"Metho Drinker" analysis

Metho Drinker

Under the death of winter's leaves he lies

who cried to Nothing and the terrible night

to be his home and bread. 'O take from me

the weight and waterfall ceaseless Time

that batters down my weakness; the knives of light

whose thrust I cannot turn; the cruelty

of human eyes that dare not touch nor pity.'

Under the worn leaves of the winter city

safe in the house of Nothing now he lies.

His white and burning girl, his woman of fire,

creeps to his heart and sets a candle there

to melt away the flesh that hides from bone,

to eat the nerve that tethers him in time.

He will lie warm until the bone is bare

and on a dead dark moon he wakes alone.

It was for Death he took her; death is but this;

and yet he is uneasy under her kiss

and winces from that acid of her desire. 

Judith Wright

Introduction
We have chosen this poem to analyse today as we thought that it would be one that you could all relate to. Not necessarily to the homeless man, but to the topic of addiction. Nearly every one here would have known someone who has suffered from an addiction, and knows the effect that it has on not only the addict, but their families. It also highlights the ignorance in today’s society, as many are unaware of their sad existence.

Main Idea
The poem tells the story of a homeless man and his addiction to Methylated Spirits, an addiction which is slowly killing him. Living in winter’s harsh conditions “under the death of winters leaves he lies” he hides away from society. He is alone and ‘cries to nothing and the terrible night’ as he has nothing and there is no one around him. So he turns to the one thing in his life that keeps him warm, methylated spirits.

Personification
The poem continuously uses personification, as a way of interpreting the man’s relationship with the bottle. The bottle is personified as ‘his girl’, his only companion. “His woman of fire who creeps to his heart and sets a candle there”, this shows his love and affection for this ‘woman’. In the next two lines his addiction to Metho becomes evident, as Wright introduces the metaphor of “melting away his flesh… to eat the nerve that tethers him in time” as the addiction is slowly killing him.
the Metho burns him as he drinks it “to eat the nerve that tethers him in time”. He drinks it to take his pain away. The candle burning keeps him warm inside and provides him with warmth that he can not find on the streets.

Similes
Light is compared to ‘knives; whose thrust I cannot turn’ which suggests the pain that light brings to the drinker. Time, to the man, is a never ending trouble. By drinking the Methylated spirits he feels like he is escaping time and escaping from the troubles in his life.