A Blessing Essay

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“A Blessing” Analysis The poem “A Blessing” by James Wright begins with the author and his friend encountering two Indian ponies on a trip. Rather than describing the feel of his friend or him for the trip, the author directly talks about interactions between these two ponies. The ponies in this poem are described as though they were human beings mainly through personification, and they display different emotions that human beings have. In this essay, I will argue that “A Blessing” is about the connection between human beings and nature through a comprehensive explanation of the poem. The poem starts off with the lines “Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota, / Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.”(1-2). It gives us a clear view of where we are going and time period of the day. The word “Twilight” seems to have more to say other than just a time period; it also symbolizes the start of something new. Since the author did not leave us any clues on what is going to happen next, this poem has now grabbed the reader’s curiosity. “And the eyes of those two Indian ponies / Darken with kindness.”(3-4), the poem has now led us to two kind Indian ponies. These two ponies are “kind” from the author’s first impression. What makes them kind? Also, it created a great contradiction when Wright uses the word "darken" to modify "kindness" when he refers to these ponies' eyes. It is hard to associate darkness with kindness because these words seem to have an intense contrast. Wright continues to depict the idea of "kindness." From the line "They have come gladly out of the willows / To welcome my friend and me."(5-6), we can infer that these two ponies are not afraid of strangers. Is it because many people had visited them? Or they are just too "kind?" This has created a suspense for the reader. Furthermore, the author has shown who is really meeting the ponies in
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