Surprise

Introduction

“Surprise” by Jane Kenyon is about a man throwing a surprise party for his girlfriend. This poem is the example of situational irony because the reader expects for the girlfriend to be shocked and delighted that her boyfriend took the time to plan her a surprise party; however, the end of the poem is the complete opposite. The speaker, being the girlfriend, tells the reader at the end of the poem of how she can not help but think about how easy it was for her boyfriend to lie to her.

To every story, poem, or play we can always find a central idea or meaning. This theme provides a unifying point around which the plot, characters, setting, point of view, symbols and other organized elements. In some works, the theme explicitly stated, and in others, it is the complete opposite. Jane Kenyon's poem entitled surprise is a poem encompassing ideas related to the progression of life. The overall meaning of the poem is that uncertainty exists throughout life among the domestic, daily routines, and the beauty of nature (DiYanni, pp 2256).

Discussion

Jane Kenyon was an American poet and translator, her work is time and again classified as uncomplicated and emotionally resounding. Jane Kenyon's “Surprise” is more than just about a surprise party thrown for someone, it is about everything that people want. In the poem, the reader can and will interpret the story that the poem tells in the reader's own way. For some, it is about having friends and loved ones doing something special for someone. For others, it is about sharing celebration in a joyous time of life. Or maybe some readers might even dig deeper and say that it is about love and acceptance that everybody longs for. Some readers may not think there is an underlining meaning to ...