all the world's a stage is an anti - war poem.
all the world's a stage is an anti - war poem.
what type of poem is all the world's a stage?
anti - war poem
the poem uses an irregular form of the pindaric ode in 11 stanzas. the lengths of the lines and of the stanzas vary throughout the text, and the poem begins with an iambic meter. the irregularities increase throughout the poem and stanza ix lacks a regular form before being replaced with a march-like meter in the final two stanzas. the poem also contains multiple enjambments and there is a use of an abab rhyme scheme that gives the poem a singsong quality. by the end of the poem, the rhymes start to become as irregular in a similar way to the meter, and the irregular stanza ix closes with an iambic couplet. the purpose of the change in rhythm, rhyme, and style is to match the emotions expressed in the poem as it develops from idea to idea. the narration of the poem is in the style of an interior monologue, and there are many aspects of the poem that connect it to coleridge's style of poetry called "conversation poems", especially the poem's reliance on a one sided discussion that expects a response that never comes. there is also a more traditional original of the discussion style of the poem, as many of the prophetic aspects of the poem are related to the old testament of the bible. additionally, the reflective and questioning aspects are similar to the psalms and the works of saint augustine, and the ode contains what is reminiscent of hebrew prayer.
ode: intimations of immortality
formally, “i am offering this poem” can be considered an ode, an adulatory poem written to, or about a specific person, and in this case, thing- as baca praises poetry itself. furthermore, we can consider this work to be an example of free verse, as it follows no specific metre. also, the lines that constitute the poem (primarily) do not rhyme, and they are of varying lengths. however, one constant in the poem is the refrain that ends the stanzas, which also help to group the poem. this refrain is a sweet reminder, simply: “i love you.” not only does this add form to an otherwise very free poem, it also reiterates the tone(s) central to the work- poetry is important, it's all he [our speaker] has to give, and it symbolizes, nay is, love. our speaker is never identified, all we know is that he’s a poet, with a lot of love to give to a similarly unidentified speaker. of course, we can like the dependence upon poetry/art to baca’s own life, but the ambiguity surrounding both the speaker and the subject of the poem, lends the work an air of generalness, which may be a conscious effort by baca to make the piece relevant and relatable. this vastness is furthered by the lack of specific setting as well; in the end of the poem the speaker refers generally to the "world outside," which he characterizes as cold, uncaring- in direct opposition to the warmer parts of the piece. metaphor and simile are two examples of literary devices used by baca to provide imagery to the poem and specifically to describe the effects of his poem. in lines 3-4, the speaker tells the subject to keep his poem like a warm coat, later on he likens the poem to a “pair of thick socks;” both these comparisons connote a sense of warmth and intimacy. the poem is the subject of more comparisons, however: in lines 14-15, the speaker tells the subject to refer to his poem when they are “lost” or need “direction.” these words help lend the poem a connotation of guidance, which is only furthered when our speaker calls life/the world around him (and us) “wilderness.” the last theme that is illuminated by poetic comparison is the physical poverty of the speaker- and the subsequent spiritual richness. in the beginning of the poem, he iterates, and reiterates, that he has “nothing else” to give but the poem. as well, line 24 reveals the survivalist qualities of a poem, as our speaker states, “it's all anyone needs to live." these tropes give way to the ultimate themes of “i am offering this poem:” love, writing/art, and the physical and spiritual understandings of home and protection. love is perhaps the most easily understood theme of the work, as the word is thrown around so much, especially with the refrain, “i love you.” however, love isn’t expressed in the more typical ways like marriage, romance, sex, or stability- baca creates a symbol for love with poetry itself. this highlights another clear theme in the work- of the (sentimental) value of writing; in this way, we can extrapolate a meta quality from the work- it is a poem about poetry. lastly, “i am offering this poem” creates a sense of home (and the protection that it allows) with specific diction, such as that occurring in the second to last stanza, which states: “treasure this [poem] as you would, if you were lost, needing direction, in the wilderness life becomes when mature; and in the corner of your drawer, tucked away like a cabin or hogan,” as well as that in the beginning: “keep it [poem] like a warm coat when winter comes to cover you.” with this and other comparisons to the speaker’s poem, the work displays strong examples of the value of literature.
i am offering this poem