Comments For Lyssa's Letter

Dear Lyssa,

Your letter to Li-Young Lee was very thorough and easy to follow. I liked how you first talked about the literal story in the poem, since that’s a good way to get started trying to find the deeper meaning in a poem. Then you moved on to talking about how different word choices and specific devices, such as assonance, contributed to the atmosphere and tone of the poem.  I liked how you pointed out specific words and lines, like when you talked about how the speaker felt about all the objects laying around. You pointed out that the speaker used words like “unmade” and “piles”. Then you talked about the change in tone in the third stanza, which I think will help you understand this poem better. It shows you are well on your way to doing so, as you did a very good job of pointing out specific parts you understood about the poem.

The one part of the poem you found difficult, as you stated in your letter, was finding the deeper meaning of the poem. I read over it while reading your letter and after, and this is my interpretation. I agree with you on the literal story being the speaker in the house on a winter day, writing. Then, at the end of the day, the speaker turns on the lamp, and the light reveals the objects around the house.  You said you noticed the speaker’s disdain of the objects, but you weren’t sure why the speaker felt this way about them. My interpretation is that during the day, the speaker was very content to be writing. Then, when the speaker turns the lamp on and sees all the neglected objects, like the plate, cup, and papers, it reminds the speaker of all the worldly tasks, such as washing dishes and putting papers away. This is why the speaker feels disdain toward the objects. Then, in the fourth stanza, the speaker becomes contented again because “the heart’s sphere squared to make a room, / the mind’s love entrusted/to a few words on a page.” This stanza is talking about the speaker remembering all the joy he or she gets out of writing, and how all the worldly objects around him or her don’t compare to that. I hope my explanation is helpful.

Last, the one thing I would add to your letter is when you talk about the poem using assonance, you give examples of specific sounds, but no lines from the poem that contain those sounds. Adding in a few example lines of assonance from the poem would strengthen that portion of your letter. Otherwise, I think your letter is well thought out and organized, which, I think, will make it easier for you to make it into an annotation.

Sincerely,

Melissa Cobb