The Dead Crow

This paper aims at analyzing the poem entitled “The Dead Crow” written by one of prominent Malaysian poets, A. Samad Said by using stylistic approach. The analysis of this poem includes the study of language used by the poet to bring out the message, tone and mood, style and structure, speaker and persona as well as the literary devices. The study of this poem will definitely enhance and deepen one’s understanding of the poem.

Message

The very first aspect that should be taken into consideration when analyzing the poem is the study of language used by the poet to bring out the important messages to the readers. For example, the very first line of this poem suggests the vital message that should become the central attention of the readers. The readers may interpret that the poet is terribly upset to see a dead crow in the drain next to the post office and therefore, the readers may interpret that the polluted environment has adversely affected the survival of the animals. It is very apparent when the crow, which feeds on rubbish, is found dead and it clearly indicates that the quality of the environment is at risk. This interpretation is probably based on the choice of word “crow” used by the poet with the intention of showing how polluted environment can become a serious threat to animals.

The polluted environment does not negatively affect the survival of animals only but also the survival of human beings. This message is clearly illustrated when the poet mentions about “seeing an old man gasping for air and a baby barely able to breathe”. The readers will also notice that the poet intelligently uses the words like “gasping” and “barely” in describing the difficulty faced by the elderly generations represented by “old man” and young generations represented by “baby”. The noun phrases like “old man” and “baby” suggests that these two generations are mostly vulnerable to the negative effects of polluted environment. This is because they most probably have a very weak immune system and therefore potentially afflicted with diseases.

The prepositional phrase like “in a crowded morning clinic” also conveys particular message that will make the study of this poem become more meaningful. This phrase actually describes the scene in clinic which is heavily congested with people seeking for immediate health treatment on account of the polluted environment that is happening at that time. This is definitely not a good sign to discover many people suffering from pollution related ailments. If there are no actions taken to reduce or minimize the polluted environment, the number of people suffering from diseases will be rapidly increasing in the foreseeable future. This phrase does not only suggest people seeking for immediate health treatment but also suggests the mentality of Malaysian people which are difficult to be changed although they have become much more civilized and well-educated individuals. This interpretation is solely based on the existence of “morning clinic” which indicates the development that has been achieved by their beloved country, Malaysia, yet it still cannot change the mentality of Malaysian people about keeping the environment clean all the times. Indirectly, it also means that the people are by nature irresponsible due to the fact that the main contributor of air pollution is none other than the people themselves.

The last two lines in the first stanza as in “This land is so rich, why should we suffer like this” contain meaningful message that the readers should take note when analyzing this poem. “The rich land” actually symbolizes the wealthy country, Malaysia, that we are now living in. In this context, the richness of Malaysia can not only be gauged through the massive development and rapid advancement of technology but it can also be measured through the richness of the natural resources like clean air and clean water. However, these natural resources that play a very significant role in ensuring the good quality of environment as well as people’s health are now increasingly depleting. This makes the poet wonder why the people are still suffering when they have a country that is abundant with natural resource. In another interpretation, these two lines imply that wealth cannot buy health if nothing is done to prevent the pollution. Implicitly, it means that happiness is all gone when we are sick or suffering from diseases. Then, the readers will also realize that the real happiness when ones feel healthy and able to do their daily routines. In order to experience the real happiness, the perseveration of the environment must come into operation as soon as possible. All in all, human beings and the environment are by nature interdependent as we mutually support each other.

Moving on to second stanza the readers make several interpretations to these few lines “I want clean air for my grandchildren”, “I want the damned fools to leave the forest alone”, and “I want the trees to grow”. By studying these lines at a very surface level, the readers may conclude that the poet wants clean air for his grandchildren, and wants the forest to be left alone. This literal meaning of these few lines actually has some implications that should be paid careful attention when analyzing the poem. The first implication of this literal meaning is the indication of poet’s deep concern towards the health of the next generation which can be seriously affected by unchecked air pollution. This implication is made based on the word “want” used by the poet. Interestingly, the word “want” is repeated many times and it seems to emphasize the poet’s demand for clean air and greener environment and indirectly, it establishes a sense of urgency towards providing his next generation with a safe and sound environment. The second implication underlines the repercussions of excessive logging in which it can cause soil erosion as well as land slides by referring to these two phrases which are “damned fools” and “leave the forest alone”. The “damned fools” is probably referred to those who cut down the trees excessively until disrupt the ecology system as well as the imbalance of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The excessive logging, which has been perpetually carried out, definitely brings the disastrous effects upon the public which can be clearly seen in the first stanza in which “an old man gasping for air and a baby barely able to breathe”. These few lines also suggests that human beings are naturally materialistic in which they are willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of massive development devoid considering the impacts of their obsession on the public. This obsession can be seen from the people’s idea of building skyscraper although they have built so many tall buildings before. There is actually nothing wrong with the idea of building the skyscraper but the implementation of building the skyscraper must be regularly monitored and must be ensured that the implementation must go hand in hand with the perseveration of environment. Otherwise, this will put many people in jeopardy.

The last two lines of the second stanza “let the politicians plan how we may live with dignity” seems to make the politicians responsible for finding solutions or remedy to pollution so that people can live healthier and decent lives. This message is clearly illustrated through the word “let” which means allowing the politicians to carefully plan the development and the poet undeniably reiterates the roles and responsibilities of the politicians with sarcasm. This is probably because the politicians themselves are not aware of the seriousness of the polluted environment and tend to take this matter for granted.

