7/28/2019 The River.doc
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The River
By Valerie Bloom
Literal meaning
Stanza 1
The river does not stop at one place, it keeps on moving.
Stanza 2 Although the river found many obstacles in his path, it
continues without stopping. He faces allthe obstacles.
Stanza 3The river also buried everything that fall into the
river bed. From thrash to goods, everything justfall into it.
Stanza 4The sound made by the river, the sound of water flowing,
shows that it is happy.
Stanza 5The sound of the water rushing can be heard from far
away.
Stanza 6The river is not as calm as it seems, if it is
disturbed, it will turn violent.
The poem meaning
The poem personified the river as a living object, which has
attitudes and wants. The poem alsoshows the river as a thing with
two natures, good and evil, just like humans. Human can begood and
sweet sometimes, but other times, human can be evil and vexed. Thus
that is abalance of natural order. The same with human, if in good
nature, can be sweet and polite, but if vexed, can be evil and
mean. This understanding is the referred back to the poem, as the
river is personified to be as what it chooses to be. Human do not
have the capacity to control theriver. It is up to it whether the
river wants to be calm or be a monster.
Glossary
1. Wanderer - A person who moves from place to place and has no
permanent home.
2. Nomad - A member of a tribe that travels from place to place
instead of living in oneplace all the time
3. Tramp - Someone who has no home or job and moves from place
to place
4. Hoarder - To collect and save large amount of food, money,
etc especially when it is notnecessary to do so
5. Gurgle - If water gurgles, it flows along gently with a
pleasant low sound
6. Hums -To sing a tune by making a continuous sound with your
lips closed
7. Vexed -Old fashioned to make someone feel annoyed or
worried
8. Gobbled - To eat something very quickly, especially in an
impolite
