So This is Nebraska

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1980

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

“So this is Nebraska” is composed in seven stanzas. Each stanza contains four lines and is thus a quatrain. Although the poem does not have a rhyme scheme or an exact meter, Kooser comes close to iambic pentameter. Almost all the lines have between nine and 11 syllables, and iambic pentameter requires ten syllables or five metrical feet. Thus, Kooser’s poem about age nods to a past when poets, like William Shakespeare, commonly wrote poems in iambic pentameter.

Overall, the poem has a tidy, even shape to it. None of the lines jut out or look oddly short. Meanwhile, all of the stanzas are the same size. Thus, the tight form contrasts with the poem’s loose, wild images and themes. Unlike the barns, the truck, and the possibility of clucking like a chicken or leaving honey on one’s face, the poem’s form remains composed and put together—it does not look like it is falling apart. In this sense, the form mimics the buttoned-up speaker, who wishes they could loosen up a bit.

Repetition

Repetition is a literary device in which the poet repeats certain words or phrases to create rhythm and\or reinforce a theme or motif. In “So This is Nebraska,” Kooser repeats “you feel like” twice in Line 17, a third time at the end of Line 24, and a fourth time in the following line, Line 25. Thus, within nine lines, the speaker repeats the “you feel like” four times. This recurrence pertains to the themes of alienation, isolation, and connectedness. It is as if the speaker tries to will themselves into being but is not quite able to jump in the scenery itself. With the repetition of “You fell like,” the speaker projects these feelings onto another, or confesses them to the reader, but never seems to embrace them. With the repeated phrase, the speaker attempts to push themselves into acting on their feelings, and resembles a prayer or incantation in the hopes that this wish will manifest.

Unfortunately, the prayer does not seem to work, as the most the speaker manages to do is wave out the window. Then again, perhaps this is a subtle victory for the speaker. The “larklike” (Line 28) feeling suggests the freedom of the bird, as well as fun, if the reader interprets “lark” as meaning a merry and fun frolic or romp. Taking up this reading, the prayer-like repetition does result in something positive for the speaker.

Tone

Tone is a literary device that determines the attitude and sound of the poem. The “so” in the title “So This Is Nebraska” helps establish the poem’s tone from the beginning, as the speaker seems to relay their observations with a sigh or a sense of rue. “So” is a word suggesting uncertainty, and it leads to a vulnerable tone that is open to the changes of Nebraska but not sure how to reach out and connect to them.

The absence of a personal pronoun until line 11 reinforces the hesitant tone. The speaker is so unsettled that they do not clearly mark their presence until two and a half stanzas into the poem. The irresolute tone also ties into the repetition, where “you feel like” (Lines 17, 24, 25) suggests the speaker attempting to push themselves into decisive action. The speaker mulls over their options and settles with a wave—a subtle gesture—which brings the poem back to the resigned “so” in the title (and Line 9) and the whimsical, timorous tone.

At times, the tone can be frank and confident, but these moments relate to objective facts and details, like when the speaker communicates the month and the time of the day. When the speaker addresses their feelings, the accrual of “likes” betrays their timidity and brings the poem back to the crucial word “so.” Even the sound of “so"—with its long, indecisive “o”—links to languor and skittishness.