Symbolism in "the Sky Is Low—the Clouds Are Mean" and "Poem"

Poetry often uses personification and symbolism with inanimate concepts to help the reader understand the writing through visuals and sensory experiences. Two poems from the nineteenth century, “The Sky is low—the Clouds are mean” by Emily Dickinson and “Poem” by Rank O’Hara, were able to capture their themes of expressing emotions through the usage of nature by personification and symbolism.  

    In the 1866 poem “The Sky is low—the Clouds are mean,” the theme shows when the narrator expresses negative emotions by using the natures’ weather in symbolism and personification. This free verse poem expands its theme of internal conflict and the natures’ weather by describing the narrators’ emotions as the weather’s own feelings. The imagery discussed begins with the narrator setting the atmosphere by mentioning the sky, clouds, and snow “The Sky is low—the Clouds are mean. A Travelling Flake of Snow.” (Dickson 1-2) It sets the environment as gloomy and dim, then they mention how snow is beginning to fall from the sky, which they give human traits to the poor snowflake that the narrator sees. They describe it as if it were confused and lost to where it was supposed to go, helping the reader understand how the weather is being fickle, due to the possible storm being on the way or not. Later on, in the second stanza there is more personification used to describe the sound of strong flowing wind by comparing the winds sounds as if it were complaining. It makes the wind appear more human-like and helps the reader understand how similar human can behave. Just the narrator who through the poem projects themselves with their emotions with the weather and express how the storm itself make the narrator feel conflicted and bored by being forced to stay inside. One the second to last line the narrator mentions nature once more and uses a simile by using “us” to show how similar nature can be compared to human emotions and its unpredictable nature.