12-22-2013, 01:48 PM
Maybe I've just lost my first- and second- read bias, but the poem is suddenly so much clearer. I stand by my earlier comments, but here's my rehearsal of the narrative, if it's helpful:
A beloved family member dies, and the decedants gather to either probate the will or divide the property otherwise. The narrator has trouble appraising the value of, in the instance given, a collectible plate, given that he had, himself, hung the plate up shortly before the death. That is, his emotions occlude his monetary appraisal. This is a jumping-off point for a sentimental appraisal of a life well lived. It's a rather straightforward eulogy, wearing the cloak of recent shock, and shedding that cloak at last.
Is that it?
Ah. No I think I'm wrong. There's no emotional breakthrough--well, there is, but it's understated.
Perhaps my misread was because I wanted there to be a strong, emotional conclusion--anyone else think that?
A beloved family member dies, and the decedants gather to either probate the will or divide the property otherwise. The narrator has trouble appraising the value of, in the instance given, a collectible plate, given that he had, himself, hung the plate up shortly before the death. That is, his emotions occlude his monetary appraisal. This is a jumping-off point for a sentimental appraisal of a life well lived. It's a rather straightforward eulogy, wearing the cloak of recent shock, and shedding that cloak at last.
Is that it?
Ah. No I think I'm wrong. There's no emotional breakthrough--well, there is, but it's understated.
Perhaps my misread was because I wanted there to be a strong, emotional conclusion--anyone else think that?
