Wild Orphan by Allen Ginsberg
Analysis: Ginsberg's poem "Wild Orphan" is based on a mother moving her son away from her home, Tarrytown, in which is a poor depressing town to meet his father for the first time. The title "Wild Orphan" refers to a lonely young boy who has grown up without a father whom has left both him and his mother when he was either younger or not born yet. In the seven organized stanzas Ginsberg uses literary devices to explain how lonely the young boy is and how he dreams of what his life could be if he wasn't poor or even if he had his father in his life. "To create out of his own imagination the beauty of his wild forebears-a mythology he cannot inherit." The following quote explains how the young boy imagines his ancestors, those he have never met. The quote also explains that the young boy is poor because he cannot inherit the mythology which can also refer to him having no knowledge of his ancestors. In the fifth stanza it starts off by stating "The recognition-- something so rare in his soul, met only in his dreams --nostalgia's of another life", it seems as though Ginsberg has referred back to the father of the young boy because of both words recognition and nostalgia's. Nostalgia means a wistful desire to return in thought or to a former time in ones life. At the end of the poem the young boy meets his father, as he grieves of sadness because of the lack of knowledge about him having a son.
Literary Devices: Oxymoron: The title of the poem is called "Wild Orphan" which means two completely different things. Wild means to live in a state of nature or growing without cultivation or care of humans, and etc. Orphan means a child who has loss one or both parents. Together this title could mean one who has lost a parent and is growing up without the care of ones parent.
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/allen_ginsberg/poems/8362
Literary Devices: Oxymoron: The title of the poem is called "Wild Orphan" which means two completely different things. Wild means to live in a state of nature or growing without cultivation or care of humans, and etc. Orphan means a child who has loss one or both parents. Together this title could mean one who has lost a parent and is growing up without the care of ones parent.
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/allen_ginsberg/poems/8362