Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
Presumably, the poet
Form and Meter
Free verse (sporadically iambic) with one quatrain, two tercets and a final couplet
Metaphors and Similes
"Snowflake": a metaphor for an entity that is distinct initially and then loses its distinctness as it joins the others.
"Leap and water" of the salmon: symbolizes the vitality, visibility, and distinction of a life's present existence.
Alliteration and Assonance
Alliteration:
"clean, clear" - double "hard C" sound
"last when leap" - double "L" sound
Assonance:
"clean...leap" - double "long E" sound
"clear...disappeared" - slant rhyme, with rhyming of the "ear" sound
"water are forgotten" - repeated "Ah" sound
Irony
The main irony of this poem is that in the third stanza, the speaker advocates for not lasting beyond his death, as he fears he will inevitably become standardized and assimilated into history. Yet, by writing the poem, MacLeish is publishing a work that he hopes will last. This poetic act also contradicts the sentiment of the final couplet, which acknowledges that life is still life even if it does not leave a trace.
Genre
Modernist
Setting
Tone
Anxious, conversational
Protagonist and Antagonist
Major Conflict
The major conflict is the internal battle of the speaker about his own impending death and whether he will be remembered and his identity will remain distinct for future generations.
Climax
The climax actually seems to be in the third stanza, with the most upsetting image:
To be, yes! -- whether they like it or not!
But not last when leap and water are forgotten,
A plank of standard pinkness in the dish.
The thought that one might become like a slab of inanimate fish on a plate is horrifying, and it takes the last couplet for MacLeish to resolve this perspective and find some peace.
Foreshadowing
No genuine foreshadowing, but by posing questions in the first stanza, the reader is eager to read a possible answer or resolution.
Understatement
Allusions
"Birdseye scholar" in reference to Clarence Birdseye, the inventor of the frozen food industry.
"To be, yes!" in reference to Shakespeare's famous Hamlet speech "To be, or not to be" in which Hamlet laments the pros and cons of moving through life in the face of adversity.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
"The page" in reference to published work in general—most broadly, the Western canon or the totality of Western literature.
Personification
Hyperbole
Comparing the end of human life to a cooked salmon on a plate, in that the person will be perceived as standard and lose his distinction.
