What is a detailed analysis of the poem "Sons Departing" by John Cassidy in terms of language, structure, themes, imagery, and symbols?

kshufford29

Language: Cassidy's use of language in "Sons,
Departing" is most notable in the way he chooses to have the narrator describe the setting.
In the second stanza, for example, Cassidy chose to use the phrase "miles of empty
air" as a more creative way to say that the sky stretched forever on the horizon. He found
unique ways to make our minds picture things we see almost every day, like the "torn
clouds" in the second stanza (a phrase used to describe the clouds that are drifting
apart).

Structure: The structure of the poem as
a whole, the stanzas, and the individual lines are what gives this poem its flow. It moves at a
steady pace, mirroring the steadiness of the sons' "retreating footfalls"yet it's not
so slow that we grow tired. Because each stanza is a complete sentence, and because Cassidy
makes use of enjambment (the continuation of a sentence, without a
pause, from one line to the next), we're able to move with each stanza's action as it happens
and pause at the end to reflect.

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