Raymond Carver "at Least"

In the poem “At Least” the author, Raymond Carver, uses extensive imagery to emphasise the meaning of the title. The title “At Least” elaborates the idea of finding happiness in most unexpected places, and to not take things for granted.

Raymond Carver’s chose this title to help the reader understand the message of the poem. The quote “I hate to seem greedy - I have so much to be thankful for already. But I want to get up early one more morning, at least. And go to my place with some coffee and wait. Just wait, to see what’s going to happen” helps expand on the idea of finding happiness, and not taking the little things in life for granted. For throughout the poem, Raymond Carver talks about the wanting to go do simple acts that would seem insignificant to many people. One example of this would be “I want to get up one more morning, before sunrise”. To many, this simple task would be odd for wanting to do. Yet, it is a simple task that brings happiness to this man. However, it is also pointed out why he wants to do many of these things. The reason: He has missed out on them throughout his life. For example, the quote “I want to see the waves break on this rocky beach, not just hear them break as I did all night in my sleep”, shows that he regrets taking the little things in life for granted.

Raymond Carver’s use of imagery throughout the poem, helps develop his meaning behind the title. Imagery is used in many literary works to either help convey a message or to make the reader feel closer to the piece. Raymond Carver uses both of these methods associated with imagery, to emphasise the importance of finding happiness in life through little things, and to not take them for granted. In the quote “ I want to throw cold water on my face and be at my work table when the sky lightens and smoke begins to rise from the chimneys of the other houses”, the imagery used helps support this idea. The descriptive words/phrases