The Illiterate

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1958

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

“The Illiterate” is a sonnet written in the Petrarchan style. Traditionally this type of sonnet rhymes ABBAABBA CDECDE, the most common variant, or ABBAABBA CDCDCD. William Meredith’s poem uses the rhyme scheme ABBA CDDC EFGEFG, which is sometimes called the Crybin variant. The first eight lines of the Petrarchan sonnet are called the octave. The first half, or Lines 1-4, present a problem or situation. The speaker’s touch, which makes him feel like the man who is given a missive, is an example. The second four lines of the octave, Lines 5-8, explain the problem and provide some exposition. In “The Illiterate,” this missive is unexpected, and the man is fearful and embarrassed. The next six lines, called the sestet, answer or illuminate the situation presented in the first eight, or offer some resolution. In this case, the speaker reveals the possible contents of the unopened message and highlights why the man, and thus the speaker, hesitates to read it. The traditional Petrarchan sonnet is written in hendecasyllable lines, or lines of 11 syllables. Meredith uses a mixture of 10 and 11 syllables per lines.

Repetition of End Rhymes (Identical Rhyme)

Meredith uses end rhymes that are identical, meaning he deliberately employs the same words within the rhyme scheme, such as “man” at the ends of Lines 1 and 4. This occurs throughout the poem, with the sole variation being “anyone” (Line 5) and “someone” (Line 8), although both lines end in the same syllable—one. This technique achieves two things. First, it mitigates the sometimes forced formality one experiences with the sonnet’s rigid form by creating a colloquial voice. Second, it conveys the idea that the uninformed person of the title has limited language to convey their experience. Further, the words are often homographs, in that they are spelled the same but have different meanings based on context. For example, the man flips the “letter over in his hand” (Line 2), showing the use of the man’s limb to hold and examine the letter. In the next line, the man describes the unrecognizable writing on the letter by stating “the hand / [w]as unfamiliar” (Line 3); he is not describing the man’s limb but the handwriting of the letter itself. So, while the rhymes are completely exact in several cases, the meaning is altered. This helps keep the simplicity of the uninformed person’s world while also showing it is more emotionally complicated than it seems.

Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition is the technique of placing contrasting items close together to heighten their effect. This may help readers discover the nuance of an idea, that it can hold two differing possibilities at once. In “The Illiterate” the first three lines of the sestet rely on juxtapositions to discuss the possibilities that the letter might contain. Most of these things show a positive and negative outcome at the same time. In “[h]is uncle could have left the farm to him” (Line 9), there exists the possibility of inheritance combined with the relative’s death. In “his parents died before he sent them word” (Line 10), Meredith implies that the man wanted to tell his parents something important, but his message will never reach them as they are deceased. The line “the dark girl [has] changed and want[s] [the man] for her beloved” (Line 11) might be positive—the old lover has replaced rejection with interest—or it might be negative, since it could eliminate the potential for a different, healthier kind of relationship. All these lines indicate that the contents of the letter could be life-altering and momentous, potentially good or potentially bad, depending on how they are translated into meaning. This helps to enhance the swirling and tumultuous emotions the speaker has to “[t]ouching […] goodness” (Line 1). This kind of juxtaposition is shown in the concluding line of the poem: “the words / [t]hat keep him rich and orphaned and beloved” (Line 14).