Analysis: Continuum by Allen Curnow

Here are some keys for an analysis of Allen Curnow’s Continuum.

MAIN THEMES/ IDEAS: Sleep/ Insomnia: The poem takes place at night time (“moon”) and it starts and ends with the author going or trying to sleep (“It’s no possible to get off to sleep”, “paces me back to bed, stealthily in step”). The insomnia of the author leads to a wondering of thoughts in the moonlight. The proximity of sleep in the poem makes this wondering of thoughts more believable. This time of night when thoughts are blurry and it is easy to slip into the unknown and the imaginary (“bright clouds dusted”). Confusion: The train of thought of the author is unclear as he is practically dosing off. This sensation of confusion is reinforced by the multiple enjambements even between stanzas, ” the chill of/ the planking underfoot rises//in the throat”. The first letter of each verse is…