Vocation by John Robert Lee - Book Report/Review Example

A careful reading of the poem confirms that the poet Lee makes use of effective poetic devices in "Vocation" in order to bring about the basic theme of the poem. In his poem, Lee suggests the relationship of a poet and a priest: "search the purity of syllable / seeking truths you've found" (Lines 25-6) According to him, 'the purity of syllable' is an essential factor which helps the poet as well as priest to draw out truths of life to the people around. The poet's use of words and phrases in "Vocation" reveals 'the purity of syllable' which can indicate truths.

Like the priest in his poem, the poet is also engaged in the 'ritual of Word and Gesture' to reveal the truths of love: "incensed with love, I make too / that ritual of Word and Gesture" (Lines 27-8) Significantly, the power of poetic diction is best revealed in the following lines where the poet presents how a priest delivers a sermon with his uplifted wrists and fingers plucking outward. According to him, a priest is one who keeps his "wrists uplifted, fingers plucking / outward, scratching at this altar, / daring faith and hope, changing them / into some clarity.

" (Lines 29-32) Therefore, the poet has been effective in conveying the nature of a priest's use of 'Word and Gesture' in order to present his message to the faithful, through his sermons, and the poetic style adopted by Lee has been highly convincing. It is fundamental to realize that John Robert Lee effectively makes use of various poetic devices such as diction and imagery in his poem "Vocation". In the first line of the poem, the poet indicates the 'fervent unbelief' of the faithful through the use of the images such as 'the whisperings' and 'old lady's scent', 'French soutanes' etc.

The effective use of imagery in the poem is best illustrated by images such as 'blue-smoked hills', 'country mandolins', 'chanterelles', 'village's dying song', 'belle-air drums', 'hidden mountain stream' etc. All these images create a favourable atmosphere for the poet to reveal his main theme, i.e. the duty of the poet and priest: "search the purity of syllable / seeking truths you've found" (Lines 25-6) Another major characteristic of the poem is the poet's use of effective words or diction which suggests the major theme of the poem.

Thus, the poet uses words such as 'Word and Gesture', 'wrists uplifted', 'fingers plucking', 'daring faith and hope' etc which indicate the choice of words used in the poem. In short, the poet has been effective in the use of various poetic devices such as diction and imagery in his poem "Vocation" which ultimately contributes to his theme.