Throughout the poem, many of the poets’ feelings are presented to the reader, Blumenthal believes that life without marriage is a struggle, and he incorporates this feeling into the poem by using an extended metaphor. The opening 2 lines of the poem states you are holding up a ceiling, with both arms. It is very heavy, automatically the poet launches into the metaphor, Blumenthal uses the ceiling as metaphor for life.
The first stanza emphasizes the day to day struggles of life and ailing with it alone, Blumenthal uses ‘day during the first stanza to show how slowly time passes whilst you are dealing with the pressures of life on your own, In comparison to the use of years’ In the third stanza, putting forward the poets view that when you have someone to share the responsibilities of life with, time moves faster.
The sentence lengths also show the difference In time passing In the first and second stanzas, during the first stanza, the sentences are long and the frequent use f enjambment, such as line 1 -? 2 make the pace slower, Glenn the sense of time passing slowly. The poem presents the feelings of the poet by using effective language devices. Opening the poem with You’ leads you to put yourself in the situation, meaning the poem becomes more alive and has meaning to you. Sing the second person puts the reader in the driving seat, with lines such as you are holding up a ceiling with both arms. It is very heavy, the ceiling metaphorically meaning life, makes you think about weight life has on you as the reader. The use of ;but you must hold it up, or else’ leaves you on edge, to think about the possible consequences if you did not hold up the ceiling that in this instance is your life.
As the poem progresses and the idea of a partner is introduced, you begin to think about how much easier life would be if someone where there to help you. During the first stanza, Blumenthal uses a monotonous tone to express the discontent a person would have if dealing with life alone, however in the second stanza, Blumenthal hangers the tone of the poem suddenly to rather positive.
He explains how life becomes much easier when you get married; ‘Someone… Walks into the room and holds their arms up to the ceiling beside you’. This is symbolizing the support you gain from getting married. Walks into the room’ is a metaphor, talking specifically about someone walking into your life and taking the weight from your shoulders. The varied tone throughout this poem lifts the mood at points where Blumenthal has more positive opinions.
