Roethke's Elegy For Jane

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1.) Roethke's "Elegy for Jane" is an elegy in which a teacher reflects upon a pupil whose name is Jane. The speaker begins remembering Jane connecting her physical attributes and personality traits to a variety of natural imagery and metaphors. The speaker then concludes the poem by stating how he wished he could revive her and then ends with a declaration of platonic love for his dead student. Through the speaker’s reflective and regretful attitude, it is clear that this poem's speaker has feelings about Jane's death, but the similes and metaphors do not praise Jane grace and he mentions that his relationship with Jane is "neither father nor lover." Every description of Jane becomes one of nature, and the speaker’s love seems to be less for

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