Commentary on the poem " Wife Hits Moose".

by michaelayu466x (student)

International Baccalaureate World Literature

Wife hit moose commentary

The poet records a situation where a moose is involved in a car accident and collides with a vehicle ‘’sometime around dusk.’’ The accident is presented in the first three stanzas by first introducing the moose as it ‘lift his heavy primordial jaw, dripping from pond water’’ then introducing the wife as it ‘’drives one of those roads that cut straight north’’. After the introduction of the two main subjects within the first stanza of the poem, the poet describes the moose’s action as they built suspense and tension for the final hit at the end of stanza two where ‘wife hits moose hard’’ after a slight pause with the moose ponders. The third stanza describes the full course of the hit as a full description of the accident in given in a third personal narrative. The accident is presented in a blunt and straightforward manner as the obvious events of the accident are described as they are without any illusions or underlying suggestions. The descriptions are designed to be very clear and short, add this has the effect of capturing the reader’s attention, as well as building up tension and suspense as the vehicle and moose come closer and closer together, until they finally collides.

The poem is written in four stanzas, each with a regular number of lines. In each of the four stanzas, a different stage of the accident is described as the poem progresses from an introductory opening into the meting of the moose and the wife, continuing onto the collision and aftermath, then ending with questioning from the poet. The stanzas are images the dress falls on the second syllable (comment differently!), the alliteration from unstressed to stressed can add to put emphasis upon words such as ‘heavy’, ‘primordial’, dripping’ and ‘drives’ in the first few stanzas. This has the effect of adding emotional weight onto the stressed syllables and suggesting a scene of certainty. This also creates a heavy atmosphere as the poet makes use of foreshadowing to build up tension and suspense prior to the collision between the moose and the wife. This has the effect of adding emotional weight onto the stressed syllables and suggesting a sense of certainty. This also creates a heavy atmosphere as the poet makes use of foreshadowing to build up tension and suspense prior to the collision between the moose and the wife. The unstressed syllables may reflect a sense of thoughtfulness as the poet reflects upon the accident.

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There is a variation within the pace and tone as the poem progressed through the stanzas. The first stanza conveys a sense of foreshadowing as the calmness of the situation contrasts greatly with the violence of the third stanza where there is a sense of running a dine, excitement, and fear. There is a slow pace within the first stanza, which conveys a sense of mysteriousness as the moose readjust itself out of the water as it ‘lifts its heavy, primordial jaw, dripping from pond water’’ and the reader is given no description of the physical appearance of them moose. The moose moves slowly and calmly as the accident that ‘’ the day, for him, is done: time to go somewhere else’’. There is a quickening of pace as the poet introduced the wife ‘’ [driving] one of those roads that cut straight north.’’ There is contrast between the slow, calm movements of the wife. The pace quickens even more during the third stanza, as there is a description of the actual collision between the moose and the wife. (Does not the language capture the qualities of this huge animal? Primordial is key!)

There is use of enjambment between the first two stanzas as the last line of the first stanza flows smoothly onto the first line of the second stanza without pause, the reader is forced to move onto the second stanza without a pause. The poet’s use of enjambment is able to suggest the easy movements of the vehicle as it drives down ‘’a high way dividing the forests not yet fat enough for the paper companies!’’ There is a constant use of punctuation to separate the lines within the stanza as the poet makes use of caesura to cut the lines and separate them. This has the effect of quickening the pace as the sentences become shorter and there are more pauses for the reader to pause and reflect upon the accident. (But also the impression of a report.)

The poet makes use of a metaphor while describing the sharp physical characteristics of the moose's antlers, they are described as 'antlers- as if diamond- tipped- scratch windshield, ear damaged.’’ SIMILE! The poet’s compares the sharp antlers of the moose to being (PREVIOUS HARD/RESILIENT) diamond0tipped. The poem is written in the third person narrative and this has the effect of bringing the reader closer to the writer and allowing the description of the even to be more realistic and is described in the observer’s point of view. The poet also makes large use of onomatopoeia within the third stanza as he describes the actual collision between the moose and wife. The poet describes the collision to be ‘hard, at a slight angle (FUCUS ON QUALITIES) (breaks slammed, car spinning)… The use of onomatopoeia allows for a more realistic description as physical sounds of the collision can be heard and the poet makes effective use of the senses.

