Subway Wind
By Claude McKay
Far down, down through the city’s great gaunt gut
The gray train rushing bears the weary wind;
In the packed cars the fans the crowd’s breath cut,
Leaving the sick and heavy air behind.
And pale-cheeked children seek the upper door
To give their summer jackets to the breeze;
Their laugh is swallowed in the deafening roar
Of captive wind that moans for fields and seas;
Seas cooling warm where native schooners drift
Through sleepy waters, while gulls wheel and sweep,
Waiting for windy waves the keels to lift
Lightly among the islands of the deep;
Islands of lofty palm trees blooming white
That led their perfume to the tropic sea,
Where fields lie idle in the dew-drenched night,
And the Trades float above them fresh and free.
Summary of Subway Wind
- Popularity of “Subway Wind”: The poem ‘Subway Wind’ is also a varied sonnet, written by Claude McKay, a Jamaican American writer and poet. It is not only melodious but also profound. The poem has gained popularity due to its skillful use of the sharp contrast between city and country life, along with the powerful evocation of the “fresh and free” fields towards the end. In this section, the poet expresses a yearning to transform the fields into a fertile state, as they patiently await the arrival of the wind that is currently circulating through the bustling city center caused by the passing train.
- “Subway Wind” As a Representative of Urban Lifestyle: The poet starts with the alliterative description of the city and its hinterland. He says when the train or subway moves, it takes “weary wind” with it, making people see it moving past them. The children are hanging in the doors with their jackets flying in the air, creating a deafening noise. Yet, this is not a free wind as it is a captive to the city dwellers and the city itself. Personifying the wind, McKay says that it longs to go to the seas where the schooners are waiting to drift to the tropics on long trading journeys and the fields that are waiting drenched away from the fragrant islands having very high palm trees. This contrast of the city life and the urban and marine life shows the desire of the poet to break the shackles of the urban lifestyle to move out to the seas and fields.
- Major Themes in “Subway Wind”: Discomfort of the urban lifestyle in New York, love for nature, and contrastive scenes are three major themes in the poem. The poem describes the wind rushing with the subway train, but also shows how it longs for the calmness of nature. The poet wants to escape the city and experience the different scenes of the seas and fields.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Subway Wind
literary devices are essential for poetic or prose writing. The analysis of these devices in the poem as given below shows this necessity.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /ow/ in “Far down, down through the city’s great gaunt gut” and the sound of /ae/ in “In the packed cars the fans the crowd’s breath cut”.
- Alliteration: It is the use of successive consonant sounds in the initials of the successive words, such as the sound of /d/ in “down, down”, the sound of /g/ in “great gaunt gut”, and the sound of /w/ in “weary wind”.
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /n/ and /t/ in “Far down, down through the city’s great gaunt gut” and the sound of /s/ in “Waiting for windy waves the keels to lift”.
- 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,
Lightly among the islands of the deep;
Islands of lofty palm trees blooming white
That led their perfume to the tropic sea,
Where fields lie idle in the dew-drenched night,
And the Trades float above them fresh and free.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as, “And pale-cheeked children seek the upper door”, “To give their summer jackets to the breeze” and “Through sleepy waters, while gulls wheel and sweep”.
- Implied Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem also shows the use of metaphors such as the air compared to a man and waters compared to sleeping people.
- Personification: The poet personified the wind, the laugh, and the fields 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 the symbols of air, train, and cars to put the rural and urban lifestyle into contrast.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Subway Wind
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.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows an ABABCDCD rhyme scheme that lasts until the end.
- Sonnet: This is a varied sonnet having sixteen lines and iambic pentameter without the final rhyming couplet.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “Subway Wind” are relevant to use about the rural lifestyle
Where fields lie idle in the dew-drenched night,
And the Trades float above them fresh and free.
