Poem Analysis: Decade by Amy Lowell

Poem Analysis: Decade by Amy Lowell
Amy Lowell writes this poem to illustrate the state that a relationship can leave one especially if it is true love. The relationship between these two characters, Army and Ada has been existence for some time since there is an indication of the beginning and later; “When you came… Now you are” implying the situation before and now (Lowell, N.p). The author has employed many poetic styles to support their theme of true love. The author uses metaphors and imagery to explain the situation between the couples. Metaphor entails using one word to represent the other while the imagery is a stylistic device that sparks off the feeling about something (Dewey, Lowes and Lowell 8-19). The paper shall look at some of the stylistic devices used by the author, and how they have helped in passing the message of the poem.
There is a comparison in the opening part of the poem where the author expresses their feeling towards the persona. For instance, the line “when you came, you were like wine and honey” indicates the contemporary living styles of people in the world. People experience high intimacy level during their first dating, but it reduces with time, though the love remains present forever. The line, “now you are like morning bread” meaning that their love has taken steps and is out of passion but gone into strong relationship and understanding (Lowell, N.p). The symbolic use of words makes the poem unique as it has employed a special textual structure with short sentences and few lines.

Metaphor, repetition, similes, hyperbole, and selective use of the words helps in attaining the objective of the poem which is pointing out the relationship that happens in human beings.
The topic of the poem “Decade” set up suspense in the audience to have the eager to understand the meaning and the way the poem has been organized. The word “decade” in this case stands for the period that the two have been in the relationship and what they have experienced during this limited period. “And the taste of you burnt my mouth with sweetness” is a line that carries much. The audience finds it to be a suspense line that increases the desire of one to understand if the two lovers broke up or continued to be in love. However, the last part of the poem summarize everything that is happening between them. “I hardly taste you at all for I know your savour” is another line that has plenty of interpretations that are confusing. However, the author meant the time of trial and error has gone since the two have now developed understanding between each other making it unnecessary for the physical actions of interaction to act as justifiable evidence of the relations. However, by saying “I am completely nourished” is a line that shows that the author is completely satisfied with the relationship and does not need anything more to prove its validity.
Lowell capitalizes on the use of many stylistic devices to communicate the message of the poem. The first stanza is written as a simile; “When you came, you were like red wine and honey.” Wine and bread have been used to show the passion and the strong relationship that existed during their first years of love. Another simile has been used when the author says; “Now you are like morning bread.” The stanza means that though the relationship has experienced ups and down, their love is still on the course every day. The title of the poem “Decade” is a symbolism used to imply the period that the couples have been together now for ten years. The poem is shortened to leave the reader with questions to answer. The style of short lines and length of the poem enables the audience to look at every single line internally thus being able to come up with the correct interpretation that the author presents through the poem. Although the poem is short, Lowell manages to use hyperbole in the poem. The couple says; “The taste of you burnt my mouth with is sweetness” it is ironical for something sweet to have a burning effect (Lowell, N.p). The message being displayed through the hyperbole is the great intimacy and pleasure that is experienced between the two lovers.
From the poem “Decade” one can learn many things that happen during the relationships among people in the outside world. People advance as they continue living together from materialistic to real love. The use of the lines; “You are like morning bread” shows that the lover is of much importance to the life of the narrator to the extent that they need each other in every moment of their lives (Lowell, Bradshaw, & Munich, N.p). They have become attached to each other so much that it is like they support the existing of each other. The author uses lines with hidden meanings, symbolisms, similes, and metaphor to beautify and shorten the poem into a single stanza. The stylistic devices employed in this poem are unique and achieves a love story between two individuals who are in a relationship for ten years, and they have not maintained their intimacy all along.
Works Cited
Dewey, Edward H., John Livingston Lowes, and Amy Lowell. “Selected Poems Of Amy Lowell”. The New England Quarterly 1.4 (1928): 570. Web.
Lowell, Amy. “Decade Poem By Amy Lowell – Poem Hunter”. PoemHunter.com. N.p., 1925. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.
Lowell, A., Bradshaw, M., & Munich, A. Selected poems of Amy Lowell. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press. 2002. Print.