has his site, he does not have his hands which are essentially needed to search
through the leaves. The poet uses this description as it is symbolizes man searching for something that cannot be found. It is therefore implied that the man could be searching for his morals and has played some part in causing the tree to be in the state that it is in. The man’s actions have not only effected
the tree but also its inhabitants, the birds.
The poem continues by showing the reader another situation of man’s reckless
behaviour.
‘ A stagnant marsh.
On a mossy stone sits the man angling. The hook
is stuck in the waterlily.
The waterlily is stuck in the mud ‘
To be fishing in a stagnant marsh is extremely absurd as it would not result to anything for the man. It is assumed that he is only involved in such a senseless activity as he is desperate to survive. In his pursuit to to fulfill his own needs, he destroys a beautiful waterlily. Just as the wingless birds had been robbed of their freedom so is the waterlily as the waterlily is now stuck andcannot flow freely in the water. Once again, a dramatic and moving example of how man destroys nature in a selfish and ignorant manner is given.
The next stanza is very significant as it continues the theme of how man’s actions affect nature, includes elements of irony and includes the pivotal point of the poem.
“ An overgrown ruin.
In the grass the man sleeps sitting up. A raindrop descends
in slow-motion through space.”
Once again the poet starts the stanza by giving the reader a brief description of a scene so the reader finds themselves creating vivid scenes using their imagination. This is effective as it gets the reader more involved in the poem. The ‘ overgrown ruin’ carries on the concept of tarnishing beauty. All the scenes and situations that the poet describes have come to be in the state that they are in due to the ignorance of man. If the tree, pond and ruin had all been looked after and cared for by man instead of abused and neglected, they’re beauty would not be destroyed. The man sleeping sitting up against a ruin shows the increasing desperation of the man. This increase of desperation to survive could be due to his realisation of the affects of his actions. Sleeping against the ruin also shows how the ruin has been abused. A ruin is something of beauty and worship but after having been neglected and unseen to, it has just faded into the rest of the destroyed surroundings. The poet then goes on to use patheticfallacy to alter the mood of the poem. Raindrops are almost like a symbol of a teardrop and this gives the poem a much more sincister, dark edge to it. In the same line, the poet also mentions ‘slow-motion’ this description slows down the entire poem and everything from this point onwards seems to go at a more tranquil pace as though something is coming to an end. The ironic part of the stanza comes when the poem reads,
‘ Somewhere in the grass a pike flounders ’
The reason why this situation is ironic, is because the man had gone to such great lengths as to fish in a stagnant marsh in order to try and find some food and little does he know but what he has been searching for is right beside him. This image is so effective as not only does it get across the message that what you are looking for may be right underneath your nose but it also starts the turns the poem around so that nature is getting it’s revenge on man; punishing him for his mistakes.
In the next stanza, the poet assures the reader of the complete works of man by continuing to explain about another one of his doings.
‘ A dry well.
At the bottom lies a dead fly ’
Just like the tree,pond and waterlily, if the well had not been abused and was actually looked after by man it would not be in such a sorry state. The poem takes a horrific turn when the fate of man is slowly revealed.
‘ In the wood nearby
a spider gropes through the fog.
The man is trapped in a spiderweb on the horizon ’
It is in these few lines that the poet focuses on showing the revenge that nature takes on man. The image of a spider travelling through fog, searching for the man, getting ready to avenge him is extremely terrofying and puts a thrilling element into the poem. By being trapped in the spiderweb the man is destined for death, he cannot escape his fate and the idea of the man now suffering at the hands of nature instead of vice versa is very compelling and reader feels the need to read on to find out how sevre the punishment will be.
The last stanza ends the poem with a dramatic and grave ending.
‘ An abadoned ant hill.
Above a little woodmarsh floats the man. The sun
is just going down. The man has already stopped growing.’
By saying that the man is ‘ floating’ and that he has ‘ stopped growing’, it is concluded that the man is dead. Choosing such a drastic fate get’s the poet’s message across to the reader, leaving no room for empathy or sympathy. The twist in the poem of nature successfully receiving compensation for man’s behaviour is secured by the last line of the poem.
‘ The ants gather on the shore. ’
It is as though the ants represent nature and are the audience that witness the death of the man.
After reading “ Under the Ramshackle Rainbow” the reader understands perfectly, the aim of the poem. The aim of the poem is to get across a message that one should respect their surroundings and instead of neglect or abuse them, giving back to them what you take. If one should act in greed and only take from nature, they will have to suffer the consequences. The aim of the poem is put forward effectively by using methods such as patheticfallacy, irony and dramatic twists. The poet also uses enjambement to give the poem a more distorted rhyme and structural appearance that emphasises the destruction and ruin of the poem.