every word in a poem.

After acquiring an understanding of Lowell’s purpose of simplifying poetry and developing images for her readers to see what she is describing, a look at some of the literary devices employed in “A London Thoroughfare. 2 A.M.” would be the next logical step in the analysis. For example, theme is generally defined as the application in an imaginative work of a method “designed to involve...the reader.”

The theme of a poem is the overall message or lesson the poet wishes to impart to readers. It might include the meaning of the work or the poet’s opinion about the subject matter of the poem. Mood and atmosphere are nearly synonymous. They describe the emotional tone of the poem, which helps the reader to anticipate the events the poet describes.

In “A London Thoroughfare. 2 A.M.,” the reader immediately identifies Lowell’s use of free verse:

They have watered the street,
It shines in the glare of lamps,
Cold, white lamps,
And lies
Like a slow-moving river

The lines are irregular and short with little rhyme and no organized pattern. The stanzas do not contain fancy words, and there is no traditional adherence to standard punctuation. An analysis must focus on each and every word as having significance to the poet.

The theme presented is somewhat gloomy. London is described as a busy, bustling city:

Barred with silver and black.
Cabs go down it,
One,
And then another.
Between them I hear the shuffling of feet.

Nevertheless, the atmosphere is one of negativity and gloom:

Tramps doze on the window-ledges,
Night-walkers pass along the sidewalks.
The city is squalid and sinister,
With the silver-barred street in the midst,
Slow-moving,
A river leading nowhere.

The imagery Lowell creates is vivid and sparks the reader’s imagination. She envisions London as “an alien city,” as does the reader because of the images she has created. Look in depth into the meanings of the words chosen in this poem. Many deeper suggestions by the poet are available for analysis.

Structure

How does the poem look to you? How is it built? To us, it looks rather uneven. Some of the lines are rather long. Some are short, even one-word short. Each stanza has a different number of lines. Perhaps the odd shape of the poem and its lack of symmetry is a reflection of the content of the poem.

Content

Unless Lowell is trying to trick us, we know we're reading about a London street late at night (technically, early morning). We might say the content is rather squalid and sinister. We actually don't need to say that. Lowell says it herself when she says, "The city is squalid and sinister."

What makes her say that? Could it be the sleeping tramps, the night-walkers, the “cold, white lamps”? We seem to have a poem composed of disparate, dislocated people and things. Perhaps that's why the poem's structure is uneven and asymmetrical.

Themes

One theme is light. Typically, light is a good thing. We tend to associate it with understanding and knowledge. Yet here, light seems to be odious. The "cold, white lamps" illuminate something seedy.

We also have the theme of dislocation and alienation. The tramps are dislocated. They're sleeping on window ledges instead of beds. The speaker is dislocated too. The speaker connects with the moon, yet they're stuck in this "alien city."

Mood/Atmosphere

Think about the time in which this poem takes place. Think about the people who inhabit this poem. Think about how this poem is lit. When we think about those things, we think about how they all contribute to a rather unsettling, unnerving mood and atmosphere.

Part of us would not be walking around Lowell's London street at two in the morning. Yet part of us would want to be a part of the desolate, downtrodden mood/atmosphere. There is something enchanting about Lowell's description of this relatively dismal part of the city.

In this poem, Lowell contrasts the city of London, which makes her feel unhappy and alienated, to the moon, which gives her a sense of comfort and familiarity. Therefore, one of the themes of the poem you could explore would be that of civilization versus nature. What are some reasons the narrator gives for disliking the city (civilization)? What are some reasons she gives for preferring the moon (nature)?

Lowell uses poetic devices to reinforce the aspects of the city she doesn't like. For example, she ends line four by suddenly breaking off at the word "lies" and continuing the sentence on the next line. This is called enjambment, and initially leads us to believe the city doesn't "lie" like a slow moving river but tells falsehoods. This indicates that she dislikes the city because it is a place where people have lied to her. She also uses enjambment to emphasize the word "one," which suggests that the city is a lonely place to her. Words like "squalid" and "sinister" also convey a sense of her negative feelings about London.

In contrast, Lowell uses words like "clear," "round," and "love" to describe the moon. She also says it lacks lustre because of the glaring brightness of the city lights, but that she loves it all the same. She says she "knows" the moon, but not London. One could argue that she finds nature safer than the city and longs for that security.