Ask Me by William Stafford: Poem Analysis
Student’s Name:
Instructor’s Name:
Course Code:
Date of Submission:
Ask me
This is one of my favorite poems as it has allowed me to relate in so numerous ways when it comes to life. All through my life there have been many ups and downs, and many people that have come and gone; but no matter what the series of events that I have come across have made me who I am today. There have been many people that have played important roles in my life but as William Stafford entails people will come and go; and people will play all kinds of roles in your life. When people make inquiries from me whether I would take anything in my life back if i had a chance, I answer with no since the people I have been involved with and the blunders I have made shaped who I am today.
The poem is written in the future tense; from the first person perception of "I". This is style isvery different from other poets. Stafford reaches out to audiences in the first line with the words “ask me”. Stafford writes of a future occasion when questions will be asked of him.
It begins with a dialogue between the orator and another person. We have no reason to believe that the orator is not Stafford himself. The other person could be the audience, but sounds more like a close companion or at least somebody who knows him well. The poem begins: “Some time when the river is ice ask me mistakes I have made. Ask me what I have done in my life.”(Stafford) In these two sentences, he brings in two things: first, what the poem is regarding (his life), and second the main metaphor (the river iced over). For the rest of the first stanza he talks of the consequence other people have had whether good or bad. Or somewhat he is asking the listener to ask him; which is odd since the second verse begins: “I will pay attention to what you say” (Stafford). The second stanza reddens out the metaphor of the ice-covered river. That while it looks immobile; what's beneath is a different story: “We know the current is
Instructor’s Name:
Course Code:
Date of Submission:
Ask me
This is one of my favorite poems as it has allowed me to relate in so numerous ways when it comes to life. All through my life there have been many ups and downs, and many people that have come and gone; but no matter what the series of events that I have come across have made me who I am today. There have been many people that have played important roles in my life but as William Stafford entails people will come and go; and people will play all kinds of roles in your life. When people make inquiries from me whether I would take anything in my life back if i had a chance, I answer with no since the people I have been involved with and the blunders I have made shaped who I am today.
The poem is written in the future tense; from the first person perception of "I". This is style isvery different from other poets. Stafford reaches out to audiences in the first line with the words “ask me”. Stafford writes of a future occasion when questions will be asked of him.
It begins with a dialogue between the orator and another person. We have no reason to believe that the orator is not Stafford himself. The other person could be the audience, but sounds more like a close companion or at least somebody who knows him well. The poem begins: “Some time when the river is ice ask me mistakes I have made. Ask me what I have done in my life.”(Stafford) In these two sentences, he brings in two things: first, what the poem is regarding (his life), and second the main metaphor (the river iced over). For the rest of the first stanza he talks of the consequence other people have had whether good or bad. Or somewhat he is asking the listener to ask him; which is odd since the second verse begins: “I will pay attention to what you say” (Stafford). The second stanza reddens out the metaphor of the ice-covered river. That while it looks immobile; what's beneath is a different story: “We know the current is