Explication Of Sharon Olds Poem, Late Poem To My Father :: essays research papers

Sharon Olds poem Late Poem to My Father exposes the profound effect that childhood combat injury can have on someone, even in adulthood. The speaker of the poem invokes sadness andpity in the reader by reflecting on the traumatic childhood of her father, and establishes a causeand effect relationship between the abuse he endured as a child and the habituation he developson alcohol as an adult. The idea of emotional retardation caused by childhood experiences is notuncommon, especially in our modern world of prevalent substance abuse, dysfunctional families,and child abuse. However, Olds poem is a moving testament to this tragic overtaking of innocence dueto the powerful imagery she weaves throughout the first half of the poem. In addition, Oldsskillfully uses metonymical language and deliberate line breaks throughout the poem to develop thedismal sorrow her speaker feels patch reflecting on the childhood of her father.The poem opens with the speaker experiencing an epiphany whi le contemplating on herfathers childhood, and later in the poem we learn that this contemplation is more specificallyfocused on the causes of her fathers dependence on alcohol. In the first seven lines of the poemshe uses descriptive details to establish a dark, foreboding image of the setting. For example, inlines two and three she describes the fellowship with unlit rooms and a hot fireplace. She goes onto portray her father as a boy of seven, helpless, smart,... which reinforces his innocence in thisimagery of darkness. It is enkindle to note how the speaker distinguishes these details, yet inlines three and six, she refers to her fathers father only as the man. She intentionally refers tohim in this flat personal manner so as to convey to the reader that he is unworthy of any characterization. Shealso omits characterization in line six when she writes, there were things the man did heartfelt you,purposely emphasizing things with no other explanation. This leads to the assump tion that someactions are too abominable to convey in words, thus leaving us with a vast array of uncomfortablepossibilities to consider. The description of the sweet apples picked at their peak...rotted androtted,in lines nine and ten establishes a comparison between her fathers loss of innocence, andthe ripe fruit being left to waste. In line eleven she writes, past the cellar door the creek ran andran which is a contrast to the apples being confine within the cellar (like the child in the house),and the creek being on the outside, where the idea of escape exists.