Analyzing the Poetry Explication

¶ … Henry Reed is a free-versed and metaphorical poem; because of the word "we," I can say that the speaker in the person uses the first person point-of-view.

"Naming of Parts" talks about an issue termed as "the problem of war" by military historians and philosophers. In simpler language, the problem is determining whether 'war is war' is a continually recurring part of the life of human beings or a totally unexpected occurrence, a deviation from the norm. A partial answer to this question has been provided by Reed's poem. In Reeds opinion, militarism and war are not natural. For instance, in the first stanza, Reed uses a significant choice of the red-flowered Japonica. Like its name suggests, "Japanese quince" or japonica refers to something that is related to Japan- a member of the Axis powers that were allied against the U.S. and England in the Second World War. (Being an Englishman, Reeds served in the Second World War, the supposed period in which the poem was set) this effect suggests that nature goes beyond borders of countries and notions that humans have on enmity and loyalty (Palm, 1998).

Rhyme, Metaphor and Imagery

Henry Reed's poem "Naming Parts" is free-versed. This is because it does not follow any rhyme scheme; there is no rhyme within the lines of the poem. Considering the use of the word "we," the first person's perspective has been used by the speaker. The author has put a metaphor and some similes in the poem. There are a couple of similes in the poem: one is in the fifth line of stanza one while the other is in the second line of stanza five (Magno, 2015).

The metaphor is in the closing line of the fourth stanza where the word "spring" has been used to symbolize the spring season or an amour's spring. Based on this metaphor, I can state that although the character is a soldier who might be rock hard, he is also a lover of nature, which totally contradicts his hard nature (Magno, 2015).

The second stanza of the poem portrays some imagery. It allows the reader to picture the author's description. This is because each part has been clearly described, thus enabling readers to form a mental image of what they are reading (Magno, 2015).

Reed has divided the poem into five stanzas with six lines each, following the alternating pattern which has already been addressed. The main poetic devices used in the stanzas are wordplay and imagery. These have been calculated to evoke feelings and ideas at odds with the primary meaning of the words and phrases of the instructor. This creates an illustration of what Reed sees as the contrast that exists between nature's world and the world of war (Palm, 1998).

For example, in stanza one, the Japonica's image glistening "like coral in all of the neighboring gardens" is very contrary to the imagery about the riffle in the first three and a half lines. In the second stanza, the image of the missing "piling swivel" contradicts the harmonious, integral and peaceful relationship that exists between the three branches and nature described in the fourth and fifth stanzas (Palm, 1998).

The phrase "silent, eloquent gestures" creates an opposition of themes in the third stanza where the soldiers are advised to use their thumbs to release their riffle's safety catches. This clumsy act goes contrary to serene atmosphere created by "fragile and motionless" blossoms, and the reiteration that corresponds with the phrase "using their finger" creates a sexual idea that was intended by the instructor. In the third stanza, criticism gets personal and specific. Contrary to the anxiety that the instructor creates about the correct operation of the safety catch, the serene atmosphere of the spring blooms around him and strikes the young soldier. Captured in the world of war that is unnatural, the young soldier is not confident that his basic needs will be met. Through the application of the authoritative counsel from the instructor warning against the use of a finger to flower blossoms, the soldier creates the sexual meaning that can be derived from the phrase. This betrays the anxiety he currently has. Biologically, the flowers refer to feminine receptacles. They rare therefore interpreted as representations of the receptiveness of females. The reader should note that this young soldier lives in a training camp that is sexually segregated. He is clearly thinking of sex (Palm, 1998).

In the fourth verse, the appearance of "easing the [rifle's] spring" has been juxtaposed with the appearance of "assaulting and fumbling the flowers" that is done by the bees. This imagery again has a sexual connotation, with the bees likened to predators of sex and the flowers as their receptive victims. The main wordplay is repeating the phrase "easing the Spring," this time using uppercase letters. The young soldier connects this with sexual release, that is, what the pollination of flowers by the bees symbolizes (Palm, 1998).

In the fifth and sixth stanzas, it becomes clear just how sexually frustrated the soldier is. The fast movement of the riffle bolt of the instructor back-and-forth brings about the similar motion of sex. The soldier connects this image to process of the bees "assaulting and fumbling the flowers." The imagery and connotations are an implication of sex, showing how sexually frustrated the young soldier is and how much he yearns for release. The two elements that are introduced by the phrases alluring "almond blossom" and "point of balance" are perhaps aimed at expressing the ironic tradition of enjoyment of the moment's pleasures without giving thought to the future which advocates total surrender to the temptations of love and beauty. Reeds seem to point out that the segregated life in the military makes it impossible to create a balance between disciplined abstinence and self-indulgence (Palm, 1998).

The final stanza sums the whole poem up: some few lines at the beginning are about the phrases of the instructor but this time they are interpreted within the context. As a result of the previous stanzas, the phrases and their images allow the reader to perceive fully what they imply sexually. The readers' understanding of what the soldiers have access to and what they don't is increased when they are juxtaposed with the repetition of natural images in the fourth and fifth line (Palm, 1998).