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The Monkey Poem
| Critical Analysis #1 |
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The Monkey Poem |
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Ted Reynolds Member
since 1999-12-15
Posts 331 |
When it's light, see monkey play, Thinks it always will be day. When it's dark, he shrieks with fright, Thinks it always will be night. All about the dusk comes creeping, Eyes of predators are peeping. Any moment now he'll see How far he is from any tree. Then he'll shiver in his fright. Shiver, monkey, all the night. Don't look, monkey, all your toys, All your high-jinks and your joys Are about to tumble down. Still our monkey plays the clown. Monkey always does, by day, Think the night will stay away, Deals in scoffs instead of prayer-- Suddenly the night is there. Then he scrabbles for some light. Scrabble, monkey, all the night. Monkey, he is clever, true. Monkey see what monkey do! But build a bridge or roll a pill, Monkey, he is monkey still. Though you build tree-cities high, Swing in planes across the sky, Though you tame electric light, Later, sooner, comes the night, Claws that scratch and jaws that bite-- Shudder, monkey, all the night. [This message has been edited by Ted Reynolds (edited 03-06-2000).] |
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| © Copyright 2000 Ted Reynolds - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Poertree Senior Member
since 1999-11-05
Posts 1359UK |
Ted Why does this poem fill me with a sense of foreboding and familiarity? The rhyming couplets and the meter should make it a light read but these are overlaid by the message which is anything but "light". The net result is to produce a feeling of uneasiness and perhaps make the reader focus even more strongly on the meaning. Conceited and self satisfied politicians, businessmen and indeed all the human race would do well to drop their silly preoccupations for just a minute and give this poem a read. Whether some would understand it, or even want to, is a matter of some doubt however. Philip [This message has been edited by Poertree (edited 03-06-2000).] |
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Kirk T Walker Member
since 2000-01-13
Posts 357Liberty, MO |
I love the sound and rythym of this peice--but the MOOD! The mood definitely makes this poem. It goes from very playful to gradually dark. Although I have a hard time extracting an exact meaning from this poem, it is applicable to several different scenerios. Whatever, the intended meaning, the mood makes this poem wonderful. The mood of this poem is sort of creepy to me-- no offense meant at all; indeed I think this poem is great! |
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Trevor Senior Member
since 1999-08-12
Posts 700Canada |
Hi Ted, Well when I read the first stanza I was like..."What the...??", but fortunately I read on. I too liked the way the rhyme has a childish tone but conveys a strong message. "When it's light, see monkey play, Thinks it always will be day. When it's dark, he shrieks with fright, Thinks it always will be night. All about the dusk comes creeping, Eyes of predators are peeping. Any moment now he'll see How far he is from any tree. Then he'll shiver in his fright. Shiver, monkey, all the night." Took me a couple of reads to fully understand what I thought was your message. Solid opening that hints nicely at a metaphor without giving it away. "Don't look, monkey, all your toys, All your high-jinks and your joys Are about to tumble down. Still our monkey plays the clown. Monkey always does, by day, Think the night will stay away, Deals in scoffs instead of prayer-- Suddenly the night is there. Then he scrabbles for some light. Scrabble, monkey, all the night." Maybe "scrabble" should be "scramble"? I didn't like the clown line....seems too cliched. I think you did a pretty good job at alluding to the monkey metaphor in this stanza. "Monkey, he is clever, true. Monkey see what monkey do! But build a bridge or roll a pill, Monkey, he is monkey still. Though you build tree-cities high, Swing in planes across the sky, Though you tame electric light, Later, sooner, comes the night, Claws that scratch and jaws that bite-- Shudder, monkey, all the night." I thought most of this stanza came across as forced. Lines 4-8 were really good and seemed to fit well but the first two were cliched, line three was confusing "roll a pill"?..is that like pop a pill?, if so it gets kinda lost next to building a bridge and the last three lines I thought were forced as an ending. All in all I liked the poem, I think more so for the format and the meaning within it rather than content. Thanks for the read, take care, Trevor |
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jbouder Member Elite
since 1999-09-18
Posts 2534Whole Sort Of Genl Mish Mash |
Ted: I'm doing my tardiness penance now so please forgive me. I can't say much more than I am glad I stopped and read this. I was wondering where you were going with this when I started my read (I echoed Trevor's "What the ...?" -- funny how the elipses hater uses elipses generously. Did you notice that too?). The playful wording, stacato rhythm and rhyming couplets give this a deceptively light sound. You dropped a few hints along the way to start steering the mood in the direction of the ominous (kinda like that guy on Stephen King's storm of the century singing "I'm a little teapot ..."). Good work here, Ted. Jim |
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