Alexis Gonzalez
Essay 2
English 1121 (Prof. Scanlan)
April 19th, Â 2020
Explication of “The Taxi” by Amy Lowell
In the blank verse poem The Taxi by Amy Lowell, the speaker expresses the pain of having to separate from a loved one. The speaker emphasizes the struggle of having to be apart from the one they love, through imagery, connotation, denotation, symbolism, and several other figurative languages. Through a sad tone the speaker describes the suffering that comes through the departure. I will explicate line 4 “I call out for you against the jutted stars” and line 12 “To wound myself upon the sharp edges of the night?”. I choose line 4 and line 12 to explicate because these two lines could convey the whole of the poem through the use of negative diction. Where it helps to convey the speaker’s emotions.
In line 4 and 12 the speaker use of imagery helps express the pain and sorrow through the use of the words such as “jutted”, “wound”, and “sharp”. Using the word “jutted” is a good example of imagery as the word’s meaning is to be stricken. This can be perceived as a person who is crying or in pain as there watching a loved one leave or as they are leaving themselves. The use of the word “wounded” is in fact an example of imagery as the word is defined to be injured. This can be observed as the amount of pain inflicted to the person as the distance between each other increases. Last, the use of the word “sharp” is an example of imagery, as it signifies a fine point that can be used for cutting or piercing. This can be seen as the person feeling as though they are in physical pain because of their emotions.
The pain and anguish the speaker expresses in line 4 and 12 are examples of the use of the literary device symbolism. As the speaker uses the words “Star” and “night” to help emphasize their sorrow, that is caused by having to depart from their loved one. Using the word “star” is to represent the loved person by figuratively linking the person to the stars she is relating the feelings of losing someone to being apart from them. Also, describes how massive their love is as it shines and calls the speaker attention comparing their love toward its. As stars are known to symbolize a person, whom someone may have lost. Using the word “night” is defined as a condition or period reminiscent of darkness. The night is frequently symbolized as being depressing, lonely, and empty. Through the journey of leaving, the speaker expresses the massive emptiness that is encompassing and constantly inflicting emotional pain on the speaker.
Therefore, in Amy Lowell’s blank verse poem “The Taxi” the speaker dwells upon the pain they are feeling because of departing from their beloved. Through the use of the literary devices of imagery, connotation, denotation and symbolism, the speaker stresses the trouble of not being able to be with the person they love. In addition, the speaker use of a depressive tone stresses the struggle that comes with leaving behind their lover. In the explications of line 4 “I call out for you against the jutted stars” and line 12 “To wound myself upon the sharp edges of the night?”. It can be seen that the speaker is crying out to no avail. I explicate the importance of the words “jutted”, “stars”, “sharp” and “night” that have a negative diction and helps describes the struggle. In fact, the speaker’s choice of wording helps shape and expand on the emotion of the speaker’s experiences through the whole of the poem.
