Title

The title of the poem I have selected is The Condition. Based strictly of off looking at the title I can predict the poem is about limitations or terms set on somebody or something. Usually when someone says there are conditions they mean terms or something that happens or some type of rule you have to follow. The Condition makes me think of the rule or the stipulation of a action. We will understand more in detail as we read. 

Paraphrase

Line 1: "The darkness within me is growing". This line is saying that something on the inside of the narrator is becoming bigger. It is something bad, as the narrator says "The darkness". This could mean bad emotions or bad thoughts build on the inside of the narrator. Line 2: "I am turned out". The narrator is experiencing out of body experiences. "turned out" meaning not in the right mind or not the same as usual. The darkness on the inside is changing the narrator. Line 3: "Thought feeds on it". This line is saying the narrator can not stop thinking about what is occurring now. The thought of the darkness growing is feeding on the speakers mind. Line 4: "even as the body is eaten". Now things get a little weird. This line is saying that the body is being eaten too. So the narrator here is saying that not only is the mind being eaten but so is the body. At this point the narrator is saying that as the darkness grows inside of him that the mind and body are being eaten by the thoughts of this situation. Line 5: "Its goodness is without a face". Here we see maybe a good side of the darkness. "Goodness without a face", is implying that the darkness is something that can not be seen but is actually helping in a way. Line 6: "But it convinces me to look". Something about the darkness is bringing the narrator closer. The narrator is forced to look even at something with no face. "With no face" means it is not something that can be addressed but still draws interest of the narrator. Line 7: "It can fade from now until doomsday". The narrator is saying that it is possible that the feeling will leave by the time it is all over, or "doomsday". "Fade" means that the feeling of darkness may slowly go away with time. Line 8: "It will not fade". The feeling will not go away. The narrator clearly states that it's not going anywhere and that how the narrator feels. Line 9: "In the night I see it shining". This line could mean a multitude of things. It might be saying that the darkness is blinding at night, which means the darkness inside of him protrudes and is most effective at night. Or it could mean the goodness of the darkness comes out at night. Earlier in the poem we saw the narrator talking about how the darkness was good, so maybe something good comes from the darkness at night. Line 10: "like a thing seen". The darkness is so effective that even with "no face" the darkness can be seen at night. 

Connotation

The poem beyond the literal is very deep. The figurative meaning takes the poem to a deep place and exhilarates the reader and makes them want to read more. Literally the poem is saying there is something dark inside the narrator that keeps growing and is effecting him mentally and physically. Figuratively the poem is saying the narrator is dealing with something dark or bad and finds a way to overcome this hard time. In the poem we see an oxymoron. The narrator says, "Its goodness is without a face But it convinces me to look". That quote is a visual representation of the oxymoron. It is saying that even thought it is not real and can not be seen I look anyways, which are two contrasting meanings. Another figuratively language shown in the poem is a couple of metaphors. Line 9 says "In the night I see it shining". This line gives a inner emotion the realism of the sun or something with light. That line can also create imagery in a sense. The other example of a metaphor is "The darkness within me is growing". This quote makes the darkness seem real like it is an infection or something. 

Attitude/Tone

The tone of the poem is mixed with deep thought and mystery. The narrator speaks of something that is something on the inside of him eating away at him mentally and physically. But in-turn the narrator says that the darkness is something good. So the mystery is to be asked, "How does something that negatively effects you be good for you?". The obscure and unfathomable thing is the darkness. It takes the place of something to the narrator that effects him so much that he can not stop thinking about it and he wants to somehow look at it but it has "no face". The narrators attitude toward the subject is friendly. Reading the poem you get a sense that the author enjoys the topic and is comfortable rather than mad or sad. The authors happiness protrudes into the narrator of the story with a mysterious obscure happiness, then into the reader.

Shifts

There is one major shift that can be seen in the story and that comes at the beginning. At the beginning of the poem the author refers to "darkness" as something that is eating the narrator mentally and physically. But then later in the poem refers to the darkness as "goodness", meaning there is some good part of the darkness. The poem shifts from mysterious and obscure to a somewhat enlightening feel about the darkness. That is the major shift in the poem. A small shift that can be noted is how the poem says "Its goodness is without a face", then later says "like a thing seen". The poem shifts from the darkness not being visible to something that is now seen because it shines at night. Through these shifts we see how the author uses the darkness as a character in a sense to get the poem to be seen in many different ways.

Title

After reading the story we see that the prediction I made before reading the poem was false. I thought the poem would be about a term, stipulation, or some type of rule set in place and that those would be the conditions. But after reading the poem and analyzing it I see that The Condition means "illness". The narrator in the poem is plagued by an infection, the "darkness". The poem is about the darkness and the darkness is the condition. So the title is just that, it is the condition of the narrator and of is infection.

Theme

I believe the theme of the poem is overcoming "Conditions". The narrator does not let the darkness get to him, rather he lets the true beauty of his illness shine and see's the good in what most deem horrible. "Its goodness is without a face" makes me believe that the darkness inside of him has a good side that is very much there but most people choose to ignore or it is not easily seen. The next line says "But it convinces me to look" makes me think that the narrator see's the good in something bad. The narrator overcame his darkness inside and saw the light and goodness in it. The theme can be related to everyday life and can teach people to be optimistic about their conditions and make it something good.