1. We always ask first - Who is the speaker?
2. Look for words with multiple meanings - denotative, connotative, and how about figurative?
3. Paraphrase the poem.
4. Look for similes, metaphors, personification.
5. Look for imagery.
After looking at these elements, what does this poem tell you? What is its message?
Auto Wreck
by Karl Shapiro
Its quick soft silver bell beating, beating,
And down the dark one ruby flare
Pulsing out red light like an artery,
The ambulance at top speed floating down
Past beacons and illuminated clocks
Wings in a heavy curve, dips down,
And brakes speed, entering the crowd.
The doors leap open, emptying light;
Stretchers are laid out, the mangled lifted
And stowed into the little hospital.
Then the bell, breaking the hush, tolls once.
And the ambulance with its terrible cargo
Rocking, slightly rocking, moves away,
As the doors, an afterthought, are closed.
We are deranged, walking among the cops
Who sweep glass and are large and composed.
One is still making notes under the light.
One with a bucket douches ponds of blood
Into the street and gutter.
One hangs lanterns on the wrecks that cling,
Empty husks of locusts, to iron poles.
Our throats were tight as tourniquets,
Our feet were bound with splints, but now,
Like convalescents intimate and gauche,
We speak through sickly smiles and warn
With the stubborn saw of common sense,
The grim joke and the banal resolution.
The traffic moves around with care,
But we remain, touching a wound
That opens to our richest horror.
Already old, the question Who shall die?
Becomes unspoken Who is innocent?
For death in war is done by hands;
Suicide has cause and stillbirth, logic;
And cancer, simple as a flower, blooms.
But this invites the occult mind,
Cancels our physics with a sneer,
And spatters all we knew of denouement
Across the expedient and wicked stones.
This poem tells the tragic tale of a fatal car crash. The part that pulled the whole poem together was the final line of the second stanza where the speaker ponders who is innocent.
ReplyDeleteThe use of the word innocent ties to the poem to many religious ideas where innocence means one who is free from sin. This refers to the person in the accident who was harmed. However, in this poem, there seems to be a question of who is to blame for the accident and that only that person should be punished with the ultimate punishment, death.
I think that there is a message in the poem that says that even in an accident there is someone at fault
this was emma r btw
DeleteThis poem begins by describing an abrupt, unplanned event: a car accident. The author creates a feeling of urgency and tragedy. In the second and third stanzas, the author explores the emotions of the bystanders. The narrator discusses the randomness of death of all kinds. In other words, nobody chooses to die from cancer or other terrible diseases. Nobody asks to contract illness, and nobody asks to find themself in a situation that could end in suicide. In the same way, nobody asks to get into a car accident. The event itself is unfortunate and tragic. None of the victims nor the bystanders wanted to be involved or witness the situation. The author strives to convey the message that death is inevitable. Although unfortunate, nobody can control what happens to them.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. So well said.
DeleteStarting from the first stanza the reader is given a picture of most likely a car accident as implied by the title. However, as this seemingly straight forward event is occurring there is a more religious connotation in the background. The ambulance is described as floating down which is incredibly strange word choice for an ambulance driving to the scene of an accident. It was also described as having curved wings, again, similar to the description of an angel. It also mentions a bell tolling which provides me with an image of a church bell tower continuing the religious themes. The fact that it rings once provides the reader with the time of the accident but also is symbolic for the time left that these people have in their lives. In the second stanza, it appears as if the people in the accident are watching the rest of the world as spirits in a sort of limbo. The speaker is not yet dead and in heaven or hell but is in the in-between passing judgment on his past perspective of life. The word choice would make it appear as if the speaker is simply walking dazed after witnessing an accident, however, I believe otherwise. To me, the majority of this stanza is merely just the spirit/ghost making comments about the aftermath until the last two lines. “Already old, the question Who shall die?/Becomes unspoken Who is innocent?” stood out to me as one of the most prominent lines that form the relationship between the poem and religion. The reason that the question is old is that they have already discovered who has died. The second line, however, appears to be a question for the speaker and whoever else was involved in the accident for this limbo aftermath. Almost every religion has some sort of concept of Heaven and Hell and furthermore a concept of the judgment of the dead to decide where they will end up. The speaker does not necessarily care who caused the accident but rather that line is to ask how will end up in Heaven and who will end up in Hell. The third stanza is brilliantly written where the speaker seems to wrap up his ideas about this new perspective on life and death that they have developed. He has since his death realized that death is so much simpler than the living gives credit. People are shooting at each other in war, of course they do. Suicidal people have urges to kill themselves, of course they die. Babies with illnesses and disease in the womb die, of course they do. People battling a disease as deadly as cancer die, of course they do. However, it is incident such as a car crash that provides one with no foresight on their death that will occur. The speaker realizes that car accidents happen because it is God’s will that it happens. These incidents defy logic and reasoning as a car crash never needs to happen and if they do no one needs to die. But people die in car crashes so much in every single day. Brilliant.
