“A Farewell” Blog #11

March 25, 2009 blondie11

“A Farewell,” by Amy Levy is a unique poem that I found to be written in more of a modern tone.  The first thing I noticed about this poem was that every other sentence in the stanza follows a masculine rhyme scheme. I felt that this type of scheme was used in order to emphasize the stanzas and the point they represent.  I also noticed that a bit of cataloging was used when it listed, “With the birds, and the greyness, and the greenness.” I love how when there is a description of something, a list technique is used.  One of the main things I noticed about the way Levy writes is that she brings forth the traditional voice and words used in the early centuries.  I had never actually read any of Amy Levy’s work, and so this being the first time, I really appreciated the traditional poetry.  I feel that this poem focuses strictly on some sort of sailing voyage. It talks a lot about honor and friendship, which I feel is a very unique topic to write a poem about.  I also noticed the interesting fact that Levy opens the poem with the line, “The sad rain falls from Heaven,” and also closes with this line.  I can’t help but to wonder how much religion is actually tied into this poem.  After reading a bit into Levy’s biography, I saw that her family was Jewish.  I don’t know a whole lot about the Jewish religion, but I do feel that some of those beliefs were spewed throughout the poem. Overall, I liked the theme of this poem and the sailing setting it put off.  I feel that Amy Levy is a very in depth type of writer and that she pin points specific settings that make the reader wonder how or even if the situation is related to her life in some way.

Entry Filed under: Senior year

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