Narrative Poems and Their Interpretation

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Narrative Poem the Kid Written by Al
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

A narrative poem is supposed to be a narration of a definite story in the form of a poem; it is a piece of literature where a plot of the story is more important than the form. The impact of an awareness of narrative theory helps us to clarify the meaning of images, scenes, and events displayed in the narrative poem.

The process of reading and interpreting a narrative poem can take more time than the interpretation of meaning of a verse because it is necessary to consider the relationship between story and narrative discourse, a narrator, a narratee, an embedded narrative, focalization, an implied or intended reader and an actual audience, an implied author, and a gap or crux. A narrative poem The Kid written by Al can be considered a bright example of relations between the narrative discourse, the story, and the narrative.

The Narrative Poem the Kid Written by Al

The narrative discourse should be considered in terms of an agent and a story (events). The main features of a narrative discourse are usage of the forms of first or third person pronouns, a definite agent is the center of the story, and the events are chronologically structured. We can observe all these features in the poem The Kid written by Al. This narrative poem contains description of events that took place in the past, though all verbs are used in the form of the present tense; this method helps to keep the reader in suspense till the end of the poem.

The beginning of the poem lets the reader know about an agent, his sister, mother, and an old man who can possibly be his grandfather. After this, the agent hits an old man with an iron rod; when his mother comes to help the old man, he takes the rifle. It is not clear whether he wanted to shot them before or was trying to conceal consequences of his actions. He makes short work of all witnesses including his sister. When everything is over, he packs some things reminding him of the dead relatives and walks away.

As we learn from the poem, the main character (agent) is a boy aged fourteen, he wants to imitate his father’s actions, and he seems to be proud of his father and of who he is: “I’m Jack, Hogarth’s son. I’m nimble, I’m quick” (Al 193). So, he acts cruelly, he does not realize that he is too young to do such things as shown in the poem.

Jack, the main agent of the poem, states that “one bullet [is] for the black horse, two for the brown” (Al 193); in this way the reader comes to know that the boy has shot his mother, the old man, and then his sister who was trying to escape from the truck. He is cruel, though self-seeking and consistent in his actions. He does not feel sorry for what he has done; he continues his way.

Conclusion

The narrative poem is a poem which focuses on events and the agent rather than the patient or descriptions. The narrative poem The Kid written by Al demonstrates all distinctive features of a narrative poem: it is chronologically organized, the events are focused on the agent, the narration is performed from the first person (it can be also be the third person). The events that take place in the poem refer to the past, though it is presented in the form of the present tense. The discourse and the story are tightly connected; the discourse facilitates understanding of the story.

Works Cited

Al, “The Kid.” Story Hour: Contemporary American Narrative Poems. Ed. Sonny Williams. New York: Barnes and Noble, 2004.

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Narrative Poems and Their Interpretation

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