COLD WITHIN

SIGNIFICANE OF THE TITLE

The title of the poem THE COLD WITHIN is symbolic of
lack of warmth and compassion in human beings. Six humans
are caught against their will in bleak and bitter cold, but none
of them uses the wooden stick each one has, due to racism,
envy, arrogance, revenge and greed. They are so cold from
inside that they do not realise that by not helping others, they
will not perish. Their cold heartedness invites death in the
end. Thus, the title is appropriate as they die not from the cold
outside but from the cold within their hearts.
THEME
The poem is simple yet a powerful reminder that if selfishly
hold on to worlds resources, and the wealth that it has to offer
we are all lost!
The poet also wants to emphasise the need to be above any
thought of discrimination against each other. He has portrayed
the feelings of six people – representing humans of different
sections of society who refuse to help the other only because
of their ill-feelings. They are unable to overcome the hatred
within them to help others and themselves too, ultimately
leading to the death of all of them.
FIGURES OF SPEECH

Metaphor- (second stanza) ‘dying fire’ in need of logs

The comparison here is the death of compassion in humans,
that is there was a need for some logs for the fire as much as
the need for compassion within the humans.

(seventh stanza)- was how he played the game

Here the word ‘game’ is used to compare his actions in his
life. He never gave anything unless he gained something.

Metonymy – (third stanza) saw not one of his church

One phrase or group of words being used to represent close
association to a different sect or religion
Metaphor:
Metaphor is an indirect and implied comparison of two different things where there is
a point of similarity.
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game.
In the above lines, human life is compared to a game. The last man would give
something to one who could give him something in return. This is how he played the
game of life. The comparison of life to a game is a metaphor.

Oxymoron – (seventh stanza) ‘forlorn group’

Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two opposite ideas
are joined to create an effect. Examples are ‘cruel kindness’
and ‘living death’
Here forlorn is sad and lonely while group is a collection of
like-minded people. So they are both contradictory terms
Personification:
Their logs held tight in deaths still hand.
“Their logs held tight in death's still hands” is an example of
the use of personification, where the poet has personified
death into a human with a still hand.