Poets | Members | Poem of the Day | Top 40 | Search | Comments | Privacy
May 13th, 2008 - we have 237 poets, 8036 poems and 17465 comments.
Analysis and comments on The Partial Explanation by Charles Simic

Comment 3 of 3, added on November 2nd, 2005 at 10:50 PM.

I really like this poem. It’s an “I’m alone” poem. If you’ve ever gone to a
diner or someplace to eat by yourself, you feel like time passes so slowly.
Going out to eat or to a movie by yourself gives you this feeling of
incredible loneliness because they’re something that you customarily do
with your friends. This poem just communicates that long loneliness of it,
the way time goes so slowly, the profound need to be around someone, or
just see someone—you feel like it’s been a long time since you’ve seen even
the waiter or a passerby on the street.
The poem implies that the one alone chose to be alone because “…this table
I chose myself/Upon entering.” It seems to him as if “it has grown darker,”
and snow falls outside, and he is kept company only by “…a glass of
ice-water.” It’s just a very lonely little poem about some guy who’s alone
in this dark tiny little world of his own and would appreciate just hearing
someone else’s voice, and that’s why it’s so sweet and sad, and yet there’s
still a hint of that person being comfortable in it. He did choose his seat
after all, and he is drinking ice-water—not hot cocoa, or coffee, even
though it’s probably cold outside since it is snowing. He chose to be alone
but wants someone to be alone with him—I mean, consider how different this
would be if he was with a friend. It would be enjoyable to be in apparently
empty, grimy little diner where it’s snowing outside but you’re probably
warm. He wishes it was different, but his isolation, his utter seclusion,
was chosen, and it is somewhat comfortable for him.


Clemintigne from United States
Comment 2 of 3, added on October 7th, 2005 at 3:54 PM.

i think that he is lonly and or just lost some one dear to him


crestina from United States
Comment 1 of 3, added on April 25th, 2005 at 8:30 PM.

I imagine the poet is so lonely that even a glass of water seems like
company to him. The situation is as bleak as the weather, but there's the
hope of finding a distraction by virtue of the cooks' conversation.

Vasiliky Turner from United States



Information about The Partial Explanation

Poet: Charles Simic
Poem: The Partial Explanation
Volume: Selected Early Poems
Year: 1999
Added: Feb 20 2003
Viewed: 1223 times


Add Comment

Do you have any comments, criticism, paraphrasis or analysis of this poem that you feel would assist other visitors in understanding this poem better? If they are accepted, they will be added to this page of American Poems. Together we can build a wealth of information, but it will take some discipline and determination.

Do not post questions, pleas for homework help or anything of the sort, as these types of comments will be removed. The proper place for questions is the poetry forum.

Please note that after you post a comment, it can take up to an hour before it is visible on the website! Rest assured that your comment is not lost, so don't enter your comment again.

Comment on: The Partial Explanation
By: Charles Simic

Name: (required)
E-mail Address: (required)
Country:
Show E-mail Address:
Yes No
Subject:
Poem Comments:

Poem Info

Simic Info
Copyright © 2000-2008 Gunnar Bengtsson. All Rights Reserved. Links | Bookstore