"The Meadow"

“The Meadow” by Kate Knapp Johnson uses symbolism and a wondering tone to warn the reader about the dangers of deep introspection. The speaker lost half a day staring through windows or eyes which are considered the windows to the soul. However, because they “left thinking for thought”, they delved too deep. Thinking is an active word which is symbolic of progress but thought is a long process that does not always have a productive outcome. The symbolism here is showing the reader that if one thinks too deeply, they run the risk of stagnating and turning progress into an extremely long and slow process. The snow that falls onto the meadow is a muffling object that is covering a beautiful place. Similarly, deep introspection muffles the brain and leads to lost time as Kate Johnson writes, “How long was I out looking for you?” The speaker has lost that time and does not know how much time was wasted. However, the speaker was not looking for a person, they were looking for their “witness”. A witness is a dependable and honest person which is symbolic of the speaker’s trustworthy sense of purpose that they are looking for. Kate Knapp Johnson employs symbolism in a warning to her readers about the dangers of deep introspection.