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”: A varied sonnet, the poem “Subway Wind” by Claude McKay, a Jamaican American writer, and poet, is not only melodious but also profound. The popularity of the poem lies in the sharp contrast between the urban and rural lifestyle and the invocation of the “fresh and free” fields by the end of the poem where the poet longs to make fields fertile as they are waiting for the wind that is going on in the city center when the train runs.
- “Subway Wind” As a Representative of Urban Lifestyle: The poet starts with the alliterative description of the city and its hinterland, saying 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 demonstrates 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 of the poem. When the poem opens, it shows the stale wind running with the subway train but the poet feels that his lifestyle where trains are running and the children are enjoying the breeze is making the wind long for nature. This shows that actually the poet wants to go far out of the city into the seas and the fields where scenes are different as the fields are lying far away from the mainland and islands are having the fragrance of the fresh air.
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 /o/ in “Far down, down through the city’s great gaunt gut”, /a/ in “In the packed cars the fans the crowd’s breath cut” and the sound of /e/ in “To give their summer jackets to the breeze.”
- Alliteration: It is the use of successive consonant sounds in the initials of the successive words such as /d/ in “down, down”, /g/ in “great gaunt gut”, and /w/ in “weary wind.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /d/ and /g/ in “Far down, down through the city’s great gaunt gut”, /l/ and /r/ in “Their laugh is swallowed in the deafening roar” and the sound of /w/ and /l/ 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.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use of metaphors such as the air compared to a man and waters compared to sleeping people.
- Personification: The poet has 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.
