16 pages • 32 minutes read
Peter MeinkeA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The poem’s elaborate symbolism is discussed in the “Symbols and Motifs” section. Not only are the symbols emotionally resonant, they are also often introduced in the poem in new and surprising ways, such as the jarring, violent image of the shattered windshield and exploding bullet breaking the casual, funny tone of the poem’s opening lines. Further, the poem juxtaposes images of whimsical and the mundane—the man in a desert versus a man going to work—creating a surrealistic effect. The juxtaposition is precisely used to underscore the idea that the real itself is surreal. Ideas of calculating how a young wife may appear in her later years jostle with the religious and metaphysical imagery of serving bread and wine, creating a chiaroscuro (the treatment of both shade and light) effect.
One of the most striking aspects of “Advice to My Son” is its play on traditional verse and meter. A poem’s aural quality is especially important for Meinke, who speaks aloud his work during the process of composing it. As a contemporary master of traditional form, Meinke often uses a combination of internal and end rhyme to create a musical yet irregular tone in his poems. In “Advice to My Son,” the use of internal rhymes puncture the lulling effect that a more rigid rhyme structure may produce. Additionally, the end rhymes are not evenly spaced in a uniform scheme such as abab or aabb, creating moments of friction.
Note the rhyme scheme of the opening stanza:
“The trick is, to live your days
as if each one may be your last
(for they go fast, and young men lose their lives
in strange and unimaginable ways)
but at the same time, plan long range
(for they go slow; if you survive
the shattered windshield and the bursting shell
you will arrive
at our approximation here below
of heaven or hell)” (Lines 1-10).
Here, while Line 1 (“days”) rhymes with Line 4 (“ways”), Line 3 (“lives”) rhymes with 6 (“arrive”), and Line 7 (“shell”) with Line 10 (“hell”). The other lines do not use end rhymes. However, the “last” of Line 2 creates an internal rhyme with “fast” in Line 3, and the mid-line “slow” of Line 6 rhymes with the ending “below” of Line 9. Further, though the second stanza contains examples of both end and internal rhymes, it does not replicate the rhyming pattern of the first stanza.
The poem also contains several examples of alliteration, such as the “shattered windshield and bursting shell” (the repetitive “sh” sound in Line 7) and “heaven or hell” (Line 10). The alliterations pick up pace in the second stanza, as “squash and spinach” follow “turnip and tomatoes” in the same line (Line 12) and the “stomach craves stronger sustenance” in Line 15. Words, too, are repeated, such as “nectar” in Lines 13 and 14, and “wine” in 21 and 22. Additionally, “wine” rhymes with and echoes the “vine” of Line 16. Thus, the sounds snowball, creating the effect of a musical crescendo.
The poem’s diction and tone are also idiosyncratic, juxtaposing heavy symbols and harsh reality with casual speech. Abstract, philosophical statements clash with colloquial expressions, such as when the metaphysical undertones of “Beauty is nectar” (Line 13) is followed, a few lines later, by the salesy wisdom of “marry a pretty girl / after seeing her mother;” (Lines 17-18). As the latter lines show, Meinke expertly uses the aphorism in “Advice to My Son.” Meinke satirizes common sayings and cliches to enhance the poem’s tone of irony. Witty and tough-to-follow advice such as “Show your soul to one man, / work with another;” (Lines 19-20) echo common sayings like don’t defecate where you eat. Through this use of aphorism, Meinke mocks the idea of presenting life advice in a simplistic capsule. Thus, the use of vernacular, colloquial speech, the overarching tone of irony, and various uses of juxtaposition enhance the subtle humor of the poem.