Common Theme Essay Sample

The poems delve deep into the human psyche which is forever endeavoring to situate itself in the temporal world. The poem, We Real Cool, by Gwendolyn Brooks, explores the sense of identity among the boys. These lads envisage locating themselves in the society through their acts of rebellion which they love. Their actions bring them immense pride and they are not ready to stop at anything. In the poem, the poet uses the word “we” as many as eight times to reiterate the love for proclaiming the identity of the boys. Oblivious of the society, their acts bring them happiness and fulfillment.
In the poem, Love Calls Us to the Things of This World, Richard Wilbur talks of human existence and the human soul’s acceptance that the temporal world is flawed. It is through love that the soul comes to comprehend the shortcomings of the world and finds its identity. The soul experiences the quintessential beauty of the spiritual realm and thus is enabled to love the human world too.
In A Supermarket in California, Allen Ginsberg brings forth the speakers feeling of being outside the mainstream as he moves about the supermarket and the streets. The speaker’s alternative sexuality influences his perception of the world. The speaker’s status as an outsider is due to his sexual identity and thus the poem tries to locate his identity in the world.
In A Valediction Forbidding Mourning, Donne weaves a world where the two lovers are so engrossed with each other that they come to believe in their sole existence. Their identity is intertwined with each other so closely that the realm of love becomes the entire world.
Thus, the poems have the commonality of delving into the sense of one’s existence. Each poem envisions the sense of one’s self from a different view and in totality brings forth a comprehensive insight about the question of identity.