Sample+Explication

Sample Explication


 * This explication is only to be used as a reference.

Amy Lowell’s “The Taxi” is a poem of an episodic nature that reaches out to an audience by sensationalizing a lackluster event. A taxi ride is by no means an eventful occurrence. However, the poet’s use of sensory detail serves to engage the reader and then immerse them in this ordinary setting. The power ofLowell’s poem lies in her ability to transport her audience into the backseat of the taxi along with her speaker in order for them to empathize.

In “The Taxi”, the speaker is departing from someone he/she loves fervently. This becomes evident when the speaker compares his/her existence in the world to a “slackened drum” which produces a dull, tedious sound as opposed to a live, energetic snare (3). As the taxi moves along the streets, the speaker multi-tasks by evoking an emotional response while painting a vivid image of the setting. The literal movement of the taxi is juxtaposed with the figurative lack of emotional development which produces a starkly hollow effect. The audience is then compelled to join the speaker on this taxi ride that seems to have no concrete destination. Thematically, the lack of a specific destination only emphasizes the abysmal feeling of emptiness the speaker is hoping to convey.

“The Taxi” is a poem composed of twelve lines in a single stanza. The meter varies from line to line and there is no apparent rhyme scheme. The lack of pattern indicates thatLowell’s poem falls into the category of free verse. By composing the poem in free-verse,Lowellcan focus on evoking emotion from the reader which is hardly structured or patterned in the manner of a sonnet, for example. This allows her to focus more on imagery and tone in order to create a poem rich with colors and sounds. For example, the brilliancy of the “jutted stars” works in tandem with the despair of the speaker calling out for his or her significant other (4). This dichotomy of the beautiful night and emotional despondency works to create an unusual vacuum. This is further emphasized by the speaker’s “shout into the ridges of the wind” which proves to be a futile gesture that is unheard by any but the taxi driver and the speaker (5).

However, it is the use of figurative device that really succeeds in making the poem accessible to the audience.Lowelluses imagery that is easily related to, graphically descriptive, and from an unusual perspective in order to engage the reader and make an ordinary event seem extraordinary. For example, the audience understands the appearance and the sound of a drum and is able to interpret the emotional response of a world “beat dead” after a loss, however temporary. In addition, the poet skillfully uses personification to illustrate the speaker’s unwillingness to be parted from his/her lover.