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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘Happiness’ is a poem by the American writer Raymond Carver (1938-88). Carver is probably best-known for his short stories, especially the anthology favourite ‘ What We Talk about When We Talk about Love ’, but he was also a gifted poet, and his poetry helps us to clarify our understanding of his work as a whole. In ‘Happiness’, a speaker drinks coffee by the window one early morning and observes two boys delivering newspapers. They appear happy to him, and this prompts him to think about the nature of happiness. Before we offer an analysis of the poem, here’s a brief summary of its content. ‘Happiness’: summary The whole poem comprises one stanza. The speaker of the poem – who may or may not be the same person as Raymond Carver the writer – tells us that it is still so early in the morning that it’s almost still dark outdoors. He is by the window, with a coffee, and his mind is full of the typical thoughts (if they can be described in such grandiose terms) that occupy his brain first thing in the morning. Among other things, he sees a boy walking up the road with his friend to deliver the newspaper, and observes how happy the two boys appear to be, so happy they are content to walk together in silence, not needing to speak. The speaker believes that the two boys would take each other’s arm, if society would permit such an act. It’s early in the morning, the speaker remarks, and these two boys are doing something together, taking their time. The sky is beginning to get lighter again as night recedes, although the moon is lingering palely above the water. The world seems to be so beautiful that, for a minute at least, all grand topics of thought, such as death, ambition, and love, are far from the speaker’s mind. This is because he is happy, he realises. Happiness takes us by surprise and no words can really do justice to that feeling. ‘Happiness’: analysis The above […]
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