Using Rose's example from GT, and MaryAnn's suggestion of a thread on interpretation, let's discuss interpretation in general and use examples from Roehtke's 'Root Cellar'. It's not a poem I'm familiar with, I could certainly use the practice *grin*.
It would be interesting to see what other's have to say.
Root Cellar
Theodore Roethke
Nothing would sleep in that cellar, dank as a ditch,
Bulbs broke out of boxes hunting for chinks in the dark,
Shoots dangled and drooped,
Lolling obscenely from mildewed crates,
Hung down long yellow evil necks, like tropical snakes.
And what a congress of stinks!
Roots ripe as old bait,
Pulpy stems, rank, silo-rich,
Leaf-mold, manure, lime, piled against slippery planks.
Nothing would give up life:
Even the dirt kept breathing a small breath.
[This message has been edited by Jerry Glenn Hartwig (edited December 12, 2007).]
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