Peters showed how one’s life is dependent on an item such as an umbrella when airborne. This is showed in the first two lines in the third stanza. Peters’ use of the sentence “in a windy place” adds to the dramatic of how one’s life is in danger when riding a parachute. A windy place symbolizes how the situation is in turmoil and dangerous, as the jumper has no control of his life. But, in the next two stanzas, Peters showed readers how a fatal situation could suddenly become peaceful. He used the words such as “the warm earth” to symbolize how the land on Earth, which is home for humans, as welcoming. It also gives the parachute man a sign of relief and calmness from the thrilling experience when diving.
In the second to last stanza the Earth itself is also personified in the poem, The Earth travels in orbit, it does not know where to go, which is similar to the parachute man airborne, as the men does not know where the parachute is going to land him. The tone of the poem also slows down at the end, and peters used words such as condensed time, earth has nowhere to go, awkward fall and we are at the starting point. The tone of the poem also shows how the parachute man is in a situation that is calm and safe, because the tone of the poem was faster in the middle part due to the fast paced nature of riding a parachute.
The rhythm used in the Parachute supported the current flow of the situation. It enabled readers to view what is the current state of the parachute’s man’s feelings and puts readers straight to the experience. Peters’ is suggesting that a new experience is worth to try but also is saying to his readers how there are risks to every action taken.
Otherwise Essay-Alwin 11A
McQueen’s Otherwise presents the suffering of being in a long distance relationship and the differences of setting between the couple. The title of the poem, Otherwise indicates what is the current reality and what is hoped for. The division of the poem into two stanzas is also a symbol about the current reality of the relationship and what the lovers hope for.
In the first stanza, McQueen shows the current situation that the lovers are facing and is showed upon in the second line, “from an opposite country”. The use of the word opposite country represents how there is a difference or separation between the lovers. The separation is not just by geographical distance, but how the currently have different habits. The different habits is showed in the lines “and I watch often not traffic or television, but hour by hour the huge tide”. The speaker here is characterized by living aside with nature, while its lover is characterized by living aside by urbanized areas. The contrast between the examples symbolizes the long distance that they are separated, as the traffic or television is artificial noise while huge tides come from nature. McQueen uses details in the last lines of the stanza to further symbolize how the speaker is far away from its lover. The details that McQueen showed are embodied in things that come from nature, such as small shells, wet brown kelp and fishes sliding through.
In the second stanza, McQueen shows the situation that the lovers hoped for. The first two lines of the stanza, “If you were with me now, on my favorite beach” suggest this theme. The notion of playfulness in a relationship is showed in detailed by McQueen by the use of romantic imagery. The words” Seismograph of silver peaks darkening to indigo” showed how feelings in a relationship could change, from showing affection for each other to having fights. The notion for affection for one another is further showed in the lines” I would slip my cold hand in your pocket” and “right to the very end”. It shows that the couple hope they can’t be separated unless by death, as symbolized by the using of the words “right to the very end”. The Pacific Ocean in the poem personifies unity between the differences of the lovers. Geographic wise, the ocean reaches every continent on Earth, showing how even though the lovers are parted, they will always have something in common, which is the Pacific Ocean.
The one sided view on the relationship in the poem suggest to readers that only the lover who is talking is the only one who cares about the relationship. She is the only one stepping out and expressing her opinions and feelings of the relationship. The setting contributes to the understanding of the poem in a way that it shows readers the difference in the couple’s current living situation and adds more romantic feel to the story.
The setting used by McQueen gave readers better understanding of the poem and more detailed imagery. Its structure symbolizes the situation of the speaker and McQueen showed the differences between the lovers by comparing opposite factors. Thus, McQueen’s message of showing the suffering of long distance relationships is better understood and interpreted.
