do think that it is the idea of the poem and the fact that it is used in reference to the inaminate objects is the interesting personification that makes the poem so exciting. There is a message that hope is not only a sentiment residing in the human heart but that it is a true principle encompassing the universe. Depending on your beliefs, it could be a divine principle that exists in all the nature around us, as well as in ourselves.
Nice, Michelle. I agree.
Clearly, the title has everything to do with the poem.
Things like hope are so minute and intangible, yet so powerful, like each of the metaphors Mueller uses in her poem. Like Michelle said, it's like this 'hope' wants to explode. It has the power to affect all things it crosses paths with, carried along by others.
I love the things she compared 'hope' to. Never anything specific, like the water or trees or sky. Just this thing that can be imagined as anything that is nothing. The tone created by this and the diction she uses is very tranquil and enticing, to me.
I love this poem. "It" could definitely be many things, though.
It's rather significant that there is the repition of the word 'it' in the poem over hope, it makes it sound more sacrad, like how we re always refer to God in texts as Him. In fact, it makes Hope seem omnipresent like God.
There is comparison and contrast of dark and light in the first two lines,and then from then on there is this metaphore that hope is like all forms of life; from nature, to newborn children, to what we believe. I guess this is where that omnipotent presence of God also seems to make itself into hope for the poem. It doesn't really inflate the lungs of a child, which makes hope a lot like air, but makes it seem like it is giving life to people at the start, and when a child really is born, there really is a lot of hope floating around for what is going to come to this child. It is also that strength of hope that gives it power, for it lacking the ability to be destroyed, to have us create a future, to be un-afraid of death. That's pretty powerful stuff.
The thing I like about this poem is the way the author uses "it". Were it not for a title, guessing the theme and ideas behind this poem would be very difficult. The use of "it" forces the reader to really think about what the poem is referring to. For myself at the very least, it made me wonder how "it sticks to the wings of green angels that sail from the tops of maples".
The previously mentioned quote further brings up the idea of figurative language that is so beautifully used in this poem. At first thought, angels come to mind. However, once one delves into the mind you realize the is making a metaphor between leaves and angels. I think this is due in part to the angelic manner in which leaves gently float down.
Every line that begins with "it" turns into some sort of metaphor for hope. "It sprouts in each occluded eye of the many-eyed potato" and "it inflates the lungs of the child that has just been born". I think that the reader gets the greatest sense of what hope is based on the metaphors.
The many metaphors give the reader the sense that hope is something ubiquitous in the world. "It" seems to be something that anyone can find anywhere if they look hard enough. Our world needs hope right now, so I really think the message of this poem is direly needed.
I am sorry I missed turnitin.com! I am heading there right now!
PS -- Thomas Joseph is a beast! (Ask him about it if you so desire)
There have been some excellent analyses. I'll just touch on what I noticed.
The use of anaphora is really a great tool in this poem. As Michelle stated, the repetition of the phrase "it is" adds a sense of growing tension to the poem. As a musician, I can connect fully with this, and feel as though I am getting more and more into the poem, until it finally begins to let go, as evidenced by the reduction in the frequency of the repetition. It's as if Mueller wanted us to start the poem off slowly, and then go quickly through the middle, slowing down near the end.
I also noticed the use of the word "it" throughout the poem. I feel that it is simply a word used to replace "hope." I think the main purpose of the poem, therefore, is to show that hope can be found in a variety of areas; all we have to do is search for it. It can be found in "dark corners", in "occluded eye[s]", and it "earthworm segment[s]." Not only this, but it can also be found serving essential life functions, such as the "the mouth that inflates the lungs." Summed up, hope is found many places, and it is essential for us for a variety of reasons.
I was also puzzled about the last line. At first it didn't seem like it belonged in the poem, but from the way Juan explains it, it seems appropriate. I also didn't realize that the things being described were getting more complex. Now i understand the word "it" is being used to give a "crescendo" effect to compliment the growing complexity of the organisms: The word "it" is used to describe hope throughout the poem up to "It is the mouth that inflates the lungs of the child that has been born. It is the singular gift". This lines seems to be the height of the poem and the "decrescendo" is signaled by the lines that lack the word "it". I hope i made some sense.
Thanks Ms. Minor for the change of pace.
Just by looking at the title and the first couple of lines, I got the impression that there was an allusion to Pandora's Box. Its never happened before but I could be wrong.
I imagined the "dark corners" to be the dark corners of Pandoras Box with only hope left inside. When "the lights are turned on" and Pandoras Box is opened, the hope left in the dark quickly escapes and causes everything to spring to life.
I noticed a bunch of alliteration particularly with the letter "S." This added a "liquid" feel to the poem but there were also some phonetic intensives like "starry" and "sticks" which implies hope as being strong and durable.