ReplyDeleteSure do. And who is next is a horrible thought. I heard a news piece about how many years ago a molasses flood killed people. Are you kidding? Why them?
DeleteOn a more serious note, I am not sure you could argue the religious connection, but definitely a spiritual.
This poem centers around a tragic, but common event that can have a rippling effect on the community. The words used in the poem develop a sense of urgency like quick, the ambulance at top speed, and doors leap open. The language used by the author like "tight as tourniquets" gives an image to the reader that they are struggling and their thoughts give no leeway from this subject, causing them to struggle for breath. Sickly smiles demonstrates the false face that people put on, pretending to be strong during a tragedy. These phrases showing speed demonstrate that time is of the essence in a situation like this but it also shows that this is not their first time doing this. The quickness and order of the event shows the commonality of car accidents and how they can happen to anybody. No one knows what will happen next and although the poem focuses on the morbid scene of a car accident, the last stanza branches out to other events. Cancer is not a disease you wish upon yourself, yet a trap that no one is safe from. Although this poem is more than morbid, it calls the readers to focus on the good in their lives as they are not safe from their fate. No matter who the speaker is, the event is tragic, affecting each person involved - whether that be a bystander, a family member, or a person involved.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point. That first stanza is urgent, and then the second is slow, right? So interesting. I will have to go back and look at the structure - syllables per line, and see if it supports the quickness and slowing down. Very interesting, Sarah! SMART!
Delete- Entitled “Auto Wreck” because people have become desensitized to
ReplyDeletethe term car crash, or car accident
- The poet wants the reader to feel something
- In comparison to “Dog’s Death,” it uses highly emotional terms for
a medical event (EMT rescue)
- “Dog’s Death” uses medical terms to describe something highly
emotional, the death of a family puppy
- The speaker seems to be a bystander who witnessed the crash and
cannot bring themselves to leave
- There’s a quote somewhere about how as car crashes are, but how
people can’t seem to look away, they seem to be searching for some
kind of solution
- Sometimes, witnesses at a car crash are the ones that get to call
911, and naturally, they seem to develop a sort of emotional
connection towards the people involved, hoping that they are okay
and survive in the hospital
- Although others suggested that the speaker of the poem was one of
the people involved in the car crash, or a spirit of one of the
people, from Shapiro's words, I got the impression that it was a
bystander, "We are deranged, walking among the cops...We speak
through sickly smiles and warn/With the stubborn saw of common
sense/The grim joke and the banal resolution"
Definitely a bystander. Great!
DeleteThe figurative language present in this poem is key to understanding its meaning. The words are purposefully chosen to create a religious tone. In the first stanza, “bell” and “wings” relate to churches and angels, respectively. The last lines of the second stanza the phrases “Who shall die?” and “Who is innocent?” relate to the dead being judged by Jesus to determine if they will enter heaven or hell. In the last stanza, the word “occult” means supernatural beliefs or phenomena. These references to Christianity help the reader learn the identity of the speaker- a recently deceased person in between Earth and heaven. The speaker and others were killed in a car accident and are having out-of-body experiences while lying in the street, traffic moving around them with care.
ReplyDeleteThe question then becomes “what is the purpose of the poem?” This can be answered by analyzing the last stanza. The speaker has seemingly had a revelation about the concept of death. Living people often think that death has no meaning and is unavoidable. However, the speaker says that deaths in war is caused by humans, suicide has a cause, and there is logic behind a stillborn. Every death has a reason or a purpose, even though it may not seem like it.
I just told Nick the same. I don't think you could argue religious, but probably spiritual, right? I think Shapiro's message is more than what you say. The accident, he says, is the one you cannot explain.
