The Reindeer and the Engine - Commentary
REINDEER AND ENGINE – COMMENTARY
The poem 'Reindeer and Engine' by Josephine Jacobsen is an extract from the poet's 1966 work 'The Animal Inside'. The poem is about a reindeer who is fleeing from a steam engine, in the forests of Finland. However, wherever the reindeer seems to turn, engine tends to follow.
The poet Josephine Jacobsen introduces a very relevant issue, from the title of the poem itself – that of nature versus technology. In a sense, the reindeer and the engine are contrasting ideas. Both represent 'motion' but whereas the reindeer has been given a definition of peace and serenity, the engine has been given a destructive and foul character. Therefore, the theme of the poem could be said to be one of nature vs. industrialisation.
Jacobsen uses the first stanza of the poem to introduce the main idea of the poem. The use of the term 'engine' in the title of the poem turns out to be very essential, because this helps the reader to understand what Jacobsen is referring to when she mentions the 'great round eye'. This is probably a reference to the front light of the train. When the poet mention in lines 1 and 2 that:
'The reindeer fastened to the great round eye'
the reader gets the feeling that that the reindeer is being 'controlled' and the 'great round eye' in the form of the engine was infringing its freedom. The reindeer 'runs runs runs runs runs' almost instinctively, because this is almost a completely futile situation for it. The engine, to the reindeer, represents danger and death. The 'blast of light' that is referred to in line 6, is dynamic, as though death is running towards the reindeer to finish it off. As a result the reindeer will 'not look back'. This phrase signifies two things. On a superficial level, the phrase 'not look back' signifies the time constraints (the pressure) that the reindeer was under. It could waste no more time as its death in the form of the engine was fast approaching. On the other hand 'not look back' is a
The poem 'Reindeer and Engine' by Josephine Jacobsen is an extract from the poet's 1966 work 'The Animal Inside'. The poem is about a reindeer who is fleeing from a steam engine, in the forests of Finland. However, wherever the reindeer seems to turn, engine tends to follow.
The poet Josephine Jacobsen introduces a very relevant issue, from the title of the poem itself – that of nature versus technology. In a sense, the reindeer and the engine are contrasting ideas. Both represent 'motion' but whereas the reindeer has been given a definition of peace and serenity, the engine has been given a destructive and foul character. Therefore, the theme of the poem could be said to be one of nature vs. industrialisation.
Jacobsen uses the first stanza of the poem to introduce the main idea of the poem. The use of the term 'engine' in the title of the poem turns out to be very essential, because this helps the reader to understand what Jacobsen is referring to when she mentions the 'great round eye'. This is probably a reference to the front light of the train. When the poet mention in lines 1 and 2 that:
'The reindeer fastened to the great round eye'
the reader gets the feeling that that the reindeer is being 'controlled' and the 'great round eye' in the form of the engine was infringing its freedom. The reindeer 'runs runs runs runs runs' almost instinctively, because this is almost a completely futile situation for it. The engine, to the reindeer, represents danger and death. The 'blast of light' that is referred to in line 6, is dynamic, as though death is running towards the reindeer to finish it off. As a result the reindeer will 'not look back'. This phrase signifies two things. On a superficial level, the phrase 'not look back' signifies the time constraints (the pressure) that the reindeer was under. It could waste no more time as its death in the form of the engine was fast approaching. On the other hand 'not look back' is a