Analysis of Poetry Example of a Written Analysis Specific Analysis of the technique of symbolism
Poem: The Turtle by Kay Ryan
Kay Ryan, in her poem The Turtle, uses several examples of symbolism to portray some important messages to the reader.
The turtle in the poem is referred to in several stanzas as a “she”. This might symbolize any female in our society and not just a female turtle. Females have historically been stereotyped through the years as weaker than males. Women seem to carry more burdens, struggling for equality in society. The actual shell of the turtle is described as a “helmet” as well as “a load of pottery”. The helmet symbolizes safety to protect the female giving a positive connotation overall. However, the load of pottery, in contrast, symbolizes the burdens that the woman (turtle) carries with her. These burdens are weighing her down, covering her up like a helmet covers something. Finally, the phrase, “changing her load of pottery to wings” holds a symbolic meaning for wings in the sense that wings portray freedom and flight. This flight could mean an escape from the burdens or obstacles that are oppressive to the woman.
Symbolism is a very effective technique used by Ryan in this poem. The messages the reader can infer are thoughtful and complex as a result of this technique.
The Turtle By Kay Ryan
Who would be a turtle who could help it?
A barely mobile hard roll, a four-oared helmet,
she can ill afford the chances she must take
in rowing toward the grasses that she eats.
Her track is graceless, like dragging
a packing-case places, and almost any slope
defeats her modest hopes. Even being practical,
she's often stuck up to the axle on her way
to something edible. With everything optimal,
she skirts the ditch which would convert
her shell into a serving dish. She lives
below luck-level, never imagining some lottery
will change her load of pottery to wings.
Her only levity is patience,
the sport of truly chastened things.