“The Image of Desire” is a narrative poem about a group of boys keeping vigil for a fox during the night. They have the desire to protect their “fortress” from the undesirable foe. The boys believed that their honor was on the line, as if they are soldiers in a war. The poem is enjoyable to read and not something one can take figuratively. The poem has some great rhythmic qualities and displays the story of the boys as it unfolds. I will walk you the reader through the poem line by line for a better understanding of the poem.
The poem is written as an Italian sonnet. The poem contains fourteen lines and written usually in iambic pentameter. The octave rhyme scheme is a b b a, a b b a, and the sestet rhyme scheme is c d e c d e, which Italian sonnets are normally written and the last two lines do not rhyme. This form of a sonnet is a more rhythmic tone and quality. The way the story was told through sonnet form gives the reader a better image. The story could be told in a boring nonchalant way. For example, I was in a loft with some other boys waiting all night if a fox came to the farm. The speaker could have told the story this way but that would not be enjoyable. Like other poems, it tells a story that the reader may learn from.
The first line of the poem makes the readers feel alert. This is because the opening line begins with the unknown knowledge of when the next time fox might strike again. I thought in

the beginning that the fox will soon strike and the poem will tell what happens when it strikes. This same feeling of alertness is exactly what the boys were feeling during their nightly vigil, listening for the sly fox that might come. We know the boys have been doing this for many nights because the next line tells us “But many a dark night lying in the loft” (line 2).They were. staying in the loft of what I presume to a barn and