Well Water

"Well Water" by Randall Jarrell (p. 62)

This poem contains much repetition, especially within the parenthetical portion, where the speaker repeats "errand" and "a means to." The repetition seems to resemble the routines of daily life; the first and last lines of the poem also contain the phrase "the dailiness of life," showing that each day in the speaker's life is a cycle, where the beginning of the day seems much like the end of the day. Now that I think about it, the phrase "the dailiness of life" seems to mirror the pattern of the Sun (or rotation of the Earth), where the morning Sun shines across the land from the horizon, and the evening Sun shines light across the land from the opposite side of the horizon. The middle portion of the poem describes the work required to survive: pumping water from a well. This also seems to reflect the daily routine of life during the day, where most people are active during the day. Later, however, the speaker notices that the pump operates by itself due to its own weight; this could be like the periodic rewards that we receive for our efforts each day.
I thought this poem was interesting because it seemed optimistic throughout the poem rather than becoming cynical or pessimistic. The optimism that is seen at the end of the poem also seems to show the preparation needed to start another day - where the speaker needs to feel optimistic to face the next day's errands.