Analysis Of Conversation With A Stone

Much of poetry’s beauty comes from the ability to say so much in so few words. The precisely selected words and phrases, the rich and colorful metaphors, and the symbols and images, sculpt specific feelings and create connections special to each reader. While many poems have a general theme leading many readers to a similar final conclusion, even more have broad interpretations and many possible conclusions. Even if two readers come to the same destination, their emotional journeys are always unique and their own. Therefore, everyone’s interpretation is different, no matter the destination. From the initial reading of Wislawa Szymborska’s poem, “Conversation With a Stone” it became apparent that each reader’s journey and conclusion would be vastly different. On the surface, the story is easily understood as a narrator approaching a stone and unsuccessfully attempting to gain access within. The poem’s complexity and beauty comes from the multitude of paths available and countless meanings that can be found. The open endedness of the Szymborska’s creation allowed me to break down the poem and make it my own by following the guidelines set by Billy Collins in his poem, “Introduction to Poetry”. In my interpretation of the poem, the narrator came to the stone in hopes of finding a friend to quench her loneliness and only found hardness and a lack of acceptance. The first signs of loneliness came from poem’s opening with the narrator knocking on the door of the stone wanting