Summary: An Unwavering Gratitude In The W.S. Merwin’s Poem

In a world where people often forget what gratitude means, W.S. Merwin’s poem “Thanks” is an affirmation of gratefulness. It is an honest poem about all of the things we often fail to be thankful for. W.S. Merwin uses symbolism and tone to emphasize the struggles and reliefs in the journey of life, and being thankful for the simple fact of existing.

“Thanks” is a poem defined by examples of purely human situations. Merwin accepts all of these situations, good and bad, and consistently says “thank you” to each one.

This unwavering gratitude is told in a tone of what seems to be sarcasm as many times he says thank you to seemingly terrible situations. However, Merwin is showing his understanding of life and the journey we all take, as he is saying thank you to all parts of life, whether it be, “The forests falling faster than the minutes of our lives”, or “Our mouths full of food to look at the sky”.

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Although we may not all believe it, struggle and problems shape us as well as our blessings.

A powerful tool for authors is the use of tone, an important aspect to control how the piece is read. In “Thanks” W.S. Merwin’s tone is one of brutal honesty, in which he points out, “in doorways and in the backs of cars and in elevators remembering wars and the police at the door and the beatings on stairs we are saying thank you”. A real problem that is affecting our society, yet Merwin still says thank you.

This may show rather than sarcasm and a lack of respect for authority, an acknowledgmenting that it is a reality and that it is shaping humans’ every moment, which according to Merwin is worth gratitudegratuity; not because it is good, but because it is a part of our existence, ofin which we are all lucky to be a part of.

In this poem the repetition of “thank you” is very apparent;, however, it is “we thank you” that is most important in the tone of this piece. The use of “we” implies multiple people, in this case however Merwin is using “we” as a pronoun for everybody in any society. As he uses “we” it gives the reader the sense he is talking to those who feel mistreated, underappreciated, or not in control because, “We are saying thank you faster and faster- with nobody listening we are saying thank you- thank you we are saying and waving- dark though it is” . Admissionttance of gratitude to those who are not listening implies this lack of control, and to say thanks becomes a release. “We are saying thank you” is like saying we accept that in which we cannot change.

We thank Merwin for his honesty and realness, and the final step to understanding “Thanks” is to do just that. The symbolism Merwin uses is purely in the word thanks. As he thanks life for varying tragedies and struggles, “thank you” rather than being thankful is more about what is next, as he says for each situation. Instead of “We thank you for…”, it is “after funerals we are saying thank you- after the news of the dead- whether or not we knew them- we are saying thank you”. This is because we cannot thank and accept and move on from these tragedies until they have happened and we have processed them in a healthy manner. I believe that Merwin may have intended this poem as a lesson about the need; to move through with determination even if the walls are tumbling down.

“Thanks” by W.S. Merwin exactly captures the power and beauty of gratitude. It is the all or- nothing quality he proclaims and the symbolism of “Thank You” which holds the real power of gratitude. How crucial it is to harness our own power to be thankful for everything that comes to us. This doesn’t mean everything is beautiful or feels right. Injustice sometimes reigns, as his poem insists, but that we can make meaning of it all with effort, love, and understanding.