Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Analysis of "Taking Down The Laundry"

The theme of "Taking Down the Laundry" is the sense of loneliness a mother feels whenever the kids grow up leave for College. The poem uses laundry as the main symbol, around which the whole poem revolves. This is clear because the title itself deals with Laundry.

The favorite part of the poem to me are "I watch my son's blue shirt pil free from the line." this line symbolizes the departure of his son.

4 comments:

  1. I liked that quote in which she talks about blue shirt.

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  2. I really like your view of the poem because it was difficult for me to figure out the theme. "The laundry drifts upward on the clothesline, anchored neatly at the corners," was a really good line supporting the idea that the mothers children are moving on with their lives. I think this is saying that they have grown up and being "anchored neatly at the corners," is referring to the lessons they have learned growing up.

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  3. You are very right! Symbolism is a major part of this poem that can be easily overlooked but is very prevalent once analyzed further.

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  4. I felt like the the title of "Taking Down the Laundry" was not so much about the laundry as it was about the mother's children and the sadness of them being gone that it brought to her. The laundry is just the depressive symbolism in this poem that ties the lonely mother to her children that have grown up and moved on. There was alot of great sense details in this poem.."Clean things drying in the gritty city air." That line truly put me in the character's perspective of her location, her emotions, and what good the laundry was actually getting out of it ( nothing)

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