The Sacred

The Sacred

by Stephen Dunn

After the teacher asked if anyone had
a sacred place
and the students fidgeted and shrunk
in their chairs, the most serious of them all
said it was his car,
being in it alone, his tape deck playing
things he’d chosen, and others knew the truth
had been spoken
and began speaking about their rooms,
their hiding places, but the car kept coming
up, the car in motion,
music filling it, and sometimes one other person
who understood the bright altar of the dashboard
and how far away
a car could take him from the need
to speak, or to answer, the key
in having a key
and putting it in and going.

Meanings of The Sacred

The poem “The Sacred” by Stephen Dunn presents the conversation of students with their teacher about their sacred places. It highlights the main ideas of freedom of choice, the happiness of choice, and the significance of a private sacred place.

Meanings of Lines 1-5

After the teacher asked if anyone had
a sacred place
and the students fidgeted and shrunk
in their chairs, the most serious of them all
said it was his car,

The anonymous and ubiquitous speaker states that when a teacher asks about the sacred places of the students, they almost become shy and shrink into their private cocoons. Then most of them state that their private sacred place is their car. It means that most of the students experience spiritual and sacred moments in their lives in their cars. These verses show the choice of the students and their freedom to choose their cars as their sacred spaces instead of their churches, or temples, or some religious places.

Meanings of Lines 6-11

being in it alone, his tape deck playing
things he’d chosen, and others knew the truth
had been spoken
and began speaking about their rooms,
their hiding places, but the car kept coming
up, the car in motion,

The speaker presents one of the serious students who have spoken about his car as being a sacred place. Conversely to this male student’s disclosure, others know that he is speaking the truth. Yet, they choose to speak about their own sacred places, such as their rooms and hiding places. However, surprisingly, the theme of the car as the sacred place of most of the students continues reverberating in the class. It means that most of the students choose not to speak the truth knowing that majority of them have cars as their sacred places. These verses show the main idea of freedom of choice and its significance for teenagers.

Meanings of Lines 12-18

music filling it, and sometimes one other person
who understood the bright altar of the dashboard
and how far away
a car could take him from the need
to speak, or to answer, the key
in having a key
and putting it in and going.

The speaker presents the situation of the car. He shows that it is filled with music, stating that sometimes another person could take it along with him understanding clearly how the alter of the dashboard could take him away from speaking and answering different questions to which he is required to respond. And it requires only a key, putting it in the ignition and making the car go. This is the freedom of choice. It means that when a person makes a choice about his/her sacred place, he/she thinks about his/her happiness and freedom. These verses add to the main idea of having a sacred place of one’s own and the freedom of using it.

Summary of The Sacred

  • Popularity of “The Sacred”: Written by Stephen Dunn, a great American writer and poet, The Sacred is an exquisite poem. First published in 1989, the poem explores some common themes like life, freedom, and spirituality. It shows that being alone is a blessing. Dunn’s approach to detailing simple descriptions with a blend of multiple meanings has added more to the popularity of this poem.
  • “The Sacred” As a Representative of Choices: This poem is about the choices we make in life. It begins when the writer takes us to the middle of a classroom conversation. The teacher asks the students if they have their sacred places. This personal question makes the students agitated and nervous in their seats. Most of the students shrink in their seats when one student breaks the silence, saying his car is his sacred place. He feels free and comfortable in his car with the tape playing his favorite music. Following him, other students start explaining about their sacred places. They start talking about their rooms but having a car as a sacred place marks the center of the conversation. The car takes people out of their busy lives and transports them to the places they love the most. The writer ends this poem with an ironic remark with a special emphasis on the car key. He says that the car key is the key to happiness.
  • Major Themes in “The Sacred”: Happiness, choices, and freedom are the major themes of the poem. The poem places us in the middle of an exciting conversation where students are not discussing any subject. Instead, they are talking about the hours that fill them with pleasure. Strangely, the teacher asks personal questions of his students. But this question leads to a profound message. Through this simple question, the writer tries to make his readers realize how the young generation finds peace in life. The writer talks about the car as a private place to show how it frees and liberates a person from the clutches of responsibilities and takes him/her beyond social limits. It gives him/her a chance to meet with his authentic self as if driving provides him/her a chance to meditate and celebrate life in a unique way.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The Sacred

literary devices bring richness and quality to simple poetic pieces. In fact, with the help of these devices, the writers convey their ideas, feelings, and emotions to the readers. Stephen Dunn has also used many literary devices in the poem whose analysis is as follows.

  1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in and began speaking about their rooms” and the sound of /o/ in “who understood the bright altar of the dashboard.”
  2. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /t/ in “others knew the truth.”
  3. Allegory: It is a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures, and events. The speaker uses allegoric expression in the poem’s ending lines when he uses a key with double meanings such as “the key/in having a key.”
  4. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /r/ in “in their chairs, the most serious of them all” and the sound of /t/ in “their hiding places, but the car kept coming.”
  5. 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;

After the teacher asked if anyone had
a sacred place
and the students fidgeted and shrunk
in their chairs, the most serious of them all
said it was his car,

  1. Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The title of the poem is ironic as it hints at something religious but the poem is about the general discussion happening in the class.
  2. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Stephen Dunn has used imagery in this poem, such as “and the students fidgeted and shrunk”, “in their chairs, the most serious of them all” and “being in it alone, his tape deck playing.”
  3. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. The poem uses choice as an extended metaphor to show how choices make people different from others.
  4. Symbolism: Symbolism uses symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal ones. The poem uses symbols such as; confidence, choice, liberty, freedom, and peace.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Sacred

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

  1. Diction: The poem shows descriptive diction having rhetorical devices, symbolism, and impressive images.
  2. Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines are useful to describe how people find peace in long drives. These lines also show that scientific advancements have provided ease and comfort to man.

a car could take him from the need
to speak, or to answer, the key
in having a key
and putting it in and going.