The poem is written in a slight broken grammar, and there is a wide use of punctuation; this suggests a sense of panic as the poet is unable to write logically and in full sentences. The description seems to be mad up of short, clear, observations combined together (THIS NEEDS CLARIFICATION- OFF THE POINT HERE)

The purpose of the poem seems to suggest a contrast between the durability of both man-made and natural structures as well as the intelligence of the moose and wife as the poet compares them. The accident seems to be an experiment for the poet, a test to examine whether the moose, created by nature, or the wife, sculpted human kind is more durable. This can be seen as the poet compares the two elements in the third stanza. As the naturally created moose ‘’rolls over the hood, anthers- as if diamonds-hipped-s….’’, the poet suggests that the moose maybe stronger and more durable when compared to the wife as it scratches the windshield and damages the vehicle. The poet may be trying to suggest that even though the vehicle may have been produced using advanced technology, and sculpted by modified material to make it stronger and weather durable, a moose simply created by nature is able to damage it outer shell. Moreover, the rib of the moose becomes imprinted on the fender as the ‘’hoof shelter headlight’’. This conveys a sense of comparison between these two elements of natural and man made as the moose is able to leave a mark on the metal shell of the wife.

The attitude of both the moose and wife implies great contrast with each other as the ‘’annoyed moose lands on feet and walks away’’ where as the ‘’wife is shaken, unhurt, and amazed.’’ The poet’s use of a triplet to describe the wife’s reaction puts emphasis on both the physical and mental shock it has experienced. The fact that the moose is annoyed, and simply walks away suggests that this accident has not put much impact or caused much effect to the moose both physically and mentally. (HUMAN INTELLIGENCE ANALYSES) It is as if the moose becomes involved in these types of accident on a regular basis. However, the wife is ‘’shaken, unhurt, amazed’’ which suggests both shock as the wife’s outer shell has been severely damaged by the moose, but the wife is amazed at the capabilities of the moose as a product of the natural world.

Additional crafts of the writer can be seen within the use of sibilance as the breaks slammed, car spinning’’. This has the effect of conveying a sharp, quick and fast movement as the vehicle slides past and collides with the moose. There is also use of rhetorical question in the last stanza to allow for the reader to reflect upon the accident.

The relationship between the moose, wife, and speaker can be seen to be distinctive from each other during the course of the passage but closely linked together in terms of spiritually and on a personal sense. The distinction between the three can be seen from their different perspectives as the speaker does not understand the moose and has limited understanding regarding the wife, and full understanding regarding their own beliefs. This can bee seen in the last stanza where the speaker does not know if the moose believes in supernatural intelligence, assumes limited knowledge regarding the belief of the wife and fully believed in supreme intelligence themselves. The speaker takes on a role as an observed as they view the accident from a third person’s perspective and both the moose and wife takes on an experimental role for the poet and speaker.

The poets use of repetition in asking the rhetorical question of whether the character of either the moose, wife, or speaker believes in supreme intelligence brings both attention and focus to the reflection of ‘supreme intelligence’. The short last line within the last stanza where the speaker answers their own question with ‘’yes, Thank you. (WHAT TYPE OF TEXT NORALLY ENDS WITH ‘THANK YOU?’) is conclusive and brings a final end to the poem.

In conclusion, I feel that the poet has successfully presented the purpose of conveying the contrasts of the natural and man-made world through the comparison of the moose and wife. The poet’s use of repetition in the second stanza where the ‘’wife his moose, hard’’ is a repetition of the title and suggests that this is symbolic. There is also contrast between the description of the environment between nature and manmade as the wife ‘cuts straight north’ along the highway, which divides the forest. There is a contrast between the man made structure of the highway, and the natural forest. This pots emphasis upon the stark differences, abilities and capabilities of the moose and the wife.