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Kenya Austin
AP English 12
Ms.McGee
March 23, 2011
The Groundhog Explication
In the poem The Groundhog by Richard Eberhart, Eberhart explores the theme of
change and death. He writes about multiple encounters he has with the dead groundhog
he finds in “the golden fields”. He shows a deep fascination of the lifeless creature and
like an intrigued child, he examines it. Over the span of three years, he continues to visit
the dead animal, and each time noting the changes since his last encounter.
Eberhart uses diction such as “vigorous summer, senseless, and bony sodden
hulk” that creates vivid imagery of the setting and the creature. This helps the reader get a
sense of what is going on and how the creature has changed in appearance overtime.
Eberhart seems to be completely fascinated with this lifeless creature. He appears to be
disgusted by it but at the same time he is compelled to look at it and examine it further.
He pokes it with a stick and makes the statement “My stick had done nor good nor harm”.
This symbolizes Eberhart’s fascination of death. He dramatizes the image of the
groundhog each time he encounters it, making the point that over time it has changed and
death has caused it to decay.
In the poem, Richard Eberhart chooses to write in first person. In this context, it
gives the reader a suspicion that the author’s intentions of writing the poem were to
express his feelings of a death of a loved one that has recently occurred. The sequence
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becomes clear. First he experiences shock, then curiosity, then acceptance and finally
comes to a realization that death is a normal occurrence and happens to everyone and
everything. Eberhart also chooses to involve only two subjects, he and the groundhog.
This shows a deeper connection of the two, which ultimately shows the connection of
him and the loved one who has passed. At the end of the poem when Eberhart finds that
the groundhog is no longer there and has disappeared he says “My hand capped a
withered heart” indirectly revealing that he misses the person whom he lost but has
accepted the fact that they are gone.
The dead, senseless, meaningless groundhog, a creature that evoked many
feelings. Eberhart uses the image of this lifeless being to express the changes and stages
after death. This poem begins on a hot summer day and after three summers of change
ends. It takes time to come to a realization, but once it has been achieved Eberhart seems
to be at peace.
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Works Cited
"The Groundhog." Oldpoetry - Classical Poetry Discussion. Web. 17 Mar. 2011.
<http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/47791-Richard--Eberhart-The-Groundhog>.
Jones, Chris. "Analyzing The Groundhog, a Poem by Richard Eberhart." Associated Content
from Yahoo! - Associatedcontent.com. Web. 17 Mar. 2011.
<http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/796165/analyzing_the_groundhog_a_poem_b
y_richard.html>.