Poetry Analysis Essay on 'Old Scar'

Introduction

The persona of the poem 'Old Scar' is a person whose past life has left an indelible mark on him/her. The poem speaks of a scar, in this case physical. The phrase' preying mongoose eyes' helps understand the nature of the scar as permanent. The most striking thing about this scar is the permanence of it and the shame it brings to the persona. This essay seeks to explicate the issues addressed in the poem. It will also demystify the poem putting a key interest in what can be learned and felt from the poem (mood and themes). This essay will address three issues namely; regret, self-blame, and angst.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

First, the poem shows the theme of regret. The persona acknowledges that he/she has had a reckless life and acknowledges that the reckless life is the reason why the shameful scar is present. Words ''like-a snake'' metaphorically shows the link between the persona's troubled past and the end results which is the physical scar.in the second stanza, the persona regrets having had to go the bad ordeal of bleeding out the bad medicine having been laid down the circumstance that leads to the formation of the scar. The mention of time also shows regret on the persona's part. He says that it has been twenty-plus years and the scar hasn't faded to the color it was pre-formation of the scar. The tone of the persona also shows regret. He compares his skin to before the scar and now that he has a faded scar that will not completely fade to set the mood of regret.

Second, the poem addresses the theme of self-blame. For instance, in the third stanza of the poem, words like an accusation, guilt and reason are used to show that the persona acknowledges that he is the sole reason why the scar is present. The words are the thoughts that come into the mind of the persona whenever he/she glances at the scar rendering his/her reckless life the reason for the scar. The persona blames him/herself for the scar and is ashamed of the scar to the extent that he is looking for a hole to hide the scar from the mongoose eyes that knows where the scar came from.

Lastly, the essay will address the issue of angst as portrayed in the poem. The persona seems angry at him/herself for living the reckless life that resulted in the scar. He/she is also angry at the scar and hates the fact that the scar 'accuses' him and renders him guilty whenever he looks at him. The scar which has almost faded to the color the skin was before it's formation broods' emotions from the persona and reminds him/her of that fateful day when he/she was laid down to bleed the bad medicine which could be referring to illegal drugs. The persona dreads taking drugs specifically alcohol when he remembers the pain that they made him go through. This is vividly shown by his words,' so I never use that hand to lift my whiskey anymore. Some lessons, I refuse to learn through pain.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the thematic concerns of the poem are esoteric. Only a small group of people can understand the poem clearly without much reading and analysis. The title itself is symbolic of rancid problems that the persona went through which he cannot heal from hence terming them like a scar. Without understanding the poem, one can think that the persona is conversing with another character while the truth is, he is talking to the scar. The poem also has a lot of metaphors that not everybody can understand. For example,' bad medicine' refers to the alcohol or the illegal drugs that the persona was on.