Identity In Stephen Dobyns's Loud Music

The only way to learn about the world and oneself is through experience, and this often comes only with age. With the passing of time, an individual’s perception of the world, their environment, and self becomes secure. As one becomes sure of themselves the world will become manageable and not require concrete definition. In “Loud Music” by Stephen Dobyns the difference between child and adult identity is seen in the speaker’s diction, use of colour symbolism, and in the imagery. From the beginning of this poem, diction juxtaposes the man’s simple and comfortable perspective of the world to his stepdaughter’s distant, sedated perception of self. Similarly, throughout this poem the reader is presented with imagery as a reflection of both the father’s stormy, undefined self-image and of the girl’s desire for a clear cut and simple identity.
In Dobyns’ poem, when the speaker describes the experience he has with loud music his words are colloquial and with harsh vowel sounds. To the stepfather, music should feel as though it is “smacking the gut” (line 5)

The daughter is unsure of herself and fears getting lost in the invasive noise of the music; she prefers proper and simple environments. Contrastingly, the speaker is sure of his place in the world and slightly dissatisfied with where he has ended up. He would prefer for the music to silence the noise of his daily life and give him some peace and relaxation. The man’s ideal visionbox contains foggy, esoteric images which are reflective of his mindset at this time in his life. The simplicity of the young girl’s mindset is symbolically represented by her theoretical visionbox and the elemental components within said box. In this poem, Dobyns distinguishes between the psyche of a grown man and that of his young step daughter through a difference in diction and colour