The Tramp – Analysis

 “The Tramp”

 The title of the poem “the tramp” is very straight forward and simple. This might be done on purpose as the poet wrote ” And he liked he said the,  ordinary things…” and to prove his point he kept the title short and simple. The title also contains alliteration “T and T” which gives the title a heavy and deep sound, as to tramp also means to walk with a heavy step.

the Tramp is written in third person, as it says, ” he said…”  which means it is done from a reporters view. “… rainbows and the sky…” this shows the tramp liked simple and ordinary things and when he saw these things he become happy, just like a child would. It also shows that he lived in a world of fantasies as he says, ” roses in snow…” which shows that he was happy in the dream world and didn’t want to face the real world.

the poem might give us a hint that he used to have a home before, when it states, ” the first time, the first time he, really smelt the, rain on,  a green hillside, back home…” here, “back home” shows that he had a kind of real home before where he also had a family. He repeats the phrase, “first time” to put emphasis on his point to tell us that, the first time he smelt the rain on the green hillside, he fell in love with nature. “Back home” also might have meant that he had a home before and it was taken away from him by force, maybe because of mankind itself and that’s why he loves nature more than mankind.

“…just before the sun died…” is a very intense metaphor as it may mean all hope is gone as light and brightness come to an end after the sun goes down, i.e. the sun dies. The poet sys, “dies” instead of “goes down” which could possibly mean that his family is dead and that’s why all brightness and hope from his life is gone.

 

Even though he was a tramp he liked to imagine the luxuries the world could have given him if he had a family as the poet writes, “… thinking about, who slept beneath, the red, brick roof…” this could also verify my point that he had a family before but now he was a tramp. 

The tramp also says, he walked from “Land’s End to John O’Groats ” to prove that he had seen most of the world as these two sites are completely at the opposite ends. He is in a way mocking mankind as he tells them that by being a tramp he has lived life the harder way and he has more knowledge than them.

However, even though he has gained more knowledge than anyone else, he is still worried about here he would die as he says, “…he was worried, where he would die,  Land’s End to John O’Groats…” this verifies that even in between all his happiness and fantasies he was still sad and worried about what would happen if he was to die.

The poem is uncomplicated and easy as it is written in plain English. the devices used mostly are figurative and descriptive language, “roses in snow”, which makes the poem simple yet eye-catching and interesting to read. Visual imagery is a more important element of the poem as the poet wants us to feel and see what the tramp was seeing.

 The poem is written in free verse, but with a rhyme. The general tone of the poem is calm and peaceful, yet with a hint of sadness.

The meter of the poem is steady throughout, which gives the poem a calm tone.

In my opinion the poem is a classic piece of work that is easy to understand yet once analyzed is very deep and powerful due to the fusion of emotions with descriptive language and imagery.