Only Breath by Jalaluddin Rumi - Essay Example

3. The poet utilizes rhyming words such as “placeless” and “traceless.” He would have used the words “unknown” and “untraceable” as a substitute for the two, respectively. However, he employs the words in his poem since they aid in creating rhyme in the body of the poem.4. The poem evokes images of the different religions and people of the world. These images are evoked when the poet states, “Not Christian, or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu Buddhist, Sufi or Zen.

” The poet has placed them in a chronological manner that elicits images of different religious backgrounds. The images contrast with one another since they exhibit the diversity of man’s religions such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Sufism.5. Symbolism has been employed in the poem when the poet states, “did not descend from Adam and Eve” (Rumi). Here, Adam and Eve symbolize the origin story narrated in the Bible by Christians.6. The poem expresses a tone of spirituality in human existence.

Thus, when the poet states, “I belong to the beloved” (Rumi), he elicits a spiritual tone of humanity’s connection to the unknown realms of the “beloved.” Furthermore, when he concludes by stating, “only that breath breathing human being,” the poem expresses the universal connection of humans through the breath of life.7. The theme of the poem is the universality of humanity founded on the common breath of air that humans share as opposed to division through religion, culture, or origin.