Souvenir by Daniel Hall

In the poem Souvenir by Daniel Hall the form of this specific poetry reflects the repetition of confusion between language and thoughts. By using words such as “where” “remembering” and “language” it shows the reader that the author Hall is writing about how the language between him and another is complex and hard to comprehend/communicate.

In Lines 13–14 says “He blurted out the word in his own tongue, like a bell rung, a distant bell, whose speech was slurred in my language” (Hall 215). The first section “he blurted out the words in his own tongue” shows that the other person present is speaking a different language than the author. Using his own tongue means that the dialect in which they choose to speak in, is different from the listeners. The words “like a bell rung” made me think his language came with a sense of annoyance when a bell goes off it’s usually loud and very well heard throughout the location, but on the other hand when a bells go off it has a specific time and significance which I often question the importance of the bell… which can lead to the feeling of confusion for example; why is the bell going off and whats it purpose. Next the line “whose speech was slurred in my language” (Hall 215) This made me think if the person was trying to communicate in the author’s language but didn’t have much practice and experience in speaking it, the slurred aspect comes from trying to mimic a certain dialect that has a specific accent.

First stanza “where was I?, where was he? Where he looked, remembering? The air was his release: his burden, my language” ( Hall 215). The first sentence of line three represents the repetition by using the words over and over “where” the word where also symbolizes the confusion aspect of not knowing and showing that there was so self consciousness of reflection and no surrounding of common ground. The air was his release symbolized that in between breathing he felt that he was able to become more calm instead of having to talk in a way they wouldn’t understand each other, the air was also a common thing between the speakers because the concept of air is the same for everyone. Lastly the burden of his language shows the struggle of the two to communicate together in confusion of not knowing what they both spoke.

Hall, Daniel. “Souvenir” An Exaltation of Forms, Edited by Annie Finch, and Kathrine Varnes, U of Michigan P, 1997, p.215.

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