The Passing of the Year Symbolism, Imagery & Wordplay

Maybe not a lot of people relax with a pipe these days, but you can imagine the guy who would, right? Maybe an older gentleman with a bushy beard and a favorite comfy chair he likes to nap in. To...

So, if you focus on one major image in this poem, one important poetic trick, we think this should be it. The major action of this poem is driven by the transformation of the "Old Year." In order...

If the Old Year is an actor, the stage he is standing on is the "Stage of Time." You see the metaphor? The moments of time (like a year) roll past us like actors on a stage. Line 9: You might ha...

The people who are sitting in this imaginary theater are a part of the extended metaphor, too. Service doesn't come out and say it, but these audience members are standing in for the people who ha...

The first member of the audience we meet is a young woman. Apparently she'd pretty bummed out. The speaker doesn't know why she's so miserable, but he guesses that it might have to do with a dead...

This is the second audience member we meet. He also has the distinction of being just about the only consistently happy dude in the poem. Seems like he's had a great year, even if everyone else w...

Here's the last audience member we get a chance to meet. If the Maiden was a stand in for sadness, and the Optimist for luck and happiness, then this guy represents guilt, terror, regret, and all...