The Possibility"
This poem was definitely one that needed to be read through multiple times before i truly started to see some meaning in it. i really enjoyed how the lines at the end tied everything together. i think this poem refers to all the things in life that we have been told are beautiful but we haven't discover for ourselves that they are beautiful. we haven't seen their potential for ourselves, we were just told it was there and believed. James Fenton didn't just believe though. the beautiful flower wasn't beautiful to him, working was just squandering his solitude, and solitude suddenly was no longer helping him to grow. and all at once, the possibility of these things was gone. all too often in life, we second guess things, and in a moments time, it's too late. the opportunity has been missed. Fenton's diction in this poem is very interesting. why does he choose to use the word "boon" in the second stanza? this is a word i was unfamiliar with. it is used to describe a benefit bestowed on someone, especially in response to a request. it is a timely blessing that is helpful or beneficial. this word is very pointed and specific and fits perfectly the definition of work that we have been taught to believe all our lives. you can't survive in this world without having a job and working to provide for yourself. when you invest time in working, it proves to be a "boon" in your life. i believe the antecedent scenario for this poem was a missed opportunity in Fenton's life which caused him to begin thinking about all the other possibilities that this world presents to us and how often they are so easily brushed aside. Fenton doesn't want us to simply believe the possibilities in this world are beautiful because we have been told they are. he wants us to discover for ourselves the true beauty behind things so that we may then use them to their full potential.
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