The Liquid Addiction of Alcohol in Robert Lowells Poem

Have you ever been so attached to something that you could never live without it? Whether it be television, chocolate or substances more severe like alcohol, everyone has experienced addiction at one time or another. When the brain is introduced to something it enjoys very much, it tends to want to experience that same feeling again. So in a way, it forces a person to crave that specific object and eventually become dependent. Some substances like drugs or alcohol if abused, can have similar negative effects on the user. Robert Lowell, an award winning poet famous for his influence in confessional poetry, suffered problems with drugs, which ruined his life. In â€Å"The Drinker† Robert Lowell, uses symbolism, imagery, and diction to show that a person who struggles with alcoholism may desperately search for help, but eventually realize that he must overcome his addiction on his own. Lowell starts the poem depicting an alcoholic man’s disorderly life in order to make the reader sympathize with the man. The poem begins showing a man who clearly has a drinking problem. Lowell specifically states that this man is killing time, doing nothing useful. Acknowledging that the man got â€Å"no help now from the fifth of bourbon,/ Chucked helter-skelter into the river,† (3) Lowell emphasizes him throwing the bourbon into the river crazily and without any idea about what he was doing. This shows the toll alcohol is taking on his mind, making him do things that someone wouldn’t normally do.