What are the settings in the poem "What Is Red?" by Mary O'Neill?

Setting refers to the time, place, and
environment in which events in a piece occur or unfold. As such, it also includes aspects such
as a historical period, timing, geographical location, circumstances, and conditions which a
piece of writing relates to or covers.

"What is Red?" by Mary O'
Neill does not have a particular setting in this sense. The poem explores the different meanings
that red has by asking and then answering the question, which is also the title of the
poem.

The speaker responds to the question by providing the reader with a
series of associations which red has in different contexts. The list refers to the common
symbolic meanings linked to the color. It is clear that each meaning is associated with its
context. In this sense, then, one could say that there is a setting because the word is
contextualized within such event, time, or place.

In the first stanza, the
speaker mentions nine contexts: sunset; being courageous in a
situation that demands action; getting sunburned; the sheer depth of color one sees when
admiring a rose; an injury which leads to bleeding; observing the color of a building block;
being at a concert; the sensation one feels when embarrassed; seeing the simple colors of
certain objectsspecifically ones associated with danger; and an incident wherein one becomes
angry, which causes a rush of blood and brings on a headache.

In the second
stanza, the speaker once again relates red to
seven conditions: as a description of
an American native; a symbolic heart signifying love; a circus where one would find a cart with
red decorations; a form of make-up; hearing a warning or the expression of anger; a sign that
symbolically gives a warning; and a large ball, probably found at the beach. All these
descriptions of red are conventional and reasonable.

The speaker moves away
from the generally accepted connotations that red has and presents an opinion by stating
that

Red is the giant-est
Colour of
all.

and

Red is a
show-off,
No doubt about it €“

The speaker is
clearly impressed by the color red and then, by asking a , suggests that one cannot imagine life
without it.