peer review

Alghamdi 1

Alghamdi 2

Depression, Too Is a Kind of Fire by Taylor Mali

A poem is a kind of language is figurative, lines are written separately and often has rhythm repeated. In the poem there is repetition. ”I’m an idiot” has been repeated five times. Repetition usually stresses on the major point in the poem. Poem also uses malapropism “knight in shattered armor” Taylor Mali has changed “knight in shining armor” which is usually the correct saying. This is because his marriage was shattered. There is also simile and in the poem “we used to be able to see them from the south, just as, to the north, we can still see (and by “we” I guess I mean now just me) the Empire State Building”. This is a comparison seeing the Empire State Building and the 40 to 50 people who jumped from the building.

There is also personification where “the Empire State Building which still steeps me in gratitude”. The building has been expressed to have feelings of showing gratitude just like a person. Poems also use irony to pass messages. In this poem the use of irony is clear where the poet says “She worked out at the gym five times a week and smoked as many packs of ultra-lights”. This is because people usually go to the gym to get fit and boost their health but the wife of the persona is also smoking many ultra-lights which are not good for health. Use of symbolism is clear where the “perfect swan” is mentioned. Since the swan dive was very perfect is a symbol of his wife perfection to him. It is only depression that changed her but before she was very happy, amazing and beautiful. The view of perfection on his wife did not change even when she was nearing her death.

Foreshadowing is also used where the persona mentions “And I was going to write a poem about how fire is the only thing that can make a person jump out a window.” In this quote he is able to foreshadow what he is going to do which was to write about another thing that can make someone to jump out through a window apart from fire. I is in this second quote “But depression too, is a kind of fire” that he now write about depression as the other thing that can lead to a person killing themselves by jumping through a window. There is also use of metaphors in passing message in a poem in this case “But depression, too, is a kind of fire”. The two things compared are the fire and depression. They are compared on the basis that both of them can make people commit suicide by jumping out of the window.

Another important thing in a poem is the theme. In this poem it lies on the fact depression is a disease and it can make a person take their own life. The one depressed can commit suicide without caring what other people will say or do. However this menace can be solved easily by using nice words to those suffering from depression and always offering full support to ensure their recovery. In the poem, the persona says “And maybe I’m an idiot for thinking I could have saved her- call me her knight in shattered armor- could have loved her more, or told her the truth about children. But depression too, is a kind of fire”. This means that he could have saved his wife if he had addressed what was causing her stress which was the fact that she could not have children. She died probably over something she was not to blame. In the quote “I’m an idiot because once before we were married she asked me whether I knew we would not be having children if we get married, and I said yes- and because she knew I was lying, she asked if I was really okay with that And because I’m an idiot I again said yes” the writer knows that he would not have children and that’s why later he regrets that he should have told the wife the truth about children. The wife got depressed and yet it was the husband who was to blame for not having children. If he had told her earlier about this then probably she would not have been depressed finally would not have committed suicide.

It is also important to note the tone in the poem. The tone of the poem is generally regretful. “And maybe I’m an idiot for thinking I could have saved her- call me her knight in shattered armor- could have loved her more or told her the truth about children”. In this quote it shows a lot of regrets. The writer feels that it is because he failed to love his wife enough and also lying to her about children. He therefore feels that he is partly responsible for his wife committing suicide and he did not do enough to prevent it.

The reason why I chose this poem is because I can relate with it. There is someone who was depressed and I knew. In the poem the stressed wife took the ultra-lights but the one I knew took chocolates. I was unhappy seeing her very upset and yelling a lot but I could not understand the problem. I couldn’t be angry at her because I knew it was not her mistake. Like in the poem where he “asked her why, (and) She said, Because I hate myself and I want to die”. I did not know what to do to make her happy or feel better. I tried to ignore but got upset of her depression. It is true that “depression is a type of fire too” as said by Taylor Mali.