William C. Berry's "On Reading Poems to a Senior Class at South High"

Text:
Before
I opened my mouth
I noticed them sitting there
as orderly as frozen fish
in a package.

Slowly water began to fill the room
though I did not notice it
till it reached
my ears
and then I heard the sounds
of fish in a aquarium
and I knew that though I had
tried to drown them
with my words
that they had only opened up
like gills for them
and let me in.
Together we swam around the room
like thirty tails whacking words
till the bell rang
puncturing
a hole in the door
where we all leaked out
They went to another class
I suppose and I home
where Queen Elizabeth
my cat met me
and licked my fins
till they were hands again.

Initial Reaction:
My initial reaction is that "On Reading Poems to a Senior Class at South High" is indeed a very strange poem. When taken literally, the poem is quite absurd, but I believe the poem is meant figuratively. The narrator thought he the students wouldn't understand the poetry he was reading to them. To his surprise, they absorbed his words and made a connection with the poetry. But then the bell rang, and they all went their separate ways.

Paraphrasing:
Before

I started speaking

I saw them seated there

as orderly and immobile as frozen fish

in a package.

Water began to fill the classroom

but I didn't notice the water

until it was up to

my ears

and then I heard

fish in an aquarium

and I knew that though I
expected to confuse them

with the poems

they opened up

like gills

and let me in

We read the poetry

together

until the class ended

opening

the door

and the students all left

They went to another class

and I went home

where

my cat was waiting for me

and licked me

and I came back to reality

SWIFTT:
Syntax/Word Choice:

"On Reading Poems to a Senior Class at South High" possesses no particular rhyme or meter. Each of the six stanzas contains one complete thought. Berry's diction is astonishingly simple. The prosaic words make the text easy to understand, making the figurative language painstakingly easy to decipher. He uses several words pertaining to fish.

Imagery:

The poem is packed with imagery. The readers can picture a classroom filled with water, with fish swimming around, circling the desks. They can visualize a hole punctured in the door and see the water leaking from the room.

Figurative Language:

If figurative language were water and this poem were a glass, it would be filled to the brim. Of course, the class does not literally turn into a school of fish and swim around; this is all figurative language. Berry is simply trying to say that the students paid great attention to his words and fully understood them. The whole class was engaged in the poetry.

Tone:

The tone is dull at first (as seen in the first stanza) but changes to surprise and excitement.

Theme:
Often we make assumptions or judgments about others, but people are unpredictable and often surprising.

Conclusion:

My initial understandings were, for the most part, correct. Berry expected the students to be unengaged in the poetry he read to them. He assumed they would not understand the material, or they would not care. However, his judgments were wrong: the students took in his every word. Together, they absorbed the material and thoroughly enjoyed it--until the class ended. Then, the students and the teacher continued on with their lives.