https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/57377
"By Guess and By Gosh" by John Ashbery seems to me to be about a break up or divorce with a significant other. Ashbury begins the poem by speaking of his "inquiring goodbyes" (2) that he wakes up with. He uses this to introduce the problem of a goodbye that he has to deal with, which he then describes as "messy business" (3), calling it a "tangle and a muddle" (4). Ashbery includes this to show the problems this goodbye is causing, and how difficult it is to go through with. This first stanza is included to give the reader insight into the breakup that Ashbery is writing about. Ashbery begins to speak of the man that will be replacing him, describing a "different ride home" (8). He uses this to show that he is being replaced by someone, hence the different ride to a different house. Ashbery's third stanza introduces a shift in the poem where he stops talking about his goodbye and begins speaking of how he is "getting on" (12), along with saying how he scared the other man. He says this to show that the other man was worried about him, likely because of the "war" (16) that takes place. This is used to show the rocky relationship that he is being left for, and he goes on in the next paragraph to show that the woman wants to come back to him, showing that she is now "interested in poetry" (26).
1 Comment
Chaseton Ghee
3/8/2017 07:41:22 am
I really enjoyed your analysis of this poem. I thought you did a very good job with your explanation.
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