Identity In Jane Hirshfield's Poems

Through the literary techniques of personification, paradox and imagery of simple experiences or objects, Jane Hirshfield manages to simplify the complex emotions and ideas within society by utilizing symbolisms of everyday items and experiences to convey her perceptions about nature and regrets in life as well as analyze the complexity of one’s identity. Perhaps Hirshfield’s Zen Buddhist affiliations contribute to the philosophical tone of her poems in their abstract conceptualization of life experiences and emotions. The universal theme throughout the majority of her poems consist of actualization and an enlightened understanding of life and its significant moments. In her 3 works “Rebus”, “Moment” and “A Hand is Shaped for What it Holds
As seen in what Becker states to describe Jane Hirshfield’s poetry, she seeks “to persuade often with the first person ‘I’ setting out the terms of a poem” (Becker 14). The first person narration instead of impersonal nouns provides readers with an additional element to connect with the speaker. They experience what the speaker is stating in the first person. It is as if they are the ones in the memory. This is just another instance of how Hirshfield connects with readers and forms a stronger relationship in the similarities of readers and speakers. Another aspect of Hirshfield’s writing is the revitalization of the traditional poem. The critic Becker views Hirshfield’s poem as an “example of a traditional form generously modified rendered with exquisite attention to detail” (Becker 15). Hirshfield’s style and formatting of this poem has a similar form of a sonnet or a quasi-villanelle, in that the stanzas and rhyming pattern reference the Shakespearean form of a sonnet. Lastly, Hirshfield’s Buddhist influences is also seen in this poem in how the abstract human conceptualizations are simplified. Her poetry is viewed by critic Becker as a style that “emerges from her contemplative Buddhist practice and a thoughtful development of a brief lyric” (Becker 14). An in depth analysis of her poetry and this poem in particular, highlight a philosophical tone and connection to nature. The simple, yet intricate imagery, style and personification Hirshfield utilizes in her poem “A Hand is Shaped for What it Holds or Makes” helps to immerse the reader in an out of body experience, inserting them into the mind and the skin of the