In Medias Res Analysis - Literary devices and Poetic devices

In Medias Res

By William Stafford

On Main one night when they sounded the chimes
my father was ahead in shadows, my son
behind coming into the streetlight, on each side
a brother and a sister; and overhead
the chimes went arching for the perfect sound.
There was a one-stride god on Main that night,
all walkers in a cloud.

I saw pictures, windows taking shoppers
where the city went, a great shield hammering out,
my wife loving the stations on that shield
and following into the shades calling back.
I had not thought to know the hero quite so well.
“Aeneas!” I cried. “just men, defender!”
And our town burned and burned.

Summary of In Medias Res

Popularity of “In Medias Res”: The poem ‘In Medias Res’ was written by William Edgar Stafford, an American poet, writer, and activist. it is an interesting read of this post-modern age. It is unknown when this poem was published. Yet the intervening personal story of the poet’s/speaker’s father and his son with his brother and sister makes it an interesting read. It also shows how a personal event could be immortalized through poetic recitation using powerful images.
“In Medias Res” As a Representative of Postmodern Consumerism: The poem starts with a saying that the entire family was going on the Main one night when chimes struck. His father and son, representing all generations, were with him, including his brother and sister. Although chimes chimed occasionally. It appeared that their sound was perfect to show that there was only one god; the long queue of the walkers, or the shoppers. He has already seen the pictures of the shoppers on stations and that his wife also loves to go to these places. However, when he went with his entire family on that night, he thought he needed a hero to save the family from this melee of the postmodern society. He right away remembered Aeneas, the Greek hero, and cried, but was only given the response that Aeneas was the protector and not the deliverer. Therefore, this fire of post-modernity continues burning their city that he thinks is going to crumble soon.
Major Themes in “In Medias Res”: Postmodern consumerism, the nostalgia of the past, and nocturnal cities are three major themes. The poem describes the consumerism in the second stanza in which he and his wife feel suffocated. That is why he becomes nostalgic and calls Aeneas to free them from the clutches of this materialism. Yet, he does not find anything supporting him, except that he is seeing his city going to burn down in this fire of materialism. This shows that nocturnal cities or nightly shopping in cities are taking a heavy toll on men.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used In In Medias Res

literary devices are tools that the poets revert to using in their poetic output. Their appropriate use assists them to make their poems meaningful. William Stafford has also used some literary devices in this poem whose analysis is as follows.

Apostrophe: It is a literary device that means to call some dead person or abstract ideas such as the poet calls Aeneas in the last stanza.
Allusion: It is a device that shows a reference to something, an idea, or person of historical importance to serve as a link, such as a reference to Aeneas in the second stanza of the poem.
Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “On Main one night when they sounded the chimes” the sound of /o/ in “There was a one-stride god on Main that night”.
Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /n/ and /t/ in “behind coming into the streetlight, on each side”.
Deus Ex Machina: The poem shows the use of a supernatural power such as “god” by the end of the first stanza.
Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,

I saw pictures, windows taking shoppers
where the city went, a great shield hammering out,
my wife loving the stations on that shield
and following into the shades calling back.

Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “the chimes went arching for the perfect sound”, “I saw pictures, windows taking shopper” and “I had not thought to know the hero quite well.”
Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poet has used an extended metaphor of window shopping to show the affects of consumerism.
The poet personified the city as it goes, and a shield that hammers out. He has presented them as if they have life and emotions of their own.
Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of symbols of chimes, streetlights, shoppers, stations, and shields to show modern consumerism.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in In Medias Res

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

Diction and Tone: The poem shows the use of modern diction with modern figures of speech. The tone is moderately serious and satiric.
Free Verse: This poem is a free verse poem as it does not follow any fixed rhyming pattern.
Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are two stanzas in this poem with each having seven lines or verses.

Quotes to be Used

These lines from ‘In Medias Res’ are appropriate to use when giving descriptions of cities’ teaching about the habits of the urban people.