hus, the poem can be seen as distinctive because Robert Lowell allows us to follow his train of thought by bringing other events and a range of new emotions into the poem. this gives the reader a greater understanding of the current situation, rather than focusing solely on one event, or one emotion.Robert Lowell brings his poem alive through the use of onomatopoeia. He expresses that:"The crazy yellow and azure sea-sledsblasting like jack hammers acrossthe spumante-bubbling wake of our liner, recalled the clashing colours of my Ford."Onomatopoeia is used in words like "blasting" and "bubbling" to help establish the scene and add to the mental image by creating sounds and images. The use of onomatopoeia contributes to the passionate tones used in the poem, which as a direct result, allows the reader to be deeply moved by "Sailing Home from Rapallo".The poem works through juxtapositions and contrasts. As the lifelessness of his Mother's corpse is contrasted with the vitality of the gulf, as the ship moves out to sea:"The whole shoreline of the Golfo di Genovawas breaking into fiery flower."This contrasts with his mother's condition, as there is a passionate description of liveliness in nature. There is also juxtaposition between seasons and places, as seen when it is said "Spring already beginning in Italy while Dunbarton lay under the White Mountainsin the sub zero weather". By using juxtaposition it helps to emphasize and convey the extremes of emotion and the confusion that Robert Lowell is feeling.In addition, Lowell uses symbolism to achieve his purpose. The wintry world and the "sub zero weather" are symbolic of sterility and hopelessness. This is used to help emphasize how bored and barren his life has become, and how much emptier he feels without his mother. Symbolism is also seen in the fact that, in a poem about a journey, the graveyard is seen in nautical terms:"Dour and dark against the blinding snowdrifts,its black brook and...
