Read Ted Kooser's poem "Abandoned Farmhouse" HERE
Discuss how the imagery, symbols, and setting contribute to the tone of the poem.
What might the subtext of this poem be?
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14 comments:
The setting definitely contributes to the somber, lonely mood.
Everyone knows what an abandoned farmhouse is like. Their out
in the middle of nowhere, separated from society and everything
else. "It was lonely here, says the narrow country road," also
contributes to the lonely, somber mood.
The author also uses personification and loads of imagery
to really flesh out the farmhouse which in turn brings out
the somber tone of the poem. By using household objects and
making them speak, it creates a spookier and more abandoned
scene. There's nothing around but some abandoned items.
All the objects are described with great detail too and
all of them help form a picture of the scene and the previous
owners. Lines like "cluttered with boulders and the leaky barn"
shows that the man is a bad farmer without having to actually
say anything though the author does.
I agree with Charlie. The personification gives a very real feeling to the emotion left in the house. The idea of the pieces of the home talking makes it seem like all that is left is the abandoned house.
I also think the final description of the doll with the overalls is a chilling feeling. Picturing a child's doll just thrown in a yard as if left there is anger gives a, as Charlie said quite nicely, somber tone.
I liked this poem! :-)
I agree with Lauren's idea of a house after a hurricane. I got a similar vibe from the poem. The imagery of the poem didn't give me a feel of violence though.
When reading the poem, the setting gave me a feel that it was set during the dust bowl. "But not a man for farming" put an image of a barren farm with nothing left. The subtext of the poem may be describing the after effects of the great depression in the south. The only way to survive was to rely on oneself, and since the man was not a farmer, he couldn't provide for the family. That may be why "[the wife] left in a nervous haste".
I agree that the poems tone is somber and also mysterious. The setting of farmhouse, on abandoned and dead land, add to the mystery of what went wrong there. It struck me how Kooser mentioned the mans size, little beliefs and failed attempts at farming. This made me think the man might have been upset over his failures and (with the obvious reference to stature and strength) may have resorted to violence, like Lauren had mentioned.
This background, in comparison to the wife's description, "A woman lived with him", who eventually, "...left in a nervous haste", further adds to the suspicion of the man and the ominous tone of mystery over what happened.
I agree that the poem has a somber tone. This is particularly accomplished by the fact that only the objects are telling the story, since nobody else has witnessed the happenings of the estranged family. I liked how the poet allowed the objects tell the story, rather than describing every detail. I also agree with lauren about domestic abuse, mainly based on the treatment of the Bible. Overall, the image of the objects talking gives the poem an eerie undertone along with a somber mood.
As Lauren stated, the story is told by the objects in the house. This allows the tone of the poem to have a haunted feel, making the residents of the house seem like ghosts of the past. Referring to the child as "it" also creates a feeling of how the house residents almost did not matter, like they were failures of some sort.
The overrall feel of the poem is isolation, the narrow path, the toys strewn about on the ground, all add up to this eerie feeling of loneliness.
This poem is really effective I believe in portraying this feeling. I enjoyed it!
The authors use of setting, I agree, aids to the image the poem creates. I like the lack of color the author uses, mentioning just objects, without creating any vivid surrounding. This aids in creating the desolate image desired.
I agree with Charlie in regards to the use of personification within the poem. I would, however, like to add that I find the personification is utilized to make the overall tone more somber and lonely.
I find this imagery and use of setting portray a very malignant truth. The "pile of broken dishes by the house" lay a foundation referring to a series of violent occurrences. The final stanza confirms this.
The poems lack of a final truth ("In the Lake of the Woods" anyone!) adds to the mystery surrounding the very detached farmhouse.
I liked this poem, as I feel that the personification was used to illustrate the point of how the residents do not matter, they are just there. Also, the order of which characters were introduced typical family stereotypes of how the man of hte house is first, followed by the woman and child.
After the women left, I aggree with lauren on how there might be a violent undertone to the story. It kinda reminda me of a horror movie on how there would be a near-like abandond house that was meant for farming, yet clearly no one farms, so the imagination is left to wonder what goes on within the house, as "Somethign went wrong"
what i got primarily from this poem is that the objects and conditions of the objects surrounding certain characters speaks more than the characters themselves might. in this poem, each object is personified and actually tells the reader what the reader could come to understand about the family just by reading the description of the objects.
in a sense, the poem teaches how to understand how the descriptions of objects and setting contribute to the characters and plot and the overall tone of the poem.
in this specific case, altho the objects are literally speaking, they do not speak with emotion, they only state facts. this kinda adds to the abandoned feeling. but mostly the description of the objects like "dusty" and "rags" give it a poor abandoned feel, as well as the strewn toys and such.
it's also almost as if the absence of the ppl is echoed in the objects, and what the objects say is the echo of their life. which i think contributes a lot to the poem
The imagery throughout the poem reflects the, as stated already, somber tone. Despite the idea of happiness within a family, the author views the aspect of "family" through a cynical lens. Positive words are fleeting and words such as "cold" and "broken" seem to stick with the reader.
I agree with Jaxon that isolation is the underlying theme of the poem. Are they really a family? It depends on the definition one would attach to the word. However, it's clear from the tone of the poem that the characters have little to no emotional attachment to each other.
I think that the tone of the poem is cold and isolated because of the lack of human emotion. Everything written is matter of fact. The reader is told what has happened and there is little gray area. I love the symbolism of having at first smaller things "speak", such as the jar of preserves, and then eventually the entire house. By listing one item after another the reader can sense the buildup of whatever happened, until the culmination of all those things is the house itself "speaking". As for the situation, I agree with Chris. Although I don't think this necessarily was the dust bowl, I feel like this story could be from many eras. Throughout history farmers have had periods of great struggle. I think that this poem speaks to the overall fight for survival and eventual failure that many of these men have experienced.
Some good explication of the images. Are there any others that have been overlooked? Might they provide a different reading of the poem? What is Kooser's point in creating an elusive subtext here?
I feel like I'm going to end up reiterating a lot of what people have said, but I agree with pretty much everyone that the poem has a somber, melancholy tone highlighted by the imagery of the run-down, neglected farm and the spare language.
I agree with Fig that the poem seems to allude to the plight of the farmer and the obstacles they face. The child's toys, "a rubber cow,/ a rusty tractor with a broken plow,/ a doll in overalls" are all related to farming, and the fact that at the end, they lay abandoned and "strewn in the yard" further illustrate the farmer's failure and also suggest his complete giving up. It feels as if the toys, or, figuratively, farming, were just thrown up in the air in desperation and frustration and left there.
I also saw the undertones of violence mentioned by Lauren and Gaby. In addition to the "broken back" of the Bible, I also saw traces of violence in the "pile of broken dishes" under the man's shoes and the "weed-choked yard." The fact that the Bible is described as "dusty" makes it seem as though it has not been picked up in a while, which could be because the house is, in fact, abandoned, but I also took it as the man might not be as "God-fearing" as originally thought. The way that each object described "says" something about the house and its inhabitants reminded me of collecting evidence for a crime report. Considering all these factors and that the man has the most "evidence" against him, I felt that the poem suggested his guilt in whatever may have happened.
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