Messy Room Analysis

Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!

.: :.

For a cool guy like me that was good
Useless to others but not to me
Cant really put it into words
Karans my name.

| Posted on 2008-11-01 | by a guest

.: :.

Great! Very funny! I thought, the first time I read this, that it was only meant for humorous purposes only. The second time around though, I found that it was very well described and it had the message of hypocrisy cleverly hidden under some funny words. :P
-anonymous

| Posted on 2008-09-30 | by a guest

.: my simple words :.

messy room, is like any silly peom he/she wrote i personaly can see this person has a very messy room. i am not for taking the full point of any poem... but i can see that you can get a few ideas from this poem, like the ones above me they clearly put much more thought into it. all i really have to say its a silly little poem and i dont think the auther thought it had all that meaning to it, in other words they might have pushed it a little to far. *_*

| Posted on 2008-06-03 | by a guest

.: Earth :.

I personally feel that this poem can be viewed as a critique of modern society. I think it relates to the whole "old indian crying at the littered valleys" commercial, in that he utilizes the trashed room as a metaphor for the damages humans have inflicted upon the earth. Afterall, the earth is the room where each and every one of us lives. The mess represents smog, warming, pollution, waste, etc. which we constantly plague our world with, without realizing that we indeed live here and must face this degredation. The shocking surprise for the narrator as he learns that this un-inhabitable environment is where he is supposed to live, reflects the imminent unsustainability of this planet for human life due to the exponential damage of our apathy.
-josh

| Posted on 2008-06-02 | by a guest

.: :.

You often blame other's for what you hate about yourself. the narrator is telling off other's for having a messy room and that they arn;t tidey, but infact it is himself

| Posted on 2008-05-22 | by a guest

.: "INTERESTING" :.

Due to the fact I am a teenager and am only looking at these comments for an essay I have to write, I would presume that my outlook of the poem may be different to others. Well, having a messy room myself, I often think to myself, "How did it get this messy??" and quite often I cant even recognize my room as being.. well, mine!! So I think that what Silverstein is trying to convey is a feeling of surprise when writing this poem where he is, infact, critisizing his own room!!

| Posted on 2008-05-19 | by a guest

.: awesome :.

The mood of the poem is very humorous because all the dirty objects in the room are in the most unusual places, for example, his lizard is sleeping in his own bed and his underwear is hanging on his lamp. My favorite vivid imagery in the poem is that his smelly old sock was stuck to the wall. With this image itself I would conclude that the whole room would be a pigsty. Silverstein uses distinct and appropriate poetic devices to enrich his reader’s readings and interpretations of the poem.

| Posted on 2008-04-18 | by a guest

.: lesson :.

as i read this poem and interpretation of others, i think that this poem is a lesson to life. i think that the author is obnoxious in this poem. at the first he only complains about about the room and never stops until he recognize that it's no one's, but only his room which is this bad. thus he was making fun of him in sense of others.

| Posted on 2008-03-27 | by a guest

.: <3 :.

My first thought when I read this poem was that Shel Silverstein was trying to convey a deeper message through humor. I think that he's recognizing the hipocrits in our society. Many people love to condem others for their mistakes and wrongdoings but never seem to admit any wrongdoings of their own. I think that this poem is clever and well thought out. Part of creating a great poem is making it relatable to all types of people. I read the messages from other people and I'm happy to see the different interpretations of this poem. ~Avery

| Posted on 2007-05-03 | by a guest

.: :.


By the way I read the poem I believe that there is an implied message beyond just the fact the narrator over looked that the room he so descriptively criticized ended being his own, but who the narrator is and what he is trying to do is more of what the message is about. The way I look at it is that the narrator is an adult or “father figure”and some how he is shown the his room from back when he was a younger boy. Not knowing exactly what is being presented to him he instantly goes into his “parent mode” begins to point out all the things wrong with the room and begins to guess what child’s room it could be. Then somehow he is enlightened to the fact that it is his own room that he is criticizing. Now if the poem continued after the adult found out the that it was his room I think the man’s opinion on the child’s would change drastically. I think that the moral to this story is that just because someone may have more experience than you doesn’t mean that they necessarily know what’s best for you.- written by your random peotry reader, Chris

| Posted on 2006-02-23 | by Approved Guest

.: good :.

I like this poem because it is very easy for kids and teens to relate to. It is also humorous, and very clever. I can see the room in my mind, and can picture all the dirty things in the room, like the underwear, socks, and other dirty clothes. You can see all the things in the room, and clearly picture them as Silverstien described them. Abalyzing this poem I got out if it the things you would find in a room that hasnt been cleaned for weeks or years maybe!

| Posted on 2006-02-23 | by Approved Guest