DeleteThe beginning of the poem describes a car accident, by creating an image of an ambulance racing to the scene. There seems to be both a calming and chaotic feeling in the first stanza. The description of the bells makes it seem like you are in a church and not hearing the loud sirens of an ambulance. The words floating,wings, illuminating and beacon do not create a negative connotation that you would think of as having to do with a car accident, but they do have an angelic sound which relates to the religious connection in the last stanza. However, towards the end of the stanza, it becomes more chaotic. The words stretcher, emptying, mangled, stowed and hospital connect more to the car accident that has occurred. In the second stanza, the speaker of the poem seems to be a bystander watching as the events unfold. The bystanders are taking in everything around them while they try to understand what has happened. The words in the second stanza have a negative connotation and are very direct in describing the scene. The words ponds of blood, glass, cops, wrecks, wound, tight, tourniquets, splints, bound, gauche, sickly and grim take away the feeling you would think of when talking about an angel and show the reality of the scene of the accident. The bystanders are having more of an emotional connection with the accident. The poem says “Our feet were bound with splints, but now, Like convalescents intimate and gauche” as if the people are feeling the pain of the accident even though they are not actually hurt. It also says that the people stay to watch, “touching a wound that opens to our richest horror”. This may mean that the accident has caused the bystanders to start thinking about death and just as the next line says, they wonder “Who shall die? Becomes unspoken Who is innocent”. They know that someone may die from the accident and they know that injuries sustained from the crash are the cause, but no one knows who will die. The bystanders think about why certain people will die and why certain people are chosen to live. The last stanza brings this idea into a larger picture by talking about how people die from cancer because the cancer grows and people kill others in wars. Yet, who is chosen to die and who is chosen to live is something so far from what people can understand. There is no logic in it that people can decipher and it is up to a higher being as referred to as the occult in the poem. The cause of death can be understood by simple knowledge, but the reason for death cannot be figured out by simple means.
ReplyDeleteYou say it so well at the end! ANd you told me you don't like poetry. I don't believe you. You are too good at explicating it.
DeleteThe beginning of the poem creates a sense of controlled chaos. There are so many things going on around the speaker, but I picture this scene, through the eyes of the narrator, as silent. There are no descriptions of sound. This may represent someone from the outside looking in. In addition, this scene reminds me of a somewhat entrance to heaven. The author speaks about things with wings swooping down. In addition,when the ambulance opens, it may be to mimic the opening of the gates of heaven. I also like the symbols the author used. He refers to the pain of touching a physical wound but in the sense of this poem, this wound if coping with the loss of a loved one. Also I think it is very unsanitary that the cops are just sweeping the blood into the sewers.... Gross.
ReplyDeleteSo interesting. But there is the bell.
DeleteThe speaker in this poem is probably the hardest to decide. It could be someone involved in the wreck, or perhaps a bystander. I agree with the idea that the poem could be some sort of out of body experience, maybe of the someone involved in the accident. The phrase “We are deranged, walking among the cops” gives this idea. It seems as if two people are invisible, but are able to watch the scene in a hase, like in slow motion. They way the speaker describes what each cop is doing, almost seems slow and methodical. The start of the poem describes an ambulance rushing to the scene of the car crash, except the ambulance isn't rushing. The 2nd stanza describes the aftermath, the cops slowly cleaning everything up, returning it back to normal. It then transitions to the speaker talking about the world move around them, then finally asking who will die. The third stanza talks about the destructiveness of an accident. It is almost saying that this crash goes against human beauty, whereas cancer is “natural,” and a suicide is “clean.” This poem seems to question what happens in death. Do we stay, or do we go somewhere else. It asks, how will go to heaven? Whos fault is the accident? Was it truly an accident, or maybe someone was drunk driving? The speaker seems to say that everything has a purpose, and that all death is meaningful. He or she seems to say that it may be messy, but in the end, death is a fact of life.
ReplyDeleteIn this poem, I find it odd how the cops are described throughout this turn of events. They act very calm, sorta like robots, just doing their job with no emotion attached to it. They surely have seen this before and just see it as another day, but this contrasts with the confusion of the narrator. It also contrasts with the language used in the poem, which is monotoned and unemotional, just stating the facts. The way the traffic casually moves around the crash also shows how little people care for death of others, seeing it as just another day. It reminds me of the theme of the Dog’s Death, and why it’s about a dog. In that poem, the author chose to make it a dog because of how desensitized society is to people dying. This poem has the same idea, that people don’t truly care for others deaths.
ReplyDelete-Sofia
Yes. They are mechanical. Interesting. A contrast, right, to the emotion that would be appropriate?
DeleteThroughout the poem, figurative language allows the reader to read in between the direct and indirect meanings of the poem. On the surface, the poem captures the moment of a tragic car wreck followed by those involved scattered and "deranged" among the scene. Those who were involved question their innocence and the wonders of death ensue. The underlying, yet somehow obvious meaning is hidden in words like bell, angel, and floating. From the beginning words associated with religion are placed to hint at the religious undertone of the poem. In the second stanza the people involved, apparently having an out of body experience are troubled by judgement day. Whether or not they will be accepted into heaven or hell. Once they are consumed by death, their questions are answered. Death happens to everyone, it is a way of life. When wars are fought people will die. When people battle a disease such as cancer, they will die. People who want to kill themselves, kill themselves. It happens as it would logically happen. Moments like car wrecks are unexpected and bring about the "occult" mind; only something like this would happen by God's hands. No one goes on a drive expecting to die. Unfortunately, many do.
