Sep. 17
The Loon’s Cry - Frank Oliver Call (1920)
Personification and imagery are the two main uses of figurative language throughout Call’s poem. Call sets a clear picture of the scene that the speaker witnesses. The water, the wind, and the exterior are all described with dull words to portray a depressing scene. The lake moans and it can not sleep, the wind croons, and a lonely loon cries in the distance.
The first stanza juxtaposed with the rest of the poem shares that the darkness outside represents the speaker's inner feelings and self-doubt about love. The slow dissipation of the loon's cry (later revealed to be the call of loneliness) suggests an awakening for the speaker.
The manifestations of the speaker’s inner thoughts and the visualization that follows puts me as the reader into the scene. I can relate to the speaker and not only empathize but embody their same feelings. The joyful realization at the end shifts this poem from dark and depressing to introspective and peaceful.
