Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained | ||||||||
Louise Elizabeth Gluck’s poem “Ancient Text” was first published in her collection “Averno” in 2006. The poem explores themes of love, loss, and the passage of time, and does so through a series of stark and vivid images. Explanation: In “Ancient Text,” Gluck begins with an image of a text that is fading away, symbolizing the passage of time and the impermanence of all things. She then moves on to describe the speaker’s lost love, who is compared to a “bright snake” that is both beautiful and deadly. The speaker reflects on the intensity of their past relationship, and how it has now faded away, like the ancient text. Poetic Elements:
Poem Snippet: “We can never know if we have achieved anything. But waiting for us in the stone orchard is a bright snake,“ Copyright (c) 2024 PoetryExplorer | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...1914: 2. SAFETY by RUPERT BROOKE MEMORIAL DAY by WILLIAM E. BROOKS A MOTHER'S LOVE by JAMES MONTGOMERY THE RUBAIYAT, 1879 EDITION: 12 by OMAR KHAYYAM ODES IV, 7. TO TORQUATUS. DIFFUGERE NIVES by QUINTUS HORATIUS FLACCUS AH, BIND MY HANDS by JOHANNA AMBROSIUS FRAGMENTS INTENDED FOR DEATH'S JEST-BOOK: SACRIFICE SELF-COMPENSATED by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES |
|