In Blizzard of One, Mark Strand explores a common theme across all of his short poems, which is Nature. Within this collection, Strand’s short poems are intriguing, with several standing out. The first poem, “Untitled,” utilizes both first and third person perspectives to express the pain associated with love. Another notable poem is “The adorable one” (Strand 3), which refers to a youthful innocence. This assists in understanding that the poem relates to young love or infatuation, often referred to as puppy love.
The poet Strand employs flashback to create vivid images of the setting. He employs alliteration, such as “Lavender light,”(3), to depict the scene. I perceived that the young couple were concluding their relationship in a dusk setting. Additionally, through the use of enjambment, Strand conveys the emotions of the characters. Run-On sentences with capitalization punctuate the sensation of hopelessness and finality. Ultimately, I pondered over the conclusion where the young woman in the relationship terminated the love affair.
After finishing Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook, I compared the young lovers in the novel to Stand’s poem. Both narratives explore a romance between a charming man and a woman from a different social class. In both stories, the woman must decide whether to prioritize love or financial stability.
The poem “Untitled” raises questions about whether the female protagonist faced a similar dilemma as the one in The Notebook. It suggests that she might have considered choosing financial security over her romantic relationship.
