Poem Response

Pantoum of the Great Depression

The poem “Pantoum of the Great Depression” was written by Donald Justice to express the emotions and experiences of the Great Depression. The Great Depression struck America during the 1930’s and devastated the country raising the unemployment rate by 25 percent. Many people became impoverished and started to work seasonally on farms picking various vegetables, cotton and fruit. Also many great novels were spawned by the depression, like Of Men and Mice or To Kill a Mocking Bird.
The poem as the name states is a pantoum, though it does breaks its structure in the last stanza. The overall mood of the poem is gloomy but peppered with the themes of patriotism and pride of the people. The images Donald Justice uses are bleak and miserable, as they are intended to convey the archetypical perception of the Great Depression. The words Donald Justice uses are strong and negative for example; tragedy, storms, catastrophe, sorrow, fear and fog. The imagery is very dark, but it is the overall meaning of the sentence which counteracts its. We can use the example of “Our lives avoided tragedy”, there might be the word tragedy in the sentence but the fact that it’s avoided takes away the power of its meaning. Beneath the lines, we can see the poems true intentions shine through. The poem is meant to give hope, tell the people that life will go on and that they might not know when the depression ends but it will have to end.
Donald Justice was born 1925 in Miami, Florida. He graduated from the University of Miami and taught poetry in the Iowa writer workshops. He won a Pulitzer for his memoir Selected Poems. Donald Justice is known for his pessimistic lyrics and for his specific use of narration and repetition.