Tone and Mood

The second aspect of the analysis of the poem is how the poet uses the language to convey the particular tone and mood. In this poem, the tone is one of anger and indignation. This can be clearly seen in the first stanza of this poem with reference to these two lines “This land is so rich” and “Why we should we suffer like this”. The poet seems to be very indignant at the country that is abundant with natural resources and yet we are still suffering and afflicted with the diseases. The interrogative question like “why” suggests the anger in the poet. The use of the interrogative question “why” can also suggest that the poet actually laments the destruction of the natural resources aside from the poet’s anger towards the inability of the natural resources to prevent ones from getting sick. Apart from anger and indignation, there is also a didactic tone in which the poet suggests several ways of what must be done to preserve the environment. This tone is strongly expressed when the poet wants the irresponsible individuals or so-called “damned fools” to stop destroying the forest and he also wants the politicians to plan any development carefully so that a clean and healthy environment may be preserved for the next posterity.

Speaker and persona

In this poem, there are two personas. In the first stanza, the persona is the third person narrator whereas in the second stanza, the persona is the first person narrator. This can be identified through the use of pronoun in each stanza. For example, the pronoun “he” is used in the first stanza and thereby indicating the third person narrator. Therefore, it also suggests to the readers that the persona is actually looking from the outside and talks about the dire consequences of polluted environment due to Man’s negligence of the environment. As for the second stanza, the pronouns used are like “I” and “we” and thus signifying the first person narrator. The pronoun “I” is used to refer to the persona’s own feeling of despair, sadness and disappointment with the situation that is occurring at that time. Then, he is also demanding a better environment for everyone. Everyone in this context accounts for the reason why the pronoun “we” is used in the second last line of the second stanza. By looking at different angle, the purpose of using the pronoun “we” is to remind that pollution is everyone’s concern. All of the human beings including the politicians and the people in authoritative, in other words, are responsible for preserving the environment as well as the natural heritage for the next generation.

Literary/Poetic Devices

The literary or poetic devices that are used in this poem are meant to make the poem intriguing and worth reading. The very obvious poetic device that can be easily identified is the repetition of particular words. This is very evident when the poet use the word “saw” twice as in “ he saw a dead crow” and “he saw an old man gasping for air and a baby barely able to breathe” The repetition of word “saw” is intended to show the importance of a certain concept. So, in this context, the word “saw” is repeated to show the horror of the effects of pollution with reference to the difficulty in breathing faced by the old man and the baby. Another example is the repetitions of the word “want” as in “I want clean air for my grandchildren”, “I want the damned fools to leave the forest alone” and “I want the trees to grow, the rivers run free, and the earth covered with grass”. The repetition of the word “want” in those lines is to show the poet’s demand for his right to have a clean and green environment to live in.

Aside from the repetition, there is also a significant symbol found in the poem. The function of the symbol is to represent an idea intended by the poet. A crow, for example, represent death, bad luck or premonition, an old man symbolizes the older generation whereas a baby symbolizes the young or new generation, the politician implies the people in power, the crowded clinic is a bad sign that many people are affected by the polluted environment and finally grass represents a green environment that becomes one of the poet’s wishes.

Apart from the symbol, the personification can also be ascertained and found in this poem. For instance, the word “run” used as in “the rivers run free” is indeed a perfect example of personification in which the human quality or action of running is given to the non-living thing, river. This line simply means that the rivers are able to flow freely and untainted by pollution. Besides that, this poem also contains the element of alliteration and assonance. Alliteration generally means the repetition of similar consonants at the beginning of words put close to each other. As for the alliteration, the readers can easily notice the repetition of consonant /b/ as in “baby barely able to breathe” in the first stanza of this poem. Other examples of alliteration are the repetition of consonant /r/ as in “rivers run”, the repetition of consonant /p/ as in “politicians plan”, the repetition of consonant /c/ as in “crowded…..clinic”, and lastly the repetition of consonant /d/ as in “dead….drain”. The assonance, on the other hand, basically refers to the repetition of vowel sounds in words put close to each other. The instances of assonance in this poem include the repetition of vowel sound /o/ as in “post office”, the repetition of vowel sounds /a/, and /i/ as “in gasping….air”, the repetition of vowel sound /a/ as in “baby barely able”, and the repetition of vowel sound /e/ as in “earth covered”.

Style and structure

The style of writing that is used by the poet is pretty simple, direct and straightforward. This is proven when the poem is presented in two stanzas of nine line each and the choice of words used by the poet is quite easy to understand as well as the message of this poem can be easily deduced and interpreted by the readers. Another uniqueness of this poem is that it is written in blank verse and there is no definite or fixed rhyming pattern. This style of writing is in line with the poet’s demand or wish for a pollution-free environment.

On the whole, ones will definitely benefit from the study of this poem by using stylistic approach as it helps them develop their creative and critical thinking skill when interpreting words used by the poet to convey the tone and mood, style and structure, literary devices used, the identity of speaker and persona as well as important messages in the poem to the readers. This is certainly in line with the aims of stylistic approach to produce the individuals who are able to analyze the words as well as the sentence structure in a critical way and able to come up with meaningful interpretation. As a result, this will deepen ones’ minds and broaden their horizons.