The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot, the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel which suddenly becomes one you have never read, never even heard of, as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain, to a little fishing village where there are no phones. Long ago you kissed the names of the nine Muses goodbye and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag, and even now as you memorize the order of the planets, something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps, the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay. Whatever it is you are struggling to remember, it is not poised on the tip of your tongue, not even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen. It has floated away down a dark mythological river whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall, well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle. No wonder you rise in the middle of the night to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war. No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted out of a love poem that you used to know by heart. The title of this poem tells you all that you need to know in order for you to understand what is going on in the poem. It tells you that the speaker and the theme of this is forgetting. I know this because of the title. However, the tone of this poem could be straightforward. I believe this because he tells you that you are going to forget everything that you learn. For example, when he states, "even now as you memorize the order of the planets, something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps, the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay," he is telling us that as you start to learn more and more, something small you probably will forget. This is an interesting choice that he chose to pick this because normally when people start to forget about their wonderful memories, they get sad and maybe a little angry. Also, the tone of the poem could be cautious for the readers and warning us. I think this is because he is telling us that as you get older you will forget. He is preparing us for the future so we will be ready for what is to come. He wants us to go into this state ready and accepting it instead of trying to fight it. To conclude, the tone is the only thing that is not directly stated from the title.
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