The Partial Explanation

Charles Simic, in his poem “The Partial Explanation,” creates a lonely, and melancholy tone through imagery, diction, and syntax, in order to share his feelings with the reader. By creating the feeling of a cold, lonely day through the snow and the ice, through commonly understood imagery, the reader can easily feel the speaker's loneliness and impatience. By choosing words that are associated with waiting in solitude, such as “time,” “grimmy little luncheonette,” and “myself,” Simic adds to the feeling of loneliness and makes it easily relatable to the reader, whether this specific restaurant situation has happened to them or not. The short sentences also help the reader focus on the individual, important details. For example, if the author did not put “at this table I chose myself” in its own line, the reader might not understand the irony in the fact that the speaker regrets picking to loneliest table. Through these short lines and the descriptive diction and imagery, Charles Simic makes this poem of loneliness relatable to any reader.