Elisabeth And Other Poems Essay, Research Paper

A Review of Elisabeth and Other Poems

Elisabeth and Other Poems reflects the many aspects of life, including relationships with family members and other loved ones, religion, and hardships of growing up. Many of these poems explore difficult experiences, such as a battle with Cancer, as well as the sentiments of being a minority in a fairly unaccepting society. These poems allow the reader to experience life through the author s perspective and feel his passions and emotions through each of his many different adventures and relationships. Through these poems, such as Poem From the Farm, the reader can attempt to understand the labor and effort that was necessary when living on a farm. Each poem contributes ideas with which the reader can try to identify, and the details included in these poems make it easier to do so.

Poems about family members, such as Little Black Girl, allow the reader to become acquainted with the family members of the author, and glance into the life of the author through his emotions toward these people in his life. Using terminology such as So sweet, so gentle, so kind, (p 4) the reader can assume that the relationship between the author and the subject of the poem is a pleasant one, and that the author holds a high opinion of his daughter, about whom he writes in this poem. In The Black Madonna, readers begin to respect Elizabeth, for whom the poem is written, as it is evident that the woman in this poem is a hard worker and determined to complete a day s work in order to accommodate her children. This poem demonstrates the great effort put forth by this woman and the satisfaction that this work brings, knowing that she has done a deed so significant and necessary.

Poems such as After Graduation touch on concepts such as materialism and knowledge. This poem stresses the importance of books and how technology has become such a significant aspect in society. The graduate in this poem eventually uses money as a tool for power, and emphasizes the significance of money in society today. This poem expresses how the wealthy can acquire power simply through money, but how the knowledge obtained through literature is important in the rise of power. The poems in Elisabeth and Other Poems explore themes such as romance, labor, and family all of which are important elements in life and can make one feel powerful even without the possession of money.

The relationships in these poems stress the importance of family and friends and emphasize the priorities of each subject mentioned in these poems. In The Black Madonna, this woman puts in long hours of labor in order to support those whom she loves, and the strenuous work is worth the agony for her, simply because she is able to bring joy to her children s lives. The relationships discussed in these poems are strong and can withstand the hardships of life as a minority. Material objects are not the top priority in these lives, and the dedication within the souls of each friend and family member mentioned in these poems surpasses all material objects and monetary wealth that many see as a source of power.