ReplyDelete^ Maria C
DeleteYou write so well.
DeleteWhen reading this poem, it reminded me of something that would be seen in a movie. It was almost like the people that were involved in the crash had awoken from their bodies and were now watching the scene play out in front of the. What gave me this impression was when it said, “We are deranged, walking among the cops.” and “Our throats were tight as tourniquets, Our feet were bound with splints,” The victims of the crash were aware of what was going on but they had no impact with the people or the scene, like no one knew that they were there. It seems like the events that are being witnessed are in slow motion, from the ambulance arriving to the cops conducting the crime scene. In addition to it being in slow motion I feel as though the tone is very nonchalant and calm for a situation this serious and emotional. The author uses words like “rocking”, “illuminated”, “composed”, “with care” and “blooms” that gave me this vibe. The part that caught my attention however was when it asked Already old, the question “Who shall die?Becomes unspoken Who is innocent?” I feel as though this changes the mood of the poem because it immediately made me assume that the person who caused the crash was under the influence and that it was not just an “accident”. The last stanza wraps up the meaning of the poem which describes how death is predictable, except for in cases like this one where we do not know who is at fault and the series of questions that may never be answered.
ReplyDeleteLauren P
I agree with the idea of this poem having a religious connotation. This is because of the specific words chosen by the author Shapiro. In the first stanza she says the ambulance floats down, almost like an angel floating down from heaven. Also, the word “Wings” two lines down makes me think of the wings of an angel. Also, the line “The doors leap open, emptying light” make me think of the door of heaven. These doors when opened, reveal the light of God. In the second stanza, two questions are asked. “Who shall die?” And “who is innocent?” This makes me think of the afterlife. It is basically asking who is going to heaven and who is going to heaven. Also the word “locusts” makes me think of the locusts sent as a plague to Egypt as said in the Book of Exodus in the Bible. Finally, in the third stanza, the word occult is used, which relates to paranormal and supernatural and religion.
ReplyDeleteMichael T
I told Jess and Nick above that I think it could be spiritual, but not necessarily religious. WHat do you think?
DeleteThe speaker of the poem seems to be a possibility of multiple people. It could be a bystander, the victim of an accident, a loved one, or an angel.
ReplyDeleteWe were able to come up with these possibilities due to the setting of the poem. It is definitely about a car accident due to the title and the poem itself. They way it talks about the scene and how the emergency services shows up makes it evident that a car accident has just occurred.
It is also evident that the speaker is walking around the scene and observing it. They mention how they are walking around and looking at each “section” of the crime scene.
Words with Multiple Meanings:
Beating,pulsing,stretchers, braking/breaking, tolls, rocking,sickly and saw.
Personification: silver bell beating,Door leap open, traffic moves around with care
Simile: red light like and artery, like convalescents intimate and gauche
Metaphor: opening up the gates of heaven
There is strong imagery throughout the poem. One example that strikes me and stood out to me the most is when Shapiro talks about the police cleaning up the blood. Her word choice makes it extremely vivid for me. Especially when she uses the word “douches”.
The poem simply speaks the message of being deranged and lost in a sense. I think that this sense may be talking about rethinking your actions. After something terrible happens, you may be left speechless and lost, especially after an accident. It seems as if the speaker is also playing the scenario out in their head. Asking the questions like “Who Shall die?” And “Who is innocent?”. This demonstrates the unknown in the poem. This is also common thinking after an accident. A lot of questions are asked because nobody truly knows when it comes to victims lives after a terrible occurrence.
I believe that the speaker of this poem is a bystander, watching the tragedy of an accident unfold, and beginning to question the reasoning and significance of the accident. In my group, we uncovered some evidence that reveals the poem’s spiritual connotation. In the first line, Shapiro describes the “beating” of silver bells, which could allude to the beginning or ending of a life, especially with the use of the word “beating,” which connotatively refers to the heart. It could also be an allusion the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, where the bell ringing is associated with death. This would relate heavily the circumstances of the car accident. Additionally, Shapiro paints the image of an angel, describing the ambulance “floating down” with “wings in a heavy curve.” The ambulance acts an angel by claiming the deceased and carrying them away. I think this spiritual connotation adds to the reader’s understanding of the speaker’s perspective on the car wreck. When he sees the accident, he notes at the conclusion of the poem, that in witnessing the horror of the wreck, they no longer feel that they understand denouement. Denouement refers to the ending of something, in this case, the ending of the lives involved in the crash. They note that “death in war is done by hands; suicide has cause and stillbirth, logic; And cancer, simple as a flower, blooms” but this situation was just a simple accident, that occurred without intention or reason. With this information, I believe the speaker may try to attach some spiritual significance to the incident to offer clarity, which is why they view the ambulance as an angel, and acknowledge the ringing of the bell as similar to a “beating” heart. In times of confusion and questioning of the significance of life, people often utilize spirituality as an avenue to process their pain. I think that the speaker attempts to do this here, but is left without answers, as they note that “all we knew of denouement (is spattered) Across the expedient and wicked stones.” Overall, I believe a possible meaning of this poem is the idea of trying to find a spiritual significance in occurrences that are tragic, cruel, random and seemingly meaningless.
