Poem Analysis: Northern Light
POEM ANALYSIS (800 words)
Instructions
Your analysis should include an objective description of the story and your analysis MUST include discussion of at least three literary devices that the author uses (image, figurative language, point of view, theme, setting, character, structure, dialogue.). Do not discuss whether you like
or don’t like the work.
Don't include any value statements and don’t use first person. Proofread your analysis for typos, grammar,
punctuation, and spelling errors.
here is a copy of the poem choice
Northern Light
by Jillian Christmas
Stepping off the plane in Whitehorse
the last thing I expect to feel
is home
not quite alone
but close enough
here in this great black north.
As we drive away from the airport
Chris points out the window
That's Antoinette's, Caribbean food
if you're feeling in need of a pick-me-up.
She's from Tobago.
And I'm not sure if he knows
it’s the same island that bred these bones,
that just the song of its name
is home.
What strange things are we
Creatures of the Diaspora,
treasures of the Caribbean Sea,
knocking our knees together in parkas
teeth chattering
where the thin trees stretch high the heavens
to seek the queerest light?
What strange escapes have we made
to want to call this place home?
And I do.
I do
feel the ghosts
of women not unlike us,
whose resilience and fortitude
pulled more than gold and dust and opportunity
from this blistering cold.
I am told the Alaska Highway
was an engineering feat
constructed under the doubt
and bloody weight of Jim Crow.
What strange things are we
that we see a barrier
but build a road?
I know this to be true:
There is not always a way around,
but I promise you a way through
if we can remember both the haunted
and the Hunters,
if we can be courageous enough to dig
into the depths of humane capabilities,
stretch our capacities for tolerance and love.
How strange and brave are we?
It's winter here
yet it feels like everywhere,
the world is turning cold and stark.
Oh nation,
who will birth this light
work, build, nurture, fight
for a place we can all call home
regardless of difference,
celebrate our place in this shared story,
this fierce resistance?
Some think the dark is full of terrors
because they cannot see what it conceals
or perhaps they do not know
that the dark itself is a precious gift
and we, strange creatures of the shimmering north,
can be the light that it reveals.
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Poem Analysis
The poem under review in this paper is Northern Light, which Jillian Christmas composed. It uses a cultural setting and appeal to evoke an idealized image of two different cultures and socio-economic differences in the reader's mind. When focusing on the first stanza, we see Jillian arriving in Whitehorse, Northern Canada and she wants to feel home, just like in Tobago. There are a cultural shift and geographical difference in Whitehorse that compels her to say she wants to feel at home. In essence, life in Whitehorse is not as collaborative as in the Caribbean. While driving away from the airport, Chris assures her that Whitehorse can still feel at home. If she wants something that can cheer her up, then it's the Caribbean food from Tobago. The presence of Caribbean food in Whitehorse captures the theme of cultural diversity in the poem.
The second stanza is about the intense climate and the geographical difference between Whitehorse and the Caribbean. Jillian admits the people from the Caribbean are strange. She figuratively refers to them as creatures and treasures of the Caribbean Sea. The Caribbean is in stark contrast to Canada because of the weather. In Whitehorse, the weather is unbearable because visitors keep knocking their knees while clothed in parkas. By integration of the environment in the poem’s theme, the poet achieves ample comprehension by the reader. For example, the poet writes that ‘Where the thin trees stretch high the heavens to seek the queerest light (Christmas, lines 21-22).’ Thin trees and minimal sunlight are the defining features of the Whitehorse environment. The poet further attests to their relentless attitude (people of the Caribbean) to call Canada home. The luxuries environmental luxuries enjoyed in the Caribbean are unmatched. The poet also admits the hardworking nature of Canadian women who, unlike them, were resilient and worked hard to make a decent living and many opportunities for themselves in the cold. Here, Jillian attests to Canadian women's hardworking nature and independence, something that the Caribbean women can copy. All it takes is resilience and grit.
In the third stanza, Jillian touches on the sensitive issue of racial discrimination. She gives the example of the Alaska Highway, an engineering marvel constructed under the oppressive laws of Ji...