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In the minds of many people, poetry is a form of literature that follows strict rules of rhyme and rhythm. However, poetry can be expressive and unique without adhering to the standards of the old language. The poem “Snapping Beans” by Lisa Parker is a good example of stepping away from the traditional poetry writing formula. In this poem, Parker tells a story through a unique metrical pattern and a multitude of literary devices. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the poem “Snapping Beans” and locate and discuss the main formal aspects of the poem, as well as prevalent themes and imagery.
Parker wrote “Snapping Beans” in the form of a narrative poem that captures a scene of a young woman and her grandmother talking. The narrator explains that she has just returned home from college for the weekend. As her grandmother asks her about life in college, the young woman is hesitant to answer honestly. She recalls the recent memories from school, her positive and negative experiences. The narrator is excited about her classes and the acquired knowledge, but she is also perplexed by her new life and company. However, instead of sharing these feelings with her grandmother, she decides to give a short answer and says “school’s fine” (Parker 38). The grandmother replies by saying “it’s funny how things blow loose like that” (Parker 43).
The poem consists of 43 lines; the author uses an original form of one verse and does not follow any standard metrical line rules. The flow of the poem resembles a train of thoughts. Parker chooses to use informal language, which contributes to the overall tone. The presence of such words as cornstalks, strychnine, hickory leaf and porchfront creates an atmosphere of the countryside, telling readers that by going to college the narrator found herself in an entirely new situation. To accentuate the mood of some scenes, Parker uses alliteration (Leech 91). For example, the presence of the sound “s” in the lines “I snapped beans into the silver bowl / that sat on the splintering slats” can be compared to the rustling sounds of nature (Parker 1-2). The title is also connected to the overall tone, as is denotes the main activity of the poem – the process of snapping beans. In this case, the title may point to a familiar activity for the narrator, further distinguishing her life in school from her life at home.
Parker devotes multiple lines of the poem to describing the scenery, painting a picture of a quiet house in the countryside at sunrise. The imagery can be seen in the lines such as “as the sun rose, pushing its pink spikes / through the slant of cornstalks,” where Parker uses personification and metaphor by comparing rays of the sun to pink spikes (7-8). Abundant description of nature allows the reader to see the contrast between the narrator’s life experience before and after going away for school. However, the imagery of the city in this poem is unnecessary, because the narrator’s memories about school revolve mostly around studying and spending time with friends. Parker shows the narrator’s negative emotions about school in the lines “the nights I cried … wishing myself home on the evening star” (26-28). Although to show the internal conflict of the narrator, Parker follows the description of negative experiences with the words “being happy / despite it all,” making it clear that the narrator is satisfied with her decision to leave home for school (37-38).
Mixed emotions about new experiences and the inability to share them create the themes of this poem. When asked about her life, the narrator wants to answer sincerely. However, she fears that her grandmother will fail to see the positive aspects of her life in school. The epithet in a phrase “quivering chin” points to the hesitation of the narrator (Parker 22). Parker also implies that the narrator wants to protect her grandmother from the information about her friends that “wore noserings and wrote poetry / about sex, about alcoholism, about Buddha” (30-31). The grandmother in this poem is depicted as a religious person, as she sings a song “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” The lyrics of this song show that it talks about sharing sorrows with Jesus, who is described as a “faithful friend” (“What a Friend”). It is possible that through this song Parker wants to show that the grandmother would listen to her granddaughter without being judgmental.
The poem “Snipping Beans” by Parker explores the complexity of emotions connected to changes in one’s life through the eyes of a young woman, who returns to a familiar place. It is constructed as a thought process that does not follow any conventional rules of poetry. This poem also looks into the differences between the desire and ability to be open and candid when talking about one’s emotions. Parker captures the tone of uncertainty through various metaphors and epithets and creates a clear picture of the scenery with the help of alliteration and personification.
Works Cited
Leech, Geoffrey N. A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry. Vol. 4. Routledge, 2014.
Parker, Lisa. “Snapping Beans.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, and Writing, 11th ed., edited by Michael Meyer, Bedford/St. Martins, 2016, p. 528.
“What a Friend We Have in Jesus > Lyrics | Joseph M. Scriven.” Timeless Truth Free Online Library, 2017. Web.
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