Mid-range Analysis
Tim McGraw, famous musical artist, once said, “We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere.” This poem takes that idea and proposes a fascinating question. If we were to remove all those influences that we gain, all the worldly experience we have ever accumulated, who would we be? Who are we in our simplest form?“Before the World Intruded” by Michele Rosenthal is a poem that delves into who we are at such a form, without outside influence or conditioning. She does this through describing the state of the uninfluenced mind within the womb itself, as well as employing numerous poetic and literary devices that provide cohesion and highlight certain parts of the poem.
First, the spatial setting established by this poem varies between the womb and the abstract mind of an uninfluenced human being. In the first stanza, Rosenthal not only establishes the former setting, but outlines the purpose of the entire poem. She writes, “Return me to those infant years, before I woke from sleep” (Lines 1-2). The word sleep is critical to the entire poem because it establishes the connection between the uninfluenced state and the abstract dreams associated with sleep. Sleep implies an innocent state, peaceful and free from distractions. Rosenthal uses dreams and sleep to describe the infant’s state, something to be expounded upon in the rest of the poem.
Rosenthal then moves into the abstract spatial setting and describes the uninfluenced state with two abstract ideas. First, she describes the state as a time “when ideas were oceans crashing” (Line 3). This metaphor for her ideas exemplifies the concept of massive potential. She has an “ocean” of ideas lying in her mind, a sea that contains the power to change the world. When the reader thinks of the word “ocean”, massive stretches of water come to mind; Rosenthal uses this to her advantage in conveying a sense of vast potential. Second, she describes the uninfluenced state as a place where “my dreams [are] blank shores of sand” (Line 4). This abstract concept plays off the idea of gaining worldly experience. Having never been influenced, her dreams are blank and empty, waiting to be imprinted with time and experience. This idea is known as “tabula rasa” or “blank slate”, a term coined by Enlightenment thinker John Locke as part of his theory on the human mind. As both Rosenthal and Locke agree, the mind before birth is an empty canvas, waiting to be painted with experience and influence. When the two ideas are put together, Rosenthal’s belief becomes clear. The uninfluenced mind is a blank slate, but one with an ocean of potential.
Throughout the rest of the poem, Rosenthal uses literary and poetic devices to help shape her poem into one of flowing language and to help bring attention to key words. For example in much of the poem, Rosenthal employs a specific rhythm and syllable scheme. Many of the stanzas such as ”Return me to those infant years,/ before I woke from sleep” (Line1) use eight syllables in the first line while using six in the second. A similar pattern is shown in the verse “Transport me fast to who I was/ when breath was fresh as sight” (Line 5-6). These syllable schemes increase the overall rhythm of the poem and result in a cohesive flow from line to line. In addition, Rosenthal makes use of a caesura when she says, “my new parts — unfragmented —“(Line 7). The dashes indicate a pause in speech called a caesura and draws more attention to the word “unfragmented” than would be paid otherwise.
-Robert Chun
Picture Source
First, the spatial setting established by this poem varies between the womb and the abstract mind of an uninfluenced human being. In the first stanza, Rosenthal not only establishes the former setting, but outlines the purpose of the entire poem. She writes, “Return me to those infant years, before I woke from sleep” (Lines 1-2). The word sleep is critical to the entire poem because it establishes the connection between the uninfluenced state and the abstract dreams associated with sleep. Sleep implies an innocent state, peaceful and free from distractions. Rosenthal uses dreams and sleep to describe the infant’s state, something to be expounded upon in the rest of the poem.
Rosenthal then moves into the abstract spatial setting and describes the uninfluenced state with two abstract ideas. First, she describes the state as a time “when ideas were oceans crashing” (Line 3). This metaphor for her ideas exemplifies the concept of massive potential. She has an “ocean” of ideas lying in her mind, a sea that contains the power to change the world. When the reader thinks of the word “ocean”, massive stretches of water come to mind; Rosenthal uses this to her advantage in conveying a sense of vast potential. Second, she describes the uninfluenced state as a place where “my dreams [are] blank shores of sand” (Line 4). This abstract concept plays off the idea of gaining worldly experience. Having never been influenced, her dreams are blank and empty, waiting to be imprinted with time and experience. This idea is known as “tabula rasa” or “blank slate”, a term coined by Enlightenment thinker John Locke as part of his theory on the human mind. As both Rosenthal and Locke agree, the mind before birth is an empty canvas, waiting to be painted with experience and influence. When the two ideas are put together, Rosenthal’s belief becomes clear. The uninfluenced mind is a blank slate, but one with an ocean of potential.
Throughout the rest of the poem, Rosenthal uses literary and poetic devices to help shape her poem into one of flowing language and to help bring attention to key words. For example in much of the poem, Rosenthal employs a specific rhythm and syllable scheme. Many of the stanzas such as ”Return me to those infant years,/ before I woke from sleep” (Line1) use eight syllables in the first line while using six in the second. A similar pattern is shown in the verse “Transport me fast to who I was/ when breath was fresh as sight” (Line 5-6). These syllable schemes increase the overall rhythm of the poem and result in a cohesive flow from line to line. In addition, Rosenthal makes use of a caesura when she says, “my new parts — unfragmented —“(Line 7). The dashes indicate a pause in speech called a caesura and draws more attention to the word “unfragmented” than would be paid otherwise.
-Robert Chun
Picture Source
