allo".One distinctive quality of the poem "Sailing Home from Rapallo" is the fact that it focuses on a particular event, Lowell's mothers death in Italy, and the emotions associated with the event, rather than the poets feelings on a subject, or their own self expression. Lowell's mother is the principal character in this poem. Her death in Europe and her final journey to the family graveyard in New England give the theme, which invokes a variety of emotional responses in Robert Lowell.Another distinctive quality of the poem is that Lowell abruptly changes his tone of voice, interrupting the feeling of continual forward movement in the poem. He never allows himself to get too emotional; once he begins to release his feelings he immediately changes tone and presents the facts. The poem begins in a detailed way, establishing the scene: "Your nurse could only speak Italian, but after twenty minutes I could imagine your final week,and tears ran down my cheeks…."This compassion is striking, but the moment of sympathy is not savoured, as Lowell immediately slips into a more objective tone:"When I embarked from Italy with my Mother's body…."This shows Lowell’s continual change of tone in the poem “Sailing Home from Rapallo”. Yet another distinctive quality of the poem is the way that Lowell focuses on the bigger picture, other family members, rather than just his relationship with and emotions for his mother. It is peculiar that in a poem written specifically about the death of his mother, Lowell chooses to express derogatory feelings about his father. Although his mother is the principal subject of this poem, Lowell takes the opportunity to portray his father to the readers. His depicts his deceased father as a misfit in life, who is also a misfit in death. "The only 'unhistoric' soul to come here was Father….Even the Latin of his Lowell motto:Occasionem cognosce,Seemed too businesslike and pushing here."T...
