The Pomegranate
The major symbol in the poem "The Pomegranate’’ is the fruit mentioned in the title. The narrator sees this fruit towards the end of the poem when she goes to check on her daughter. Then, the narrator spots the fruit near her daughter on the bed and she is filled with dread, thinking about the person who gave her the fruit. The pomegranate is used here as a symbol for the temptations the daughter will have to face at one point in her life. Because the fruit is near the daughter may suggest the idea that she already gave in to the temptations.
Symbol for truth
In the poem "Outside History’’, the narrator analyzes the stars that are, according to her, outside time and history as we perceive it. The stars where there long before we came into existence and they will continue to stay in the ether for eternity. The stars transmit stability in this context while human kind is fleeting and temporary. Because of this, we can assume that the stars are used in this context as a symbol for the universal truths that will remain the same no matter what.
City of shadows
One of the common motif found in a number of poems is the mentioning of the "city of shadows’’. This idea appears in the poem "The Harbor’’ and "The Pomegranate’’ and in both occasions the narrator is strolling through the said cities. The description is used here to create a vivid image about the Irish cities in which the narrator lived and also to show how much they were affected in a negative way by the events that took place during her life.
Symbol for death
In the poem "The War Horse’’, the narrator and the rest of the people in the city where the narrator lived watch as a dark horse runs over their properties, unaffected by anything around him. No one dares to go outside and face the horse and the majority of the people chose to stay inside and hide. The horse is used here as a symbol for the deaths caused by different armed conflicts and wars. Because of this, the horse appears to be almost untouchable as it passes through different cities.
Damage caused by war
After the horse in the poem "The War Horse’’ passes through the city where the narrator is, the inhabitants come out to assess what was destroyed. The narrator notices a few rose bushes trampled near a hedge and she fixates on the image of the bushes. The roses are used here as a symbol for the damages done by wars. Just like the narrator was unable to save the bushes, the wars throughout history claimed countless lives and damaged cities beyond recognitions.
