Ashes (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Philip Levine
- First Published: 1979
- Type of Work: Lyric
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: Working class, Employment or employees, Fire, Life, philosophy of, Life and death, Smoke
The Poem
“Ashes” is a free-verse, single-stanza poem that is forty-one lines long. The title points to what a life comes to upon death, and it immediately establishes a mood of fatalism. Ashes are the result of fire, and fire in this poem is a metaphor for life’s toil and labor. The poem is written in the first person, and the poet addresses the reader as early as the fourteenth line, telling the reader that “You can howl your name,” but the wind will turn it to dust. The direct address links the poet to his reader.
“Ashes” begins at dusk with the poet...
[The entire page is 1496 words long]
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