Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

THE ORIENT EXPRESS, by RANDALL JARRELL Poet Analysis Poet's Biography

"The Orient Express" is a poem by Randall Jarrell, which was published posthumously in 1987, several years after his untimely death.

Explanation:

The Orient Express" is a long poem that reflects Jarrell's fascination with history, travel, and exoticism. The poem tells the story of a young woman traveling on the Orient Express train from Paris to Istanbul during the late 1930s. She observes the various people on board, the changing landscapes outside her window, and her own internal emotional transformations throughout the journey. Jarrell uses vivid, sensory descriptions to bring the train journey to life, and the story has been called both enchanting and haunting in its portrayal of the era.

Poetic Elements:

Form: The poem is composed of five stanzas, each with four lines and a rhyme scheme of ABAB, which creates a musical quality and helps to unify the poem.

Theme: The central message of the poem is the transience of life and the fleeting
nature of human experiences.
Imagery: The poem uses vivid and evocative imagery, such as the description of the Orient Express as a "crimson caravansary" and the image of the stars "fleeing like the children of the rich," to create a sense of fleeting beauty and transience.
Tone: The tone of the poem is wistful and nostalgic, as the speaker contemplates the fleeting nature of life and the beauty of transience.
Sound: The consistent rhyme scheme of ABAB creates a musical quality to the poem and helps to unify it.
Language: The language used in the poem is elevated and formal, reflecting the classical education of the poet.
Figurative language: The poem uses metaphor and simile, such as the comparison of the Orient Express to a "crimson caravansary" and the comparison of the stars to the "children of the rich," to create deeper meaning and layers of interpretation.
Structure: The poem's five-stanza structure creates a sense of unity and allows the poet to develop his theme in a structured and meaningful way.
Symbolism: The Orient Express in the poem represents the transience of life and the fleeting nature of human experiences.
Emotion: The poem evokes a sense of wistfulness and nostalgia in the reader, as the speaker contemplates the beauty of transience and the fleeting nature of life.

In summary, "The Orient Express" is a powerful and evocative poem that uses specific poetic elements to convey the transience of life and the beauty of fleeting experiences. The poem's vivid imagery, wistful tone, and use of metaphor and simile create a sense of beauty and transience, emphasizing the importance of cherishing the fleeting moments of life.

Poem Snippet:

The train lay in the dark station, flickering

Like steel in the wind, like smoke in the night

Till the door slammed and everything was quiet

And she lay back, and felt the wheels move on.