A Poetry Explication Of Option, By Robert Morgan Essay, Research Paper

Poetry Explication

Option

by Robert Morgan

Written in free verse, this poem dramatizes the chance confrontation of a groundhog and terrier.

As the speaker relates the setting, the poet uses the design of the groundhog den to provide an

alternative, "option", to the latent conflict.

Morgan, asserts the layout of the groundhog den "always has a back door", and in doing so

introduces the option to conflict. The vocabulary, "confronted", used to herald the terrier’s

presence, suggests the potential for conflict. The tone the speaker uses with the word "tearing" in

the line "Tearing at the aproned entrance" confirms the potential for violence.

When the woodchuck exits out the back, the poet utilizes the "option" inherent in the den to allow

the animal to flee the confrontation. As the woodchuck surfaces in weeds or a thicket, the poet’s

rhetoric could imply the choice is cowardly. However, in the following lines the speaker asserts

the wisdom of the choice of freedom over the possibility of being victimized as described in lines

7 and 8, "prisoner or martyr in his own burrow."

In line 9, the speaker again stresses the whistle pig has an "option" for his whereabouts,

respectfully terming it "deniability". It is interesting to note the poet never refers to the

groundhog using the same vocabulary. The speaker chooses a total of three different nouns to

reference the animal, with "whistle-pig" being the last and least flattering language. This could

imply a disrespectful slant if analyzed out of context.

The poet in closing refers to the option taken by the groundhog as "the alibi of absence" and in

doing so, posits the action as a plausible defense. The poet’s choice of vocabulary for the

conclusion provides convincing support and approval for the utility of clever retreat and

evasivesness, the "option".