An Orthodox Poem - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... These terms may be used interchangeably to pertain to money. Noticeably, Stevens uses simple, even slang terms to make his subject easy, thus implying address of the general public, or the common people. Stevens could have used other terms like banknote or currency but such terms would deviate from the purpose of giving the simplest terms for money in the introduction and then move on to the more complex meaning of the subject. . In the second stanza, Stevens mentions the ways to use money. The lines, “Chock it up,/fork it over, shell it out./Watch it burn holes through pockets.” (4-6) reveals what a person can do with money. There is a slight change in tone with the first two lines of this stanza still sounding slang, whereas the third line sounds figurative. Stevens gets deeper into his subject matter by using imagery and metaphor in the third line. He indirectly compares money with fire, making it capable of burning “holes through pockets” (6). The first two lines express how people can manipulate money, whereas the third shows a magnificent power that money has as it can “burn holes” or leave a person empty-handed. Stevens provides deeper meanings of the term money as the poem progresses. As such, the third stanza provides an even deeper meaning of money by giving implications of having money. The lines, “To be made of it! To have it to burn!” (7-8) could mean two things. Literally, it can mean that money can support a person when used for sustenance. Figuratively, it can also mean that depending on money can make one burn or go to hell. Considering this, Stevens does not only illustrate an orthodox style but even demonstrates Orthodox beliefs about hell and temptation. The terms in next line, namely, “Greenbacks, double eagles, megabucks and Ginnie Maes” (9) pertain to enormous amount of money, which could lead a person to make sins and later burn in hell due to temptation. Such infusion of belief about burning is allegorical in tone. The fourth stanza balances the meanings provided in the earlier stanza by giving the positive functions of money. “It greases the palm, feathers a nest,” (10) and so on. The words in this stanza pertain to the use of money in supporting or feeding a family or making a person survive. Stevens uses more images to illustrate his point, such greasing the palm with food to eat, feathering a nest to provide shelter to a family, and letting a person survive the depth of the water in a sea. On one hand, these descriptions strongly imply the role of money in human life. On the other hand, these words also show the dependency of people on money. Such connotations further imply the negative side of money, thus serving as anti-thesis to lines 10-11. The fifth stanza further illustrates the power of money and its presence in the world as the poem states, it is “always in circulation” (15). Stevens uses denotation and connotation again in this stanza. As for the denotation, money can gather people’s as it can afford a lot of things. For the connotation, money gathers the interest of many when a person with a lot of money is lavishly clothed. Furthermore, it implies that people with money become popular and are always in circulation. The last stanza bears the most negative implications of money. Once again, the author uses denotation and connotation. The persona warns the addressee about putting money in the mouth, despite not knowing where it comes ...Download file to see next pagesRead More