Elements of the Poem: In the Midst of Hardship

Hai there, you have read the poem right? Now, let's take a look at the elements inside the poem. So by checking out the elements, it will help you to understand better about the poem. Enjoy!!!

Themes

• Never allow hardship to affect your happiness
• Family love
• Acceptance of way of life
• Having the right attitude
• Man's relationship with nature
• Determination
• Facing hardship with optimism 

Persona

• Third person point of view 'they'
• The poem describes a family returning to their home after a bad flood.
• The persona is amazed by the strength, courage and determination of the family experiencing hardship

Structure, style, and language

• The language is simple and easy to understand
• There is no rhyme or rhythm
• The poem is in the form of free verse and uses a conversational tone.
• There are three stanzas
• The first two stanzas have seven lines
• The concluding stanza has four lines.

Tone and atmosphere

• Depressing
• Understanding and sympathetic
• Acceptance of situation

Poetic Devices

• Imagery - the use of words to create mental picture.
• 'soaky clothes torn'- sense of touch and sight
• 'legs full of wounds'- sense of touch
• 'bloated carcasses- sense of smell and sight
• 'rolling cigarette leaves' - sense of sight and smell
• Alliteration - the repetition of consonants sounds at the beginning of words
• 'but on their brows'
• 'between bloated carcasses'
• Symbol - a person, object, image, word, or event that evokes a range of additional meaning.
• 'horrendous flood' - represents suffering
• 'bloated carcasses' - represents death and decay
• 'albino buffalo'- represents something rare and treasured
• 'the stove' - represents food and warmth

Setting

• In the village where the flood took place. The villagers live in poverty and hardship.
• In the couple's home - the stove to keep them warm, house is simple without luxury but the atmosphere is happy and contented. There is laughter amidst their adversity and a feeling of contentment in the home. 

Moral Values

• Don't give up easily when faced up with hardship
• We must not complain when things do not favour us
• Love your family
• Be contented with what we have
• Man must appreciate nature

So, these are the elements that can be found in this poem.