Kate Bass’ poem “The Albatross” on page twenty eight of Billy Collins' "180 more extraordinary poems for every day" collection was an interesting poem which sparked some curiosity in me. I did not know the definition of the title and therefore could not understand the reason behind it so I looked it up. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary I used online, “albatross” means “a continuing problem that makes it difficult or impossible to do or achieve something.” To me, this means that the author, Kate Bass, was dealing with a problem between herself and her husband while writing this poem. The necklace symbolizes her marriage. When she is wearing the necklace, Bass "[likes] to think [she is] remembering [him]" (Bass 5). This makes me think that they had once been happy together but eventually started growing apart.
The wording caused a perfect image to appear in my head while I read the poem. I can see her putting on the beaded necklace made of glass. I can hear the beads of her necklace clattering together and the sound her child's shrill cry as she reaches down to pick it up. I can hear and see her beaded necklace snapping and a making "a sound like falling rain" (Bass 20). I could feel the remorse, the pain the words caused when read. It was like the author knew her relationship with her once significant other was falling apart and there was nothing she could do to stop it. All Kate Bass has left are the memories she has of him, of her and of them.
To me, the snapping of the necklace symbolizes a final break in their relationship. They are no longer are they a united, happy couple as they once were. Now they are strangers, their voices "no longer [seem] familiar, only strange" to each other (Bass 18). We can infer that the relationship between Kate Bass and her husband has been falling apart. The snapping of her necklace can be thought of as a parallel symbolization of their relationship breaking apart. At one point, they knew each other, intimately, physically and emotionally. Now there is a void in their lives, a void which was once filled with each other.
I really liked the imagery she created. Bass was able to create a picture, a live movie, if you will, of the scene she wrote as a poem. Not only does she allow us to see the scene unfolding before us with the words she chose, the wording also allowed us to hear the sounds and feel the mood that is being set, a sorrowful mood. Honestly, I could not possibly chose anything about this poem that I disliked. Every little thing about this poem, from the wording to the prose, even the title, is very well written and amazing to me. The title itself was like an explanation of the poem, which I really liked and thought was beyond amazing. It was an excellent work and I look forward to reading more poems this semester.
The wording caused a perfect image to appear in my head while I read the poem. I can see her putting on the beaded necklace made of glass. I can hear the beads of her necklace clattering together and the sound her child's shrill cry as she reaches down to pick it up. I can hear and see her beaded necklace snapping and a making "a sound like falling rain" (Bass 20). I could feel the remorse, the pain the words caused when read. It was like the author knew her relationship with her once significant other was falling apart and there was nothing she could do to stop it. All Kate Bass has left are the memories she has of him, of her and of them.
To me, the snapping of the necklace symbolizes a final break in their relationship. They are no longer are they a united, happy couple as they once were. Now they are strangers, their voices "no longer [seem] familiar, only strange" to each other (Bass 18). We can infer that the relationship between Kate Bass and her husband has been falling apart. The snapping of her necklace can be thought of as a parallel symbolization of their relationship breaking apart. At one point, they knew each other, intimately, physically and emotionally. Now there is a void in their lives, a void which was once filled with each other.
I really liked the imagery she created. Bass was able to create a picture, a live movie, if you will, of the scene she wrote as a poem. Not only does she allow us to see the scene unfolding before us with the words she chose, the wording also allowed us to hear the sounds and feel the mood that is being set, a sorrowful mood. Honestly, I could not possibly chose anything about this poem that I disliked. Every little thing about this poem, from the wording to the prose, even the title, is very well written and amazing to me. The title itself was like an explanation of the poem, which I really liked and thought was beyond amazing. It was an excellent work and I look forward to reading more poems this semester.
It sounds as if you have a solid grasp of this mysterious poem's multiple meanings.
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