Ellis Island

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1979

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

“Ellis Island” is a 27-line free verse poem. A free verse poem does not adhere to rhyme, and it does not have a regular meter. The poem’s first stanza consists of thirteen lines of varying lengths. These first thirteen lines establish the poem’s premise—the European immigration through Ellis Island that dominates traditional ancestry and heritage stories. Much like how European immigration stories dominate America’s historical narratives, the first stanza establishes the poem’s premise and foundation.

The second stanza is brief, only four lines long. It deviates from the first stanza’s detailed imagery. In the second stanza, the point of view shifts from a relatively objective, observational one to a personal, subjective view. The speaker states, “Like millions of others, / I too come to this island” (Lines 14-15). This is the only line of the poem in which the speaker uses the first-person pronoun “I” (Line 14). A separation occurs in this stanza as the speaker segues into an acknowledgement of their place in this ancestry: “nine decades the answerer / of dreams” (Lines 16-17). With this culminating moment, the speaker abruptly leaves behind this ancestry to speak to another.

In the third stanza, the speaker declares “Yet only part of my blood loves that memory” (Line 18). This line acts as a distinctive shift. With this stark statement, the speaker’s tone shifts, as does the poem’s. This stanza relies on direct statements rather than detailed imagery to communicate the speaker’s views. The stanza also relies on the repetition of words like “Lands” (Lines 22, 24). The speaker uses words like “invaded” (Line 22), which create a more sinister and violent element in the poem. This word choice conflicts with the peaceful images of “the changing Moon” (Line 25) and “knowledge of the seasons” (Line 26). This conflict and tension form the poem’s conclusion, and because it is unresolved, it represents the continual conflict and tension between white and Indigenous societies in America and in the speaker.

Sound

“Ellis Island” is a free verse poem. The poem utilizes the repetition of letter sounds, words, and phrases to create movement in the poem. In the first stanza, words such as “where” (Line 2), “who” (Line 3), and “waited” (Line 4) create a moving sensation because of the emphasized /h/ sound and /w/ sound. These words are placed at the beginning of the lines, and their placement reinforces that emphasis and that movement. The stanza also utilizes the article “the” seven times. The repetition of the word “the” creates emphasis on certain nouns. For example, the speaker states, “Beyond the red brick of Ellis Island” (Line 1). The speaker’s usage of the word “the” (Line 1) emphasizes “red brick” (Line 1), and it stresses the enclosure and separation immigrants experienced within Ellis Island’s confines.

The first stanza also utilizes specific adjectives to create images significant to the Ellis Island experience. Words like “red” (Line 1), “Slovak” (Line 2), “old” (Line 6), and “green” (Line 9) provide specific descriptions that create a visual experience for readers. The designation “Slovak” (Line 2) alludes to a specific geography and demography. As the stanza concludes, the speaker uses imagery related to nature, such as the words “green” (Line 9), “forests” (Line 10), and “meadows” (Line 10). These words parallel images in the third stanza, and this parallel reinforces the speaker’s ancestral connection to nature.

In the brief second stanza, the speaker uses a more direct tone, one that brings the reader to the reality of the present day. This tone forms because of the ambiguity created by word choices like “millions” (Line 14). This word choice creates the sense of conformity and homogeneity that resonates with the “melting pot” concept American society valued during America’s peak years of immigration.

In the third stanza, the speaker again utilizes the repetition of certain words and letter sounds to create movement and force within the poem. For example, the lines “Another voice speaks / of native lands / within this nation” (Lines 19-21) utilize the repetition of /n/ sounds. This repetition reinforces words like “native” (Line 20) and “nation” (Line 21) which bear similar roots. The speaker also repeats the word “Lands” three times in this stanza. The first time the speaker uses the word “lands” is in the line “of native lands” (Line 20). The word appears at the line’s end and acts as a shift into the line “within this nation” (Line 21). However, the speaker’s placement of the word reinforces the concept that the “nation” (Line 21) is formed because of the “native lands” (Line 20). The speaker then states, “Lands invaded” (Line 22). The speaker uses the word “Lands” (Line 22) at the line’s beginning, and the line’s two-word structure solidifies the concept of the Europeans taking the Natives’ lands because “Lands” (Line 22) and the verb “invaded” (Line 22). The speaker begins concluding the poems, and this conclusion is created by the extended line lengths. The speaker states, “Lands of those who followed / the changing Moon,” (Lines 24-25). Again, the speaker repeats the word “Lands” (Line 24) at a line’s beginning. This usage reinforces what has actually been stolen from the Natives, and it helps readers understand the magnitude of the Europeans’ theft.

Enjambment

Enjambment is a poetic technique commonly used by poets; it is the continuation of a line without a pause beyond the end of a line, stanza, or couplet. Throughout “Ellis Island,” the speaker combines repetition with enjambment to move the poem forward and engage readers. From the poem’s beginning, the speaker uses this technique: “Beyond the red brick of Ellis Island / where the two Slovak children / who became my grandparents / waited the long days of quarantine” (Lines 1-4). The enjambment in these first four lines creates not only the sense of movement, but also the sensation of vivid remembering, because one thought swiftly flows into another.

The poem’s final stanza also relies on enjambment. In this stanza, however, the enjambment does not create the sensation of movement or remembering. Instead, the enjambment creates force. For example, the speaker states “Another voice speaks / of native lands / within this nation” (Lines 19-21). Not only does the enjambment create a forceful tone, but so does the three-word structure of each line. These lines form the center of this stanza, and the enjambment and the line placement work to focus readers on these lines.