Imagery In Hernia

The use of concrete imagery in the beginning of “Hernia” allows readers to understand the significance of spring before the speaker explains it. The speaker sets the scene and allows it to transform throughout the poem through the use of concrete imagery. From the first line “the gingko bones shiver a bit, dream of full bloom” to “the coat of green slowly fill the wiry limb” readers can clearly tell that poet is trying to convey that the season is changing from winter to Spring. This is significant to the speaker because this year he gets to slow down and watch the gradual changing in the trees, flowers and the weather in general.

Most of the imagery in this poem engages the readers sense of sight however, in line nine the poet uses imagery that engages the readers sense of earing. “So cold that the car cough and spills (9).” The poet’s use of both visual and sonic imagery shows the reader that he has a mastery of the use of images and that he knows how to tie the image to one of the readers’ five senses. The use of imagery to describe the change from winter to spring from line one to 25 almost made me question why the poem is called “Hernia”. However the poet starts a new string of imagery in line 26 that discloses why the
However I think the poem that it relates to most is “How to fall in love with your Father”. I think they are connected because they are both poems about finding comfort in something after a surgery. “Hernia” is about finding comfort in spring and enjoying the chance to see it all happen before the speaker’s eyes. “How to Fall in Love With Your Father” is about the father using his child as a source of comfort and strength after surgery. That poem also implores a strong use of concrete imagery. In stanza four it talks about how it is not a normal love poem, which is a message that is also being conveyed in