Why I Chose Insomnia

I chose Insomnia by Dana Gioia because, as someone who has experienced insomnia, I understand what the author was trying to convey to the audience. When you are awake at night, you feel as if you are the only one alive. You start noticing noises that you would not normally notice. Ordinary objects suddenly seem to come alive. Dana shows that he understands this experience when he chooses the line, "the murmur of property, of things in disrepair." The idea of inanimate objects making taking on lives of their own is an almost unbelievable experience that only someone sleep deprived can truely understand. Dana seems to understand this perfectly.

The tone of this poem is very dark. The narrator seems to be questioning an insomniac. The questions are ones that are aimed at making the said insomniac feel helpless. The reader in turn feels sorry for the poor sleep deprived individual being questioned.

When I read this poem out loud, I don't want to be to enthusiastic or dramatic, as this is not how the poem is intended to be read. I want to be calm, appear almost wise. I will translate the poem's dark helpless feeling by reading slowly and in a cruel questioning manner.

The diction is not very complicated or formal. I would call it neutral diction. But aside from that there weren't many connotations I could identify. Connotations could identify were useless, dark, endless, drone, and discomfort. These words contribute to the poem's dark tone.