Commentary Restraint

Commentary Restraint

The single most dominant impression of this poem is its powerful title. ‘Restraint’ is a strong word. It means obstruction of free will or movement and the desire of liberty. This poem is clearly about restraint, and how it is in everyone suppressing them from freedom and self-indulgence.
  The poet explores the various aspects of restraint. The constraint it causes people keeps them from doing what they want to do and therefore stands in the way of complete satisfaction. We understand that it is captured in all living things, since ‘it lives in the body’. Permanently it is in our self-consciousness, making our bodies its habitat. A ‘long course in freedom hurts it’ thus freedom is its enemy for restraint is put down by it. In general, restraint is conveyed as a negative reflex or emotion in all of us, inevitably acting alone and always getting its way.
  Douglas Dunn reveals it in a riddle like manner. The poem is basically a riddle, with the answer being the title. Restraint is depicted through descriptions of it without actually being named; Restraint is addressed as ‘it’ throughout the poem which is appealing to the reader for it creates a sense of mystery and makes the poem more interesting. The poet’s attitude towards restraint is somewhat depressing for there are no positive or enlightening words to describe restraint as it is a burden to all other emotions. However, the poet is consistent, keeping the same solid and gloomy naturalistic mood throughout the poem. This mood is achieved through words such as ‘looms’, ‘funerals’ and ‘cries’. Altogether they create a trapped and depressing atmosphere.
  The structure of this poem is set in such a way that there are five stanzas, each consisting of three lines. This symmetrical set out is vital in order to put some sort of shape into the poem since other than that, there is not much more of a pattern. There is no rhyming scheme throughout the poem, and it is basically sentences...