Textuality » 3A Interacting
The poem describes the feelings of the speaking voice who is walking along the street, probably in a winter evening, and suddenly sees a door opening and he notices a house where people live happy together in a warm room while he feels lost in the street. But immediately afterwards the scene changes: the door shuts and the speaking voice feels lost twice because now he can perceive a contrast with what he has just seen and he can realize the misery that surrounds him.
STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
The poem is organized into two quatrains.
The first stanza introduces the reader to the speaking voice's feelings. He feels lost. But he feels better when he sees a door opening and notices a house where people are happy.
But immediately in the second stanza the situation changes when the door shuts.
The function of the first stanza is to create a visual imagine into the reader's mind.
The scene turns out totally change in the second stanza because its function is to show the reader how a suddenly positive situation make changed in the span.
What doesn't change is the feeling of loss (perdita di qualcosa di proprio) of the speaking voice who felt lost and still feels lost.
CONNOTATIVE ANALYSIS
The poem wants to send a message that reveals the speaking voice's desire and wish to have a place where he/she can feel at home: where he/she can have some warmth, be together with the people he/she loves.
Unfortunately, this is only a very fugitive longing because concrete reality immediately kills that illusion and the poetess who is symbolically a "passer by" sees the house door of his/her desire immediately shut. There seems to be no room for hope in the text which ends in an "Enlightening misery".
The poetess makes an intelligent choice of phonological devices to convey the message: she uses frequent alliterations of dental sounds to create a brake in the rhythm of the line to compel the reader to stop, think and reflect. In addition, the use of assonance of the sound "ai" ("I", "by", "I" "I" "by") very frequent in the text creates an echo effect that communicates the poetess' sad mood.
Also the repetition of the alliterative sound "w" in "width" "warmth" and "wealth" seem to underline the pleasant surprise of the speaking voice in front of the possibility of a warm alternative to her/his lonely life.
It is worth considering also the choice of the word "lost" that underlines the absence of direction of "the passer by" who in the end is again in the middle of his "misery".
The word "door" that turns from "opened" to sudden shut" thus hinting at the sudden disillusion is the poetess' metaphor to refer to the lack of a home, a family, a group of loving people and friends.
Without company, there is only "misery" and last but not least the solitude of a "passer by" whose identity will always remain in the dark.