ReplyDeleteThe poem is about the events following a severe car accident, describing the ambulance in the first stanza, the feelings and thoughts of the victims (possibly bystanders) in the second and third stanza. The first stanza introduces an ambulance vehicle heading to the scene of the accident, personifying its lights as an “artery”, almost emphasizing the severity of the accident. Considering that the speaker and whoever is with him (since he uses “we”), are still at the scene despite their wounds, the ambulance left with only one body, meaning that someone is close to death. In the second stanza, the speaker uses several similes referring to medical tools which they compare to their feelings about the accident. This convinces me that they were part of the accident. They almost seem traumatized in how they use terms to describe themselves: “deranged”, “sickly smiles”, and “convalescents”. In the final stanza, the writer articulates his words to be vague, but full of meaning. I interpreted “cancer, simple as a flower, blooms”, and “splatters all we knew of denouement Across the expedient and wicked stones” as a way of saying that there are things that are completely out of one’s control. This accident happened the way it did and nothing can be done to change that. No matter how bizarre, how cruel, or how unexpected, “cancer...blooms”, meaning that it is natural.
ReplyDelete- Inthavha Singharaj
The use of medical terminology makes the feelings and imagery of the poem more intense as the reader thinks of emergencies and doctors rushing to solve the life threatening injuries. The bell ringing could symbolism heaven as the red light could be hell. The wings represent angels, the Lights whne the door are open - heaven. When the door is opened it is welcoming the person to heaven as the door was an afterthought it could be saying that what they left behind on earth was an afterthought they put themselves first they made the choice they had to make- could this person could have fought for their life? The bell ringing symbolizes in the old days- death. The line “ tight as tourniquets” could be used to show that tourniquets which are used for controlling and stopping bleeding could be sued in this context to mean it stopped them from breathing, from the heart beating as it stops circulation and without and airway, breathing or circulation the patient is no longer alive. In the line that starts that their feet was bound by splints - splints are to hold a joint/ bone is place to stop from enduring movement and making the injury worse could this be something figuratively stopping the person from fighting for their life or someone such as authorities were stopped from helping right away causing a lesser change of survival? “Traffic moves around with care” - world keeps moving on - slowly at first but speeds up afterwards when everything is settled. In the last stanza, death has no reasoning behind it as does suicide has a cause and the person chose to die and a still birth is due to compilations that is mostly unpreventable but with death who gets to chose who lives and dies?? Could this Include fate?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThe first stanza is expressing the nonemotional aspect of death. The narrator endulges in mechanical terminology to compare death to the ambulance. The first comparison being a soft silver bell, beating, beating. I thought of this as a heart moniter that they have in hospitals when someone is going into V-FIB. When it started dinging, this meant that someone was in grave danger..hence, the ambulance coming. The ambulance, “floating down” at top speed reminded me of an angel who is coming to pick up the soul in a body. Then, the narrator says that the ambulance is passing illuminated clocks and beacons and later the ambulance doors open, “emptying light”. This reminded me of, “seeing the light”, right before someone dies.
The siren or the bell of the ambulance rings one last time. This is symbolism for one person had just passed away. It’s like the Hunger Games. After this, the narrator refers to the person in the ambulance as terrible cargo, aka they’re dead.
I concluded that the narrator is a bystander rethinking their own life after watching this. The second stanza gets much more emotional and uses medical terminology to get that point across. The main point I took from this second stanza is that the body was not only a cruel reminder of how common sense is important, but how the physical body doesn’t matter once your dead. The police and others douched the blood into the gutters..it’s useless. But watching all of this as a bystander really got the narrator to think about what just happened, and how it could have been her or someone she loved. The narrator felt like a patient when they watched it themselves, “throats as tight as tourniquets...feet bound with splints”. After explaining this, the narrator makes an effort to say that the traffic CONTINUES with care. Although the death may be a quick shock, life still goes on.