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Summary Of Louise Glück's 'Terminal Resemblance'

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In Louise Glück’s poem “Terminal Resemblance,” the speaker tells about her relationship, or lack thereof, with her father. The speaker explains a relationship with their father, saying it is not existent. They have a conversation that is supposed to be meaningful, considering he is dying, but it seems to have no meaning to her at all. The speaker wishes her father the best and leaves him and her mother at the door, with the same relationship she had with him before. The poem seems to be about how the speaker does not have a relationship with her father and the news she receives of him dying soon has made her realize that she wants to pursue one with him and start fresh. The strands in the poem actually shows that she has been told that her …show more content…

She uses the phrase “new gravel” (line 11). The word “new” here could seem to mean that she was starting a new relationship with her father and going to form a relationship with him. Since she had talked about her father and how it was like any normal conversation with him, it implies that “new” here means new way to life without him. He is dying and even though the relationship was barely there, her life will change without him. So, “new” could signify the new challenges she will face without him and her new life. The speaker also mentions “young children” (line 29) and “new families” (line 28). The two words “young” and “new” in this context could as well mean the new relationship she will form with her father. In reality, it means the new families that have come while she was gone. The families that were there while she was growing up have left and new ones have came in and moved in with their kids. She used to be that young kid in the neighborhood, and now she has grown up and moved out. This also symbolizes that she has grown up and grown further away from her father since she has grown up. She no longer has that relationship with him, and it is something she cannot rebuild or

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