Lawrence Ferlinghetti writes the poem “The world is a beautiful place” to express his feelings about the world and the contradictions that exist within it. It is a poem which shows the irony of living the human life, some being happy with their lot in life while others remain sad due to their poverty as well as the tragic events that happen in their lives. Ferlinghetti uses this poem to display the true nature of human life, that nothing is ever permanent. In this paper, we shall analyze the imagery, symbolism, figurative language, style and tone in relation to the development of the theme.
The use of imagery is very extensive in this poem especially when making contrasts between the beauty of the world and the ugliness which is contained within it. This can be seen when it is stated that the world can be very beautiful if the people who live within it do not mind “a bomb or two.” The image of a bomb is used to refer to the wars which happen from time to time all over the world especially in the developing countries. It can be said that the image of the bomb when contrasted to the beauty of the world may be Ferlinghetti’s way of stating that the world is beautiful just the way it is but it is the human being who makes it not to be a pleasant place to live in due to his corrupting influence over it. This image may also be used to show the environmental price that the world has to pay whenever human beings go to war. The image of the upturned faces may be used to refer to the helplessness that people in the society feel due to the fact that although they have no hand in the making of the decisions to go to war, they are always the first ones to suffer when these wars begin. The image of happiness is continuously displayed in this poem but there is a sudden stop to it when Ferlinghetti mentions that it all ends in death.
Symbolism is a major style used in the development of the theme of this poem. A good example of this, as mentioned above, is the mentioning of a bomb to symbolize war. The line “a few dead minds/ in the higher places” can be considered to symbolize the decisions of people in authority concerning things that are vital without thinking about the consequences of their actions in future. Furthermore, the line “….or such other improprieties/ as our Name Brand Society/ is prey to” symbolizes the dominance of capitalism in the society something which Ferlinghetti was very much against. The line “…and its priests/ and other patrolmen/and its various segregations/ and congressional investigations/ and other constipations…” symbolizes to the governmental establishment and its ingrained corruption that is rampant within its ranks.
Ferlinghetti uses figurative language to depict the contrasting characteristics of the world, and a good example of this is in the line “comes the smiling/mortician” which is an oxymoron used to symbolize death. It is well known that death is a sad event but Ferlinghetti’s depicting it as smiling clearly shows the contrast in the world as a place where a lot of happiness can be found as well as great sadness. Figurative language can be seen all over the poem and it is used to express the points which can be considered to be the most important in the poem.
The tone of the poem can be considered to be either neutral or ironical. This is because of the contrast which Ferlinghetti makes between two very different matters. For example, he states that the world is a very beautiful place to be born into if one does not mind there not being any happiness all the time. This is an ironical statement because of the fact that Ferlinghetti is attempting to depict the world as not being an ideal place to live in. It can further be said that the tone of the poem depicts the true feelings of its writer about the world and how the situation within it affects the different people living in it. The irony in the poem helps to deliver the poet’s message to the reader as well as fostering an understanding of the subject matter involved.
In conclusion, the use of imagery, symbolism and figurative language in this poem greatly contributes to a greater understanding of the poem. They create situations which are familiar to the reader and they allow him to decipher the true meaning of what the poem is saying. Despite what many people who read it may think, it is not as negative a poem as it is considered to be. Instead, it has many lessons to give about the reality of human life in the world and the main message which can be made out of it is that there is not guarantee of happiness in the world and that we should live in it as best as we can.