“Celebration of the lizard” by James Douglas Morrison is a helpless labyrinth of insanity. The poem is a murder that results in insanity. The speaker is the murderously insane madman. In this outrageous maze, the poet is running from his chaotic problems. In the first three stanzas, it starts out as a bad dream that eventually causes the speaker to drive himself to a temporary insanity. During his state of temporary insanity, he murders a man out of jealousy that he cannot control. After the murder, he runs to a hideout on a hill far away.
He describes the hideout as a mansion to give you the picture in your mind of how appreciative he is to have a place to hide. The journey is a long and monotonous one but ends in the disappointment of having to turn back. In the last stanza he announces, