Irony In Ransom's Poetry

Lloyd Dendinger states in his analysis, “John Crowe Ransom,” the two largest points in Ransom’s poetry are, “irony,” and the, “texture of his verse.” In other words, the majority of Ransom’s poetry focuses on irony, diction, and how they are related. According to Dendinger, these devices occur in all of Ransom’s major works.

Dendinger supports this idea of recurring devices like irony, with many examples throughout the analysis. Dendinger believes the poem, “Bells for John Whiteside’s Daughter,” uses ironic masking when describing the death of a young girl who loved to play. The choice of diction, such as, “tireless,” when describing the active nature of the girl really stabs at the fact that she died, showing Dendinger’s point of irony. In Ransom’s poem, “Janet Waking,” a young girl who loses her dear pet chicken is forced to deal with the unpleasantness of death. Dendinger explains that the use of the word, “waking,” carries the essential irony. It is used to describe Janet waking up literally in the morning and also to show her waking and understanding the concept of morality. Dendinger describes the poem, “Piazza Piece,” as one that uses dramatic irony when comparing the reader and the character. In the poem an old man talks to a young woman describing the decline of humans and the mortality we all face. Dramatic irony exists here

The evidence provided by Dendinger gave many examples of both of these with poems like, “Bells for John Whiteside’s Daughter,” “Janet Waking,” “Piazza Piece.” and, “The Equilibrists.” All of these poems are connected together through Ransom’s own unique style as described by Dendinger. Each of them use irony and diction in their own unique way and greatly set them apart from other poems of their time. Due to this, Dendinger’s analysis is proven