Symbol for truthfulness
The main symbol in the poem “Hairless” is baldness. The person who is described as being bald is an unnamed woman who does not seem to care about the lack of hair. Baldness is seen in the poem as a symbol for the incapability to lie or rather truthfulness, the narrator claiming a bald person will never be able to lie.
Asphalt
A common motif in the poem “I GO INSIDE THE TREE” is the association between death and asphalt. This comparison is maintained throughout the poem and it is used to transmit the idea that death is extremely harsh, cold and hard to deal with.
Strangled brains
The term mentioned above is mentioned in the first stanza of the poem “THE MAD COW TALKS BACK”. The term is used by the narrator in relation with the people who do not feel the need to continue learning throughout their lives and are simply happy with living a normal life. The term is thus used in this poem as a symbol to suggest those people who have no interest in bettering themselves and who are mediocre.
Foxes
In the poem “UNCERTAINTY IS NOT A GOOD DOG”, the narrator describes a group of foxes living underground and having a happy existence in which they are not bothered by nothing at all. The foxes eventually turn the dog to their own side and the dog reaches the point where it becomes extremely similar to the foxes. The foxes are used here as a symbol to make reference to those people who are happy with a relative easy life and are afraid to take risks.
Symbol for confinement
In the poem “Barbican Audience” the narrator uses two main symbols, one standing for freedom and the other for confinement. The narrator uses the description of an imposing building to suggest confinement while nature is used as a symbol for freedom. The reason why the buildings are seen as symbol for confinement is because they are present as unnatural elements which have the sole purpose of creating a closed environment from which no one can escape.
