In the poem "Red Shift", Ted Berrigan suggests that life can start off good, but end badly because at some point things have to change. Ted Berrigan establishes his point through change in emotion. He shows this by the change in his tone and his different word choices. The title of this poem can be interpreted in many different ways. I believe it refers to the change in the speaker's emotion. The color red signifies anger and the shift represents the change in tone throughout the poem. His emotional change is a red shift.
Specific times are important in poetry because they usually refer to important events. In the first sentence a specific time is mentioned; 8:08. This is the time that the speaker started writing this poem. The speaker goes on to tell us about himself. He has a big build, but he has rhythm. A month is now mentioned, February. February is a month in the middle of winter. Winter is cold, gloomy, depressing, and can symbolize illness or death. A hint is being provided here that the mood will start to change. It also foreshadows upcoming parts where death is mentioned.
There are three different states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. In the next few sentences the speaker mentions all of these. He mentions a streetscape and trees, which are solid. He then talks about drinking his "American poison liquid air", which is Pepsi, a liquid. The smoke is a gas. I believe he leans into the smoke because he is leaning into memory and the break in the line tells us this.
Frank O'Hara and Allen Ginsberg were both poets before Ted Berrigan. The speaker mentions them being looked for among himself. Allen is said to be like a movie because he was really famous at a time, but now he has died out. Frank disappears into thin air because his life shortly fades away as he dies. These men show that death must come sometime. The speaker is implying that he will be the next to die of these 3 poets.
In the next few lines the speaker starts to reminisce about his past. He thinks of where he stands at this point in his life. He thinks about all his accomplishments and what he has. I think the woman he is talking to is his wife. He is telling her how surprised he is that there are no burdens for him and no doubts at this time. They have children, money, a good marriage, and only good things. His life is nice and calm but he wants to know what will happen next.
The speaker mentions a few people in the next part of the poem. First he mentions a young boy on 6th and Bowery. I believe that the boy reminds the speaker of himself when he was younger. Another time is mentioned: 1961. This time period is just after Ted Berrigan joins the army. His perception of life has most likely changed a great deal after his joining. The young and innocent girl is only nineteen but she must die. The harshness of her death is neither expected by her nor by the speaker. The next person is the painter. The painter appears to be someone very close to the speaker. It is someone that will never leave or betray the speaker, unless he or she dies. Death is to come for everyone at one point in life, whether it is expected or not.
“California Dreaming” is a song about leaving California and wanting to come back eventually. The speaker doesn’t want to be like this song because he wonders when he will die. He is not afraid of death and he seeks it out. He is 43 and possibly going through a mid-life crisis. He feels that he should already be dead because he is alone, depressed, and empty.
Anger starts to come from the speaker now as his tone changes. It seems as if he is yelling at someone now. He was supposed to change whoever he is speaking to and he did. I think he changed this person for the worse though. The speaker’s tone indicates to me that he wants this person to suffer for a very long time.The speaker is alone now at the end of the poem. He says he is “alone & crowded”. He feels he is alone but also crowded and suffocating at the same time. Fate is not pleasant but he must die. He leaves the world softly and quietly as his anger tries to follow him. His pain is slowly lifted off as he is finally dying.
Specific times are important in poetry because they usually refer to important events. In the first sentence a specific time is mentioned; 8:08. This is the time that the speaker started writing this poem. The speaker goes on to tell us about himself. He has a big build, but he has rhythm. A month is now mentioned, February. February is a month in the middle of winter. Winter is cold, gloomy, depressing, and can symbolize illness or death. A hint is being provided here that the mood will start to change. It also foreshadows upcoming parts where death is mentioned.
There are three different states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. In the next few sentences the speaker mentions all of these. He mentions a streetscape and trees, which are solid. He then talks about drinking his "American poison liquid air", which is Pepsi, a liquid. The smoke is a gas. I believe he leans into the smoke because he is leaning into memory and the break in the line tells us this.
Frank O'Hara and Allen Ginsberg were both poets before Ted Berrigan. The speaker mentions them being looked for among himself. Allen is said to be like a movie because he was really famous at a time, but now he has died out. Frank disappears into thin air because his life shortly fades away as he dies. These men show that death must come sometime. The speaker is implying that he will be the next to die of these 3 poets.
In the next few lines the speaker starts to reminisce about his past. He thinks of where he stands at this point in his life. He thinks about all his accomplishments and what he has. I think the woman he is talking to is his wife. He is telling her how surprised he is that there are no burdens for him and no doubts at this time. They have children, money, a good marriage, and only good things. His life is nice and calm but he wants to know what will happen next.
The speaker mentions a few people in the next part of the poem. First he mentions a young boy on 6th and Bowery. I believe that the boy reminds the speaker of himself when he was younger. Another time is mentioned: 1961. This time period is just after Ted Berrigan joins the army. His perception of life has most likely changed a great deal after his joining. The young and innocent girl is only nineteen but she must die. The harshness of her death is neither expected by her nor by the speaker. The next person is the painter. The painter appears to be someone very close to the speaker. It is someone that will never leave or betray the speaker, unless he or she dies. Death is to come for everyone at one point in life, whether it is expected or not.
“California Dreaming” is a song about leaving California and wanting to come back eventually. The speaker doesn’t want to be like this song because he wonders when he will die. He is not afraid of death and he seeks it out. He is 43 and possibly going through a mid-life crisis. He feels that he should already be dead because he is alone, depressed, and empty.
Anger starts to come from the speaker now as his tone changes. It seems as if he is yelling at someone now. He was supposed to change whoever he is speaking to and he did. I think he changed this person for the worse though. The speaker’s tone indicates to me that he wants this person to suffer for a very long time.The speaker is alone now at the end of the poem. He says he is “alone & crowded”. He feels he is alone but also crowded and suffocating at the same time. Fate is not pleasant but he must die. He leaves the world softly and quietly as his anger tries to follow him. His pain is slowly lifted off as he is finally dying.
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