True Storms: "Storm Warnings" Analysis Anonymous 12th Grade

Everyone has dealt with troubled times, which can accurately be described as ‘dark times’ or ‘internal storms.’ In the poem “Storm Warnings”, Adrienne Rich organizes the poem’s main statement in the middle of the poem in order to mimic the buildup and aftermath of a real storm, provide the division between her external and internal storm, and elaborate on the uselessness of warnings. Her organization of the the focal point of the poem is important, as it is specifically placed in the middle.

If we look at the first two stanzas, she uses imagery to paint a picture of her setting. With, “The glass has been falling all afternoon” and “gray unrest is moving across the land” (Rich, line 4 ). For these quotes, the author is describing her environment that is affected by the storm. What typically happens when a storm is arriving, so the buildup to it. Then we see her make her main statement at the end of the second stanza. “Weather abroad and weather in the heart alike come on regardless of prediction” (Rich, line 13). It is in this line that the author first mentions a metaphorical storm, a storm in the heart. She chose to place this shift in tone in the middle of the poem in order to imitate the events of a real storm.

In the second...