The Moment – An Analysis

Margaret Atwood is one of the most celebrated poets who have been composing poems and other such literary pieces as have been present in the Canadian literature. The literary style as have been adopted by the poet is known to have been inducing the contemplation on the part of the reader. The poem in discussion, The Moment, is one of the poems that ensures the contemplation of the challenges that are faced by the human beings, the natural aspects surrounding the human beings and the ownership of the world as claimed by the humans as have been highlighted by the poet. The following paper analyses the poem, The Moment, through the lenses of the contemporary societies. The paper attempts at the analysis of the structure, the narrative style, the diction and the imageries that is portrayed through the poem.

The poem, The Moment, is composed with the help of three stanzas. Each stanza consists of six lines. The first or the opening stanza of the poem sets the tone of the poem by highlighting the claims of the human beings regarding the ownership of the earth. The second stanza that follows tend to highlight the counter agreement in this context by shedding light on the inherent existence of the folly that has been presented within the idea of the ownership of earth. The third or the final stanza of the poem highlights the reasons for the idea put forth in the second paragraph (Atwood). The key standpoint as have been emphasized through the poem states that the human beings are observed to be advancing towards their own doom when they are observed to have been trying to assert their ownership over the natural features present on the surface of the earth. The poem highlights that the human beings are nothing except an animal species that is present on the surface of the earth in the present times. The poem further highlights that the fact that even after the extinction of the human race, Mother Nature would continue with her presence on the surface of the earth.

The poem is observed to highlight the issues as are being faced by the residents of the earth. The poem highlights the environmental degradation issues as are being maintained in the present scenarios. The poem has been presented in a way such that it is capable of being paraphrased into the expository style of prose writing. The terms that are being used in the poem highlight the fact that the poem has been dealing in the matters relevant to the environmental factors. The poem tends to highlight the natural objects and features from a feminist perspective and thereby portrays each of the natural aspects to be caring and nurturing in nature. The poem in discussion, The Moment, thus might be stated to have highlighted the fact that the subjugation of nature at the hands of the human beings could be equated to the subjugation of the female members of the society at the hands of the other residents (Atwood). The poet further argues that this subjugation might in the longer run lead to the regressive condition of the entire society as well. The proper reading of the poem reveals the didactic attitude that is presented by the author.

The closer reading of the poem reveals that Atwood had laid major stress on the diction, sound and tone of the composition with a negligence towards the other poetic techniques as are maintained by the poets. The poems as composed by Atwood are generally known to belong to the category of the prose poems. The style is not generally followed by the poets in the then society. The poet in this poem is observed to have been implementing the rhythmical syllabic structure in the composition of the poem (Atwood). The syllables in the poem are observed to be arranged in a unique manner. The arrangement of the syllables helps in portraying proper importance to the effect and the meaning of the lines used to compose the poem. This however leads to a certain compromise in terms of the issues that are highlighted in terms of the metrical patterns and the rhythmical patterns that are generally followed within the poems. This is clearly observed in the first line of the third stanza “is the same moment when the trees unloose” and in the first line of the third paragraph which states “No, they whisper. You own nothing” (Atwood). This fortifies the claim that the poet, Atwood tends to lay greater stress on the effect and the meaning of the lines used to compose the poem.

The poem further highlights the historical impacts of the European imperialism on the Canadian history through the poem. The lines “You own nothing./You were a visitor, time after time/climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming” highlights the elimination and the displacement of the native population at the hands of the European settlers (Atwood). The author is also observed to have used the natural imageries in order to demonstrate the shamanic symbolism within the poem. This is hugely observed in case of the phrases like “trees unloose their soft arms from around you”, “the air moves back from you like a wave”, “the birds take back their language” and “the cliffs fissure and collapse” (Atwood). The use of these natural imageries is generally found in the second stanza of the poem wherein the poet highlights the counter agreement in this context by shedding light on the inherent existence of the folly that has been presented within the idea of the ownership of earth.

In lieu of the above discussion, it might be stated that the poem in discussion, The Moment, by Margaret Atwood is indeed one of those poems that ensures the contemplation of the challenges that are faced by the human beings, the natural aspects surrounding the human beings and the ownership of the world as claimed by the humans as have been highlighted by the poet. The key standpoint as have been emphasized through the poem states that the human beings are observed to be advancing towards their own doom when they are observed to have been trying to assert their ownership over the natural features present on the surface of the earth.

References

Atwood, Margaret. “The Moment Poem By Margaret Atwood – Poem Hunter”. Poemhunter.Com, 2019, https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-moment/.