Fizza Batool
Poetry Analysis
Ice Child
By: John Haines
1. What is the dramatic situation?
The speaker in this poem appears to be someone of great knowledge and interest in
history as he or she is observing a statue that has been discovered and belongs to an
ancient civilization, the Incas. The poem itself seems like it took place present-day
with the discovery of yet another artifact that is vital to the history of this ancient
civilization. The speaker is quite intrigued by the statue and desires to learn of its
origin.
2. What is the structure of the poem?
The poem has no rhyme to it. It is very straightforward in some parts, such as the
beginning where the speaker is talking to this statue and asking questions about the
life it had long ago. But then the poem shifts to another subject, the “furies” which
have relate to the rituals of this civilization.
3. What is the syntax of the poem?
This poem has very long sentences that carry great detail and imagery. The last part
of the poem itself is just one large sentence. There a couple of interrogative sentences
in which the speaker is asking the statue questions such as “Who placed you here?” A
variety of sentences are complex and abstract just because the meaning of the idea
behind them is difficult to understand. For example, when the speaker shifts to talking
about furies that needed to be fed and “blood to fatten the sun,” the meaning behind
the sentences is hard to comprehend at first.
4. Where does grammar seem different from prose?
There are a few parts where the word order seems different. For example, while the
speaker is talking to the statue, there is a thought revealed by him that comes in this
form, “To be perhaps no more than a slave of that earthly master.” The order of words
seems a bit rearranged, than what would normally be said.
5. What words do you not know the meanings of?
Ascension- to rise to a higher point; to move or climb upward
Effigy- a representation or image of someone disliked, used for purposes of ridicule
Trilobites- any marine arthropod of the extinct group
6. What words have multiple meanings? What words have strong connotations?
The word effigy can be used in two different ways. The basic definition of the word is
a representation or image of someone. However, it can also be implied that the person
is someone or something that is disliked or despised. Words that have strong
connotations would be “furies,” “cold,” and “strike.” Furies is a very strong word
because one can hear the anger or wrath that is attached to it.
7. Does the poet use imagery to create a word picture? What images convey sensation?
The beginning stanzas of the poem create an image for readers. When the speaker is
describing the statue, he states “Cold for so long, unable to speak, yet your mouth
seems framed on a cry, or a stifled question,” and while observing its surroundings he
questions who left this statue to “this lonely eternity of ash and ice.” Th poet uses
words such as “cold,” “framed,” and “ash and ice,” to create a scene in readers mind
as to the initial discovery of the statue.
8. What figurative language does he/she use?
The poet uses personification throughout the poem because he addresses the statue as
if it is a real being and has experienced the civilization from which it came from.
There is a part where the speaker is asking the statue “what life might you have lived,
had you lived at all?” In essence, the poet is bringing humanistic qualities to this
statue. The poet also uses assonance in the very beginning of the poem where it reads,
“Cold for so long.” These words emphasize on the “o” letter so when readers read
aloud, the words will come out slowly and sound longer. Along with that, the poet
uses several metaphors. A very example would be, “blood to fatten the sun.” Here the
poet is talking about the sacrifices that were offered to the sun god as part of very
important religious rituals and it is metaphorical in the sense that the sun needs that
blood in order to grant the people prosperity, according to their beliefs.
9. Describe the diction in the poem?
The diction is quite formal. There are some words that are denotative and can be
interpreted easily in the text. For example, “drift and clamor,” “restless,” and
“stunted,” are pretty easy to comprehend. However, other words are quite abstract,
such as “milling crowd,” or “haunted effigy,” which are key words to the meaning of
the stanzas.
10. What are the tones of the poem, where do they shift? What poetic techniques did the
poet use to convey these tones?
The beginning of the poem has this tone of curiosity because the speaker is asking so
many questions and trying to uncover the history behind this statue. A history that is
so rare and unique that took place hundreds of years ago. Throughout the poem, there
is a sense of admiration from the speaker toward the statue. About mid-way, the poet
shifts the tone to sympathetic because the speaker asks the statue if it were “perhaps
no more than a slave of that earthly master.” This quote presents a different side to
the statue as the poet raises the question of whether or not it was treated with high
regards, or if were only a slave serving as a representation. The last part of the poem
is presents a new idea and a new tone of urgency and need as “there were furies to be
fed,” and then the tone switches to being somber and quiet as the statue’s life is
“interrupted” and “so late unearthed.” The poet seems almost saddened to know that
this statue is discovered so late after being covered in a darkened world and carrying
within it a rich past.
11. How does the poet use sound and rhyme?
There is no rhyme in this poem. However, the sound in some areas is deeper as words
that carry vowels are elongated. It makes the reader read slower and emphasize on the
words such as the example I provided for the usage of assonance.
12. What is the poem’s theme?
The theme of this poem is the loss of value of materials at a given period in history,
that become prized possessions after being discovered and representing the past. The
statue is mesmerizing for the speaker as can be inferred because of the way the
speaker is talking to the statue and pondering about its past. The speaker seems
almost disheartened that this statue was discovered so late because of the last line in
the poem, “so late unearthed.” The statue used to serve as something, or a
representation of something. But it seems as if it was not held with the highest of
respect, but merely a slave to humans. The poet writes the journey of the statue as
being very extraordinary because it survived for so long, especially as the end of a
massive civilization came to being. The discovery of this statue makes it a prized
possession because it represents a part of history that is so fascinating. However,
again it becomes a slave to humans because of what it represents.