Interview Analysis

Interview Analysis


I come in through my front door into my house. Almost no lights were visible from outside, as if no one was home. But surely, my family was home on this Monday night (around 6pm), which was good because I need to interview my father about my poem. I walk into the kitchen, which is light up and smells like the chicken and rice dinner that I had missed. My father was sitting at the kitchen table looking at something on his iPad. The kitchen was a little messy, some leftover dishes here and there. So, I asked my father is we could sit in the living room while I interview him. My father is always reading a book. He loves literature, and actually majored in English, which is why I was excited to bring my poem to him to interview.


My father sits on the couch and I sit in the red leather chair across from him. The living room is cozy and well light. I begin the interview with giving him a copy of my poem to read. He reads it several times over, and aloud slowly. I ask him what his first impressions are of the poem. He responds, "This poem really brings out the sensation of fear and describes very well how fear feels." I agree with him, and say that the poem is very relatable when it comes to feeling fear. I wait for my dad to say more, because I know that he will. Sure enough, he begins again. He says, "It expresses the authors uncertainty of life and the physical world. It really stresses how fear is a pure emotion sensed from instinct from your past. The author is clearly afraid of the inability to control her life. She seems to be suffering from sort of mental suffering, probably anxiety and depression." I ask him if he thinks the poem is really about her being afraid, or just being depressed. He answers, "She fears facing another day, she says she is afraid she might not survive another night. She fears her depression. Pretty sad."


I ask next why fear is taking such a big part of this woman' depression, because I had not noticed this. "She is aware of her fear," my father says, "she recognizes it. She is saying that even in death she wont be comforted. The primal nature of fear has taken over her." The author is very intelligent, very smart to have the understand that she is so fearful throughout her depression, and not just sad. I ask my father if he has any additional thoughts. He does, of course. I listen intently, writing furiously as he says, "The author really comes across with her expression of how primal fear is. When you experience fear, that is all you feel. It consumes you, you feel nothing else. That is why she gets so upset at these small inconveniences."


My last question for my father is if he is confused or uncertain about anything in the poem. He says he is not. He really helped me to understand that this poem was about more than just a sad woman. The interview made me realize how controlling this single emotion is. I really feel for the author. I feel so sad that she is so fearful of taking on another day. I am really sad to have learned in my research that she took her own life not long after this poem was written.