Glass Jar
...ibed as the “pulse of light” and “his monstrance”; these religious imageries indicate the child’s faith in the glass jar and in return, the higher power that brings upon good. To show the immense importance that the glass jar has on the child the composer personifies it “stood ready to bless, to exorcise”, the child perceives the glass jar to have the ability to overcome and protect him from the evil (the monsters). His innocence is portrayed further when the child wraps the glass jar to ensure it is kept safely as it his only hope to fend of evil. The child’s persona alters, from being an inquisitive, naïve child at day to one who is terrified and insecure during night. His innocence is conveyed when he tries to do the impossible by capturing the sun’s light in the glass jar and keeps it beside his bed, as it is his form of security. The simple phrase “He slept” creates a sense of peace but is contrasted through the imagery of the next line as it depicts the child’s perturbed sleep and dream. His uneasiness at night derives the fiends that torture him with his own most hated fears. He looks to the jar as a form of protection and security from the monsters but it fails him. By using the metaphor of an object to be ‘hope’, the composer is able to show the immensity of the child’s distraught when the glass jar does not shine with light. This incident brings upon a vast change on the child as he losses his faith in the glass jar and the belief that it brought goodness. The failing power of the glass jar is shown through the juxtaposition. Towards the end, it is not personified but is simply a “glass jar beside a crumpled scarf”. The child experiences instantaneous change and losses his innocence when he witnesses his parents in a notion of love. Ironically, the child misunderstands the circumstance as a violent act towards the mother and fails to see the deeper meaning. In this poem, there is a connection between music and love as they are both things that a young child cannot fully understand and value. The composer uses this link to show the naivety and ignorance of the child. Love is personified to convey its ...