“Getting Through” by: Deborah Pope

“Getting Through” by: Deborah Pope Analysis pg. 322-323:

                In the poem “Getting Through” by Deborah Pope the main literary devices used are metaphors and imagery to create the theme of frustration towards love.

                The comparisons in the metaphors used by Pope reveal frustration and annoyance with the speakers love for the significant other such as: “a chicken too stupid to tell its head is gone” or “like a train off its track toward a boarded-up station, closed for years”. The speaker expresses through these metaphors that her love for this person is irrational, uncontrollable, and unconditional which is revealed through this specific metaphor: “so I go on loving you, my heart blundering on, a muscle spilling out what is no longer wanted.” The metaphors help the theme of irrational and frustrating love that is expressed in the poem because metaphors compare two different ideas that are not relatable to one another.

The distraught imagery in the poem is an essential part of the overall theme of frustration with love. The speaker uses vivid images such as “a phone ringing and ringing in the house they have all moved away from,” this image reveals the speakers frustration and confusion with why she loves this person because the phone cannot be answered therefore, the speaker will not know the reason why she loves this person. The image of “a chicken too stupid to tell its head is gone” displays the speaker’s frustration with loving this person because she does not know the reason why. It is not logical to her why she loves them because of the image of a chicken running around aimlessly without a head is not an image typically associated with love, but rather confusion and frustration.

Reflection:

                I think the poem is relatable because it expresses the frustration that comes along with loving a person unconditionally without even really knowing why. The metaphors help get the point across that the speaker is internally frustrated with being unconditionally in love with this person that she compares it to a chicken running around with its head chopped off. The poem is realistic and honest, the author does not sugar coat her frustration, she cleverly states it in a metaphor.