Analysis of Poem I Am Waiting by Lawrence Ferlinghetti Essay Example

📌Category: Literature, Poems
📌Words: 645
📌Pages: 3
📌Published: 11 June 2021

Introduction

Writers were, are, and will always be the representatives/ spokespersons of their society. They are known for writing nothing but the truth, truth without “toppings”, truth where society lives and faces in daily routine. Throughout whole human history, we know how powerful their words can be. Words written by less powerful pen: they were and stay one of the greatest “intangible” weapons used towards their governments, governments which forgot about their people and duties.  

And one of the great examples of that is poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The poem I am waiting by Lawrence Ferlinghetti is one of the greatest and most powerful poems of American literature. In his work, he repeatedly uses the phrase “I am waiting...” but it is not just him who is waiting but the whole society. They are waiting for the better change, for the change in society, in the system, in nature, in culture, and in themselves:

“I am waiting for the storms of life to be over

and I am waiting to set sail for happiness”

He uses his voice and his powerful pen to deliver society's voice to the authorities as well as to the people. From these lines, we can see anxiety, how society is fed up with suffering, injustice, and problems. Even though the author lives in America he still wishes for real freedom, real accomplishment of the American dream, and for the rebirth of wonder:

 “I am waiting….. 

rebirth of wonder” 

by constantly repeating this phrase he is trying to show how disappointed in the government, in people ….. and the author trying to “knock the authorities and people’s hearts”  that we need to stop all the madness we cause and suffer from war, nationalism, racism, separatism, hatred, show-offs, etc….. Also in these lines, we see hope, he believes deep in his heart for the rebirth of wonder - the rebirth of a new and ideal life. 

As we mentioned before writers are the representatives/ spokespersons of their society as well as are representatives of their creative circle and maybe because of that they mostly feel pressure and anxiety, which leads to self-struggle. And one of the examples of that is the poem “The love song” by Alfred Prufrock. From the title, most of the readers assume that they will read a great poem full of romance and intrigues, but too early to enjoy it because this work is all about searching for the meaning of life, self-struggle, and fear: fear of rejection, fear of loneliness, fear of aging, fear of diffidence, etc.

Yes, the author has feelings and a love song to sing but because of his indecisiveness and cowardness, he couldn't express it to the address and suffer from it. He is kinda “behind invisible bars” where he can't perform full living. 

Both of the works present thoughtful observations of their lives. In each poem, the author makes observations of social events. It is clear that they have specific thoughts, ideas and feelings about their surroundings. 

Now let's compare these two works: first of all both of the works are dramatic poems. Secondly, both of the authors allow readers to explore their inner world, by sharing their feelings. And the main theme in these works - their lack of contentment: in “I am waiting” the poet dissatisfied with the government's job and people’s way of living and in “The love song” the author feels discontent about himself, his lifestyle, and about his creative circle, which put them in depression. There are other similarities between these two poems in both works we can see how they describe real reality, describe it without "colorings". Last but not least, even though both poems are negatives, still on both poems we can see hope. “In I am waiting” hope for “rebirth of wonder'', in “The love song”  that his time will come.

Сonclusion

In conclusion, these poems are so powerful and valuable for the readers, because of their valuable words and lessons. After reading these pieces of art nobody will stay indifferent, instead, they will widely open their eyes to see their surroundings, the real reality, a reality where we live but sometimes forget to take it seriously.

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