In the poemā Deathās Theaterā the main theme is, as the title subjects, death. This theme is shown by the author throughout the poem making the title the controlling metaphor; the author achieved this by making the poem a description to the titleās metaphor, ādeath is theaterā. The author uses this figure of speech to make a description of death using personification as well to give death character and purpose.Ā An example of this is in line 14, āHe sends flowersā.Ā Even though this seems like a loverās act, I think it really symbolizes the flowers used in funerals.Ā What I found interesting in this poem is how the author uses a mischievous tone while conveying a frightening feeling towards death.Ā Lines 1 and 2 shows this āItās not averse to melodrama if everyone gets shotsā¦ā Ā I also Ā think the poet choose very carefully his vocabulary to transmit deathās power and control in a personās life, āknocking them dead, each show a limited run…curtain up, curtain down.āĀ As you can see this poem is a description of deathās actions and enjoyment toward his work, and this couldnāt be accomplish without giving it the feelings and characteristic of a theater but also of the director of a play. In other words the author wants to tell us that no matter who you are death will always find you and you life is in its hands.
I complety agree with your interpretation. I chose this poem to do my essay and it was just so interesting in describing what the poet is trying to say to us as a reader. My other interesting intrepetation was trying to figure why he refered to death as “he”why not a female?. I thought maybe it is because male is figure is more strong and just have more of a force. In line 10 he refers to the curtain going up and down which I though refered to life. Inlife we have good days and bad days, not everything is always perfect. And your opinion of the flowers I thought also the same because flowers can either symbolize a happy even or a sad event. It was just a very vivid image. If one reads the poem at least twice you can get the sense of power in it. I really enjoyed it.
I also agree with your interpretation. The author uses a controlling metaphor to compare death to a theater. By doing so the author conveys a more comical tone to the poem that would normally be sad. For example from the first line ” he’s not averse to melodrama if everyone get’s shot or….” These lines sort of lighten our thoughts about death bringing us back to the first line and possibly the theme of the poem, death is not all trajedy.
I agree with your view on this poem. Author is comparing death to a theater. Death is not a tragedy it is a way of life. Author is trying to show us that if you were born you will die one day anyways. He is comparing theater to death because theater is something that makes people happy, but at the end cry just like death, people make you happy death at the end makes you cry.
I completely agree with rosasjsg on her or his interpretation of Death’s Theater. I can see the authors brillant use of the title as of eye catcher something that makes you say “hmmmm… I wonder what this is about”. I thought about something after I read the poem twice. In the title perhaps the word Death is people dying and the Theater being the real world. As of saying people die and that’s what the real world is just like in a movie or a play where someone gets killed. Also, in my opinion the author is showing that compared to life there is a plot, a beginning, middle/climax and an end.
As we are witnessing life the beginning is your baby born and the scenes of his or her early childhood growing up. The middle/climax is where all the action happens such as your child’s education life, teens years, puberty hits, the university/college experience, first career, and marriage or not. The end is where you become old and have grandchild to take care of and in the end die. The theater resembles you create events and things in your life or things just come to you. Life is exactly like a movie and theater.