Commentary on a poem entitled After the Flood
Uploaded by seanc on Sep 15, 2005
After the Flood is a well written poem about an individual looking down on the damage caused by a flood. The observer takes a walk past the river and discovers its natural beauty as well as its incredible force to destroy. The poem’s main interesting aspects are the portrayal of the observer by the content of the poem, the role of the river in the poem and finally the mix of feelings which the poem arouses through its use of literary devices.
The first significant thing which makes this poem good is the way in which the read can learn about protagonist of this poem. Firstly one can learn that the observer in the poem is bright. The observer’s analysis of the water level and the cause of its high level demonstrate that he can analyze and synthesize information. His intelligence is also connected to the location of the action in the poem. “I walked to the Jersey side” suggests that the observer is from Jersey which is on the East coast of the USA, a region associated with top schooling and stereotypically great universities like Harvard or Yale. . . .. The next impression which the reader gets is that the observer is very familiar with the area. There is an impression of warmth and security from the observer. This is achieved through his stories “I remembered how” and “Two days before” which illustrate that the observer has a long history with Jersey. The impression of warmth is also achieved by the choice of the word “familiar” which has the liquids “l” and “r” which create a flowing and mellifluous effect.
Continuing, the reader gets an impression that the observer likes to compare the present with the past. This is visible in the poem when the observer states “More quiet the swollen water seemed than I had expected” and “Now it seamed noisy again.” These two quotes demonstrate that the river was quiet when the flood came but now, in the present, became loud again. The observer also makes the link between the past and the present by the use of imagery. When he talks about the flood he says “swollen” when he addresses the period after the flood he refers to a “sea-gull.” Through this use of symbolism he demonstrates that the flooded river was slow and large while the normal river is...