Adrienne Rich’s poem “Storm Warnings” reveals both literal and metaphorical meanings through its organization, use of concrete details, and how these elements relate back to the title. The poem’s organization shows the progression of a storm in both a literal and metaphorical way. There are many examples of literal explanations throughout the poem. In stanza one, line four, “Of gray unrest is moving across the land,” describes how the storm is starting to develop by the changing of the sky color.
When the air moves inward toward a silent core of waiting,” found in stanza two lines eight to nine, Rich explains how the wind is coming closer to the speaker’s house. In stanza three, line twenty, “The wind will rise” refers to how the wind will become stronger and apparent in the storm. Rich declares in stanza four, line twenty-two, “The sky goes black” which talks about the storm being at its worst and the clouds making the sky turn black. There are also many examples of metaphorical explanations throughout the poem. In stanza one, line one, “The glass has been falling all afternoon” indicates that the storm is already there and has been raining all afternoon.
In stanza two, lines eleven and twelve, Rich declares, By secret currents of the undiscerned into the polar realm,” which explains that the storm is making everything outside very cold. In stanza three, lines fifteen to sixteen, “Between foreseeing and averting change lies all the mastery of elements,” talks about how the storm is building up and how the speaker realizes that all of the elements of wind, rain, and clouds are coming together to form the strong point of the storm. In stanza four, lines twenty-four to twenty-five, “The insistent whine of weather through the unsealed aperture,” Rich refers to the wind becoming stronger and the storm being fully present. Both literally and metaphorically, these lines show the progression of the storm throughout the poem. The author provides many examples of concrete detail that reveal both a literal and a metaphorical meaning to the reader. In stanza one, line one, “The glass has been falling all afternoon,” literally talks about the barometer falling all afternoon, and metaphorically shows that it has been raining all afternoon.
When the air moves inward toward a silent core of waiting, found in stanza two lines eight to nine, Rich literally writes about how the wind is coming closer to the speaker’s house. Metaphorically, the silent core refers to the anticipation of the silence that happens before a big storm occurs. In stanza three, line twenty-one, We can only close the shutters” literally talks about how the speaker closes the shutters to prevent the wind from coming inside the house. Metaphorically, the main character shuts the curtains to stay away from coming in contact with the storm and to avoid the emotions caused by the storm. In stanza four, line twenty-four, “This is our sole defense against the season” literally speaks to the fact that to prepare for a storm, you must have a defense. Metaphorically, Rich writes how drawing the curtains, lighting the candles, closing the windows, and shutting the shutters is the only way to prepare for a storm. Both metaphorical and literal meanings are revealed through many examples of concrete detail. The way the author relates to the title helps reveal both literal and metaphorical meanings of the poem. In stanza one, line one, “The glass has been falling all afternoon” literally explains how it’s raining during the storm.
Metaphorically, it shows how it has been raining really hard all afternoon, which is a warning that the storm is coming. In line stanza one, line four, Of gray unrest is moving across the land,” literally talks about how the storm is starting to develop by the changing of the sky color, which is a sign that it’s getting bigger. Metaphorically, it’s saying that the grey clouds are coming across the speaker’s land and are coming closer to the house. When the air moves inward toward a silent core of waiting,” found in stanza two lines eight to nine, Rich writes literally how the air is coming towards the speaker’s house, and metaphorically, the silent core of waiting is a warning that there will be a big storm after the core of silence. Both literal and metaphorical meanings relate to the title, which the author reveals in the poem. Both literal and metaphorical meanings are revealed through organization, the use of concrete detail, and how these elements relate back to the title in Adrienne Rich’s poem “Storm Warnings.”
