The light
In the poem entitled "Sentimental’’, the main symbol used is the light described by the narrator. The light travels to earth and hits everyone and everything in its path. The narrator then explains how the light makes it possible for us to experience different things and have various experiences. The light is used here to symbolize the way in which we, as humans, have different reactions and experience the same events in completely different ways than those around us.
Sap
One of the common motifs which appears in many poems is the presence of sap. This element appears in the poem "Sentimental’’ but also in the poem "1400’’ and appears in the poems which are linked with the natural world. The sap is also used in those poems as a symbol, suggesting the inner workings and the feelings a person may have at a certain point in time.
Darkness
In the poem "Again’’, the narrator mentions a person he once knew who had an extreme darkness in him. The darkness in the unnamed person grew and grew until it put the life of the person in question in danger. The term darkness is used here, in this context, to make reference to the negative feelings and maybe resentments the character had and which affected him in a negative manner.
Insects
In the poem "The Amounts’’, the narrator gives as an example of extremely large numbers the amount of insects which live on this planet at any given moment. The narrator is outraged by their large numbers and seems to want to fight against them. The insects are used in the poem as a symbol, to suggest the excesses which take place near us on a daily basis and which we grew to accept as being completely normal and unavoidable. However, the narrator points out that they are far from being normal and we should all be outraged and want to do something against them.
Prison
In the poem "At the Heart’’, the narrator is sent to prison and he has as a cellmate, the Light. Both the narrator and the Light escape from the prison in which they were sent to but both were completely different from how they were when they first entered it. The prison is used here as a symbol, to suggest the problems every person faces at one point in their lives. Those events have the power to shape our lives to the point where we fell as if we were completely different people.
