In this somber poem, William Matthews explores how the perception of a cold New York City day alters the mood by focusing on plain ingenuity. By using ice-breaking comparisons, playful alliteration and, personification, Matthews powerfully portrays the expanding importance of altering the poems personality through humorous language to highlight the difference between grieving and suffering in his poem, “Grief”.
The poet's metaphors and similes drive the gloomy mood away by creating small amusing scenes that dismiss the poem's original essence. In the first stanza, the narrator declares that “a rising whine” (3) is like “a domestic argument”(3). After setting the scene, Matthews suggest that a whine is comparable to a violent debate, enhancing…show more content… From Mathews argument in the second stanza that reads, “acrid anger of the homeless swells” (7), he reveals that impatience is one of the main causes of suffering. The alliterated words, “acrid anger”, typically would not be paired together; however, because of the poetic touch, it reveals another clue that holds meaning about the significance of the poem. One would not associate an unpleasant taste or smell with anger; however, Matthews uses this alliteration to indicate its relevance. “Acrid anger” is supposed to draw attention to the fact that anger leads to difficulty; which is a type of suffering. By presenting this awkward alliteration, Matthews suggest that readers take a moment to try and figure out the floundering context in hopes of achieving comprehension of the meaning of the…show more content… In the third and fourth stanza, Matthews discloses that “But like a burr in a dog’s coat his rage/has borrowed legs” (12-13) illustrating that the rage is what has borrowed legs and now has “power”. By utilizing this ludicrously personified quote, Matthews urges us to think about the basic meaning and how it relates to grieving and suffering. By giving the legs a human characteristic, the author reveals its power over the mind and body. The formerly feeling of rage that would be considered a part of grieving, has now transformed into suffering because it grew into something larger than just an inside feeling. With the legs now attached, the level of seriousness is now heightened and the author has created a hole that allows for
