Poem #2: Messy Room by Shel Silverstein

The Poem: Messy Room

Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!


About the author:Sheldon Allan “Shel Silverstein was born in September 25, 1930 in Chicago and died on May 8 or 9 1999. He had accomplished many things such as he became an American poet, songwriter, cartoonist, author of children books, and a screenwriter. His books have sold over 20 million copies and translated into more than 30 languages.


Personal Response:
       The poem “Messy Room” by Shel Silverstein has a twist behind its story. This poem is like a description of a messy room. Each line has specific detail of where and why it is messy. It feels as if the poem is telling about an average boys/girls’ messy rooms. I like how the poet described the details of the room such as “His underwear is hanging on the lamp.” If you read this poem and compare it with your room, well, you got to clean it up. The way the poet wrote is that the character thought he was looking at another person’s room. But in the end, he realized that he was describing his own messy room.
       To tell you the truth my room is nothing different from the description in the poem. One phrase that stood out to me was “Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,” because this is the part where it had a twist in the story and made me kind of laugh. The poem reminds me of the book called The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room by Jan Berenstain because the plot was similar to the poem about having a messy room.
       A personal connection I can make is my messy room, which my parents remind me every single day to clean up. People in this world can be lazy, this is the reason why some children leave their room messy and don’t mind anything about it. I suggest for those who are lazy to be ashamed for not cleaning and tidying up their rooms, including me!


TP-CASTT:


TITLE: The title Messy Room tells me that this poem will be mainly about a messy room. I think it will be like a descriptive poem where it gives details about the messy room. I hope it is not boring and have many twists in this poem.


PARAPHRASE:
Whoever this room belong to should be embarrassed!
His undergarments everywhere hanging the lamp.
His raincoat is on top of the dirty chair,
And the chair us becoming smelly and moist.
His notebook is stuffed on the window,
His sweater’s been lying on the ground.
His scarf and one ski are under the TV,
And his pants have been neglected and is hanging on the door.
His books are all thrown into the closet,
His vest has been forgotten on the hall.
A lizard named Ed is sleeping in his bed,
And his stinky aged sock has been stuck on the wall.
Whoever this room belong to should be embarrassed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
What are you talking about? Your saying this is mine? Oh, god,
No wonder why it looked familiar!


CONNOTATION: (Formal Analysis)
1. Structure - rhythm in lines 2 and 4, also lines 6 and 8, Meter - IAMB,  Pentameter, Punctuation - periods, commas, exclamations, question marks, Parallel Structure.
2. Speaker - person who walked into the messy room, Audience - the owner of the messy room
3. Figurative language - personification, metaphor, simile, symbol
4. Imagery - Sight ( musky, damp, overstuffed), Smell (smelly sock)
5. Repetition - The first line repeats once.


ATTITUDE: Writer’s tone
Teasing, mad, surprised, disgusted. Think complexity: The tone shifts as the speaker describes the room.


SHIFTS:
Stanza - Gives description about the messy room.


TITLE:
When I read the poem the second time, I was sure this poem was a descriptive poem about a messy room. However, it had a twist meaning in the end of the poem where the narrator was actually describing his own room.


THEME:
1. You should never blame others first before you know what has actually happened.2. Think before you act.
3. Know it first before you speak.
4. Messy rooms are a bad hygiene.

References (APA-6): Silverstein, S. (2010). Messy Room. Website. Retrieved from                 http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/shel_silverstein/poems/14818