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David Olympia

Professor Marozzi

English 113B

12 April 2017

Emotional Season

An age-old question, what is life? How can you define what happens in life and what a

person should do with their life? No one has the exact same story as another person. In life we

experience highs and lows. Throughout life we experience many different emotions. Happiness,

sadness, and love are three major emotions. In the poem Three Times I have Opened My Life

by Jane Hirshfield, expresses the impact of these emotions on our lives. Jane Hirshfield is an

award winning poet, essayist, and translator. After she graduated from Princeton as part of the

first class to include women, she published her first poem. Hirshfields poetry has been

influenced by Greek, Roman. English, Chinese, Japanese and many other cultures. In her poem

the narrator reflects on three times they opened his/her life. Each experience was a different

emotion. The setting of this poem seems to be inside the narrators home. It is hinted that the

time of year is autumn. There are only three stanzas and it is free verse. The poem is written in

the first person. This poem feels like the narrator is talking to themselves, or writing in a journal.

Although this poem is short, it is very thought-provoking due to its imagery, symbolism, and

overall message.

For instance, the imagery of the different emotions greatly adds to the poem. The emotion

sadness is depicted as, Once into darkness and rain (Hirshfield Line 2). In the narrators life

they had a period of sadness. When I read this poem I imagined a person alone in a dark room

with rain hitting the window. The gloomy weather can make a person also feel depressed. There
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is no explanation of what caused the sadness. Hirshfield uses the images of darkness and rain to

give off the feeling of sadness. At the end of the poem the emotion of hope is depicted as, But a

slip of light stays, like a scrap of paper left on the floor, / or the one red leaf the snow releases in

March (Hirshfield Lines 13-14). The line before it talks about a door opening and closing so I

imagined the slip of light coming from a slightly opened door. I also imagined that the slip of

paper had the word hope written on it. These lines could also be about how you will remember

these experiences. The doors of life that are slightly opened are the ones that you have already

gone through. The image of a red leaf being released by the snow made me imagine the snow

melting off a tree regrowing its leaves. I associate spring with hope because of the new life it

brings. The different images make it easier to understand what emotions are being expressed in

this poem. Along with imagery, this poem utilizes symbolism to generate emotions.

Furthermore, symbolism of the emotions adds more depth to the poem. The emotion of

love and anger is described as, Once, into what the body carries at all times within it and / starts

to remember each time it enters into the act of love/Once to the fire that holds all (Hirshfield

Lines 2-5). These lines are about spring and summer representing the emotions love and anger. In

the spring there is new life and after the act of love new life is created. Summer is a very hot

season so I thought of it like a hot-headed person is very quick to anger. These emotions are

opposites of each other. These emotions have a great impact on our lives. Everyone yearns to be

loved and it is one of the most powerful emotions. Anger comes out when we feel very strongly

about someone or something that we feel is wrong. Fall is symbolized as change, But outside

my window all day a maple has stepped / from her leaves like a woman in love with winter,

dropping / the colored silks (Hirshfield Lines 8-10). Your life is changing like the leaves do in

the fall. It can also symbolize awareness. The narrator is able to understand life more after
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reflecting on past experiences. We look back so we can have a better present and future. The use

of the seasons to represent the emotions makes readers think deeper about this poem. The overall

message about life is pretty simple after identifying the emotions being expressed.

Moreover, the overall message is relatable to everyone. In life there are life changing

experiences that shape our character. Everyone has experienced a life changing event, Three

times my life has opened (Hirshfield Line 1). The narrator reflects on the three times in their life

that had a significant impact. For the narrator it is specifically three times but it is different for

each person. There could be more times and they are the most significant. Also those experiences

could be for the three emotions. These emotional experiences are very similar, These three were

not different (Hirshfield Line 6). During each experience the narrator says that it opened his/her

life. Each one may have been experienced during a different season but each time their life was

impacted. These experiences changed the narrators life for the better. In life we learn from these

emotional experiences, Neither are we different in what we know (Hirshfield Line 11). We can

learn from our mistakes and not repeat them. Everyone else will have their experiences so we are

all learning about life. You need to live your own life before you question life. Jane Hirshfield

view on poetry is similar to the message of this poem, I dont think poetry is based just on

poetry; it is based on a thoroughly lived life. And so I couldnt just decide I was going to write

no matter what; I first had to find out what it means to live. I know that I still have a lot to learn

from life. Life does not always go as you planned it to be. I have always questioned what life is

about. I have experienced the emotions of love, happiness, anger, hope and sadness. I love my

family and close friends. One of my fondest moments is hanging out with my teammates after

Cross Country and Track & Field meets. Anger and sadness are a part of my life but has not had

as big of an impact. My outlook on life really changed when I accepted Christ into my life as a
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young teen. I try to have a positive outlook on life despite of the unfortunate events that people

face. My life compared to others less fortunate is much better. At the same time other people

lives can be better than mine. I am still unsure of my future job but through experiencing new

opportunities I will find an answer. No matter how much you research about life, it will not be

the same as actually experiencing life.

Lastly, the poems message, symbolism, and imagery makes the poem more intricate.

Hirshfield vaguely describes a persons life to convey her message. People question life when

they do not know that they may already know the answer. If you reflect on your entire life to the

present, many questions will be answered. More answers will be revealed in the future. The

symbolism of the different seasons of life contributes in delivering the message. The different

emotions that we go through are expected in life. The imagery used is vivid. While reading this

poem the reader can imagine and feel the emotions being expressed. Hirshfield wants her readers

to understand that you have to live your own life. You will learn about life through experiencing

your own. The emotional experiences we go through are significant because they shape our

character. We would be much different people if our past was changed. It may sound simple to

not question life but it is reasonable. You never know what will happen in the future, so I will

continue to anticipate the events that will change my life. Many people are scared of change, but

if you do not get out of your comfort zones you will not truly experience life.
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Works Cited

Hirshfield, Jane. Three Times I Have Opened My Life. Risking Everything: 110 Poems of Love

and Revelations, edited by Roger Housden, Harmony Books, 2003, p. 20.