Tabron, as soon as you mentioned Pandora's box, I realized it would be a perfect fit to a poem like this, and I can see the allusion you mentioned.
Juan, I mostly agree with you, except I don't think that hope needs to manifest itself in the worst of times. I believe the poem is simply expressing hope for a better future, one without betrayal. There is little mention of catastrophe in any of the examples. Instead, the potato happily sprouts new growth from its eye, the dog keeps on wagging its tail, and the child takes its first breaths. Although, one can see calamity in the worm's dismemberment, with hope being the thing to lead it to eventual rebuilding.
Like most people have already said, I think the imagery in this poem is amazing! The metaphors that the author has created to describe hope are extremely vivid and show readers that hope is everywhere.
I loved the contrast the author showed in her choice of metaphors. In the first stanza she creates very beautiful images of dandilions and "green angels that sail from the tops of maples". But then in the next stanza, she creates an image that is almost the exact opposite. Earthworm segments and many-eyed potatos are far from the beauty displayed in the first stanza. The author is trying to show through this that hope does not differentiate and is present in all things.
The "earthworm segment/ surviving cruelty" makes me think of when little kids would cut up worms and the worms wouldn't die, but keep living. I think that Mueller is trying to say with the earthworm is that no matter how many times hope is run over and beaten up, it never really dies. Mueller's use of natural beauty in the world brings out the nature of hope; that it manifests in ourself and that "we cannot destroy [hope] in ourselves".
Mueller uses anaphora and metaphor to describe Hope. The repetition of it really drives the idea into our heads, though without the title the pronoun would have no antecedent. Without knowing the poet meant to describe hope I do not know if I would have known it was about hope. The author uses diction that has a very organic and natural denotation and connotation. Just because the "it" acts in words like: "hovers," "explodes" and "shakes" it necessarily personify hope, though it gives it a consciousness or purpose. The actions are more to make metaphors. Eric, I think the speaker is trying to express the nature of hope and how it is not just a human emotion but how it is elemental to our being and is intrinsic to nature itself.
Open wounds.. That would be on your mind, Juan. After that motorcycle accident. Or whatever you decided it was.
I like your idea. And Nupur's statement that hope doesn't differentiate.
At first, I found it a little confusing trying to figure out the purpose for the title, because the actual title wasn't ever mentioned in this poem, but until I read mrs. Minors post, and it made a lot more sense to me. Although I am not a gardener myself, I can imagine what it is like right before planting the seed into the soil. The hope that the single small seed will flourish into something beautiful. "the argument that refutes death,
the genius that invents the future,
all we know of God." those couple lines to me have so much "hope" in them. By personifying it, it makes it have such a greater feeling to the tone of the poem.
Also, the use of "it" in this poem isn't mentioned so many times on accident. I think the purpose of repeating it so many times is to change the beat of the poem into something less smooth, almost as with every "it" it makes the reader emphasize the word which implies there is a second meaning to why Muller used the word "it" so many times.
Haha. I thought Erik had another one of his great posts, and then I read the 5 (maybe 6?) lines of Ms. Minor's response, sorry Erik.
Anyways I do like this non-feminist, non-pessimistic stuff.
The poem itself. I think that hope is personified and in some ways objectified in this poem. It is usually very hard to define words we use so much, and I think hope is one of them, this poem helps to develop that meaning. The poem in essence creates a meaning for hope, rather than trying vaguely to make some meaning of the feelings inside us when we have hope, it takes it outside and shows hope in many other ways.
I think this does show a "quiet hope" but that to me is the only type of hope that matters. Loud hope is either nervousness or the weight of expectations. I think this poem builds the meaning of quiet hope, and defines it for the readers and for I think the author herself, by writing this she probably found hope in many places and therefore was able to make a good poem to define it.
I think this poem is especially potent because it synergistically uses many elements of poetry to create a sort of dynamic atmosphere. The poem talks about how "hope" is dispersed throughout our lives and takes a more prominent role than we make it to be, but the poem also encapsulates the emotions and ideals of "hope" in its tone and mood.
I though how "Hope" was personified , letting it "hover in dark corners,(1)" or hot it "lives in each earthworm segment" made it uniquely personal. I though the use personification especially was the crux of the poem, and integral to developing the meaning.
I believe the climax of the poem comes at the end of the second stanza with the line "all we know of god". This is the ultimate power of hope. For a religious person, God is above all earthly objects. Therefore, the hope of God is the strongest and most powerful reference in the entire poem. After that, I believe the "serum" is referring to hope as something that holds people together. We all have a sense of hope that all people can get along, and this unspoken trust unifies us.
I think the free verse of this poem is really important to the overall meaning. It illustrates the idea that hope can be found many different situations. There is no defined structure for hope, like there is for a defined rhyme scheme or meter. The free verse lets the poem take the direction it wants and drives the poem.
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