The sense of place is very important in this one-stanza poem in that it seems to be more of the center theme than the two ‘characters.’ Nystrom uses a third person limited when talking about Will and Ellie but mostly talks about the latter. Like stated in the first sentence, the two humans are not the main point, but of what is surrounding them: nature. Nystrom gives life to nature by personifying them by using terms such as ‘raw parched air’ and ‘grumbling then breaking,’ This makes nature feel like a third character next to her two named human characters. The single-stanza also paints one big picture rather than several small pictures. Meaning we get one scene in which we see nature unfold and then the two human characters coming into the view. There’s much transparency in the poem’s clarity, wherein the reader knows what is happening; each line presents itself in a straightforward manner.
“Names Disappearing, Dakota” by Debra Nystrom
Mar 28th, 2017 by pang17