Sarah Furlong 3255296
Bernard Bloom
English 306
June 12, 2018
A Comparison of “Autumn Logging” and “All in a Day”
“Autumn Logging” by M.C. Warrior and “All in a Day” by Herbert Applebaum are two short, to the point poems written about each man’s feelings about a day’s work. The poems focus on outdoor labour in a concise and straightforward manner, making for an easily comprehensible read for the audience. Warrior’s poem depicts the nature of a typical day on the job in all its tediousness while Applebaum’s poem similarly describes the monotony involved in a day’s work. These poems are similar in that they follow the same form — short lines and stanzas — and the same tone, and differ in their use of language.
Warrior’s “Autumn Logging” is broken into five stanzas of differing lengths. Warrior uses short, fleeting sentences that stretch from one stanza to another. Each line is no more than six words while the stanzas range from four lines to just one. Applebaum’s literary creation is even shorter, with it’s lines ranging from four to six words broken into three short, three-line stanzas. Both poets penned their pieces of prose with the intention of getting right to the point, steering clear of superfluous word selection. The form of these poems does well to reflect the sentiment of a typical day on the job. Like these poems, the daily grind is uncomplicated and usually lacks excitement, hence the absence of overflowing stanzas and extravagantly drawn-out lines. The poets were able to match each poem’s form to the general spirit of a day at work.
In addition to sharing the same approach to the poems’ form, Warrior and Applebaum opt for a similar tone in their works. Warrior’s poem takes on a slightly depressing tone, as shown at the very start of “Autumn Logging,” “ignoring / the grief of the valley, / cloaked in fog” (1-3). The tone of Warrior’s poem borders on dreary and dull which adds to the main idea. Applebaum’s poem follows a similar approach to the tone as it reads in an uninspiring, humdrum manner. Each poem describes a monotonous day at work and the tedium becomes even further cemented in the reader’s head as the pedestrian rhythm gaits along.
Where these two poems differ is in their use...
