Collage of Echoes by Isabella Gardner is written in the first person with the speaker being Isabella Gardner herself speaking to a universal audience.
In the first and second line, Gardner states that:
“I have no promises to keep
Nor miles to go before I sleep,” (Line 1 " 2)
These first two lines are inspired by Robert Frost’s poem “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowing Evening” in which Frost states that he has a lot of time to fulfill his promises by stating that:
“But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,” (Line 14 " 15)
Gardner’s first two lines mean that she has reached the end of her life and now she has no more obligations to fulfill to anyone. She continues to state that “For miles of years I have made promises and (mostly) kept them.” Here the speaker explaines that she has tried to keep her promises to everyone in the course of her life. Next, she states that “It's time I slept.” Meaning that she fills it is fit for her to die as she has lived a fulfilling life. She goes on to state “Now I lay me down to sleep/ With no promises to keep.” Here she again stresses that she is ready to die as she has no unfulfilled obligations to live up to. She continues to state that “My sleaves are ravelled. /I have traveled.” In these lines, Isabella Gardner asserts that she has done all she wanted to do with her life and she feels fulfilled. The mood of the poem is realistic as Gardner speaks of her life and her impending demise.
Literary Devices
Allusion
In the poem, the phrase ‘sleep’ alludes to the idea of dying or death. The speaker wishes to ‘sleep’ now that she has fulfilled all her promises.
Rhyme
The poem has a definite rhyme scheme in which all the last words of each line have similar sounds. For example in the first and second line, the last words which are “keep” and “sleep” sound similar.
Use of Themes
The poem’s central idea is the theme of death and dying which the speaker discusses throughout the poem.
Use of Enjambment
The poem utilizes enjambment where the speaker states that:
“Now I lay me down to sleep
With no promises to keep.” (Line 6 "7)
Here we see that line six and seven are one sentence but broken into two lines without the use of any ending punctuation.
Use of Lines
The poem’s structure consists of rows of lines that make up the content of the poem.
Use of Tone
The poet uses a serious tone to convey her thought on her life and impending death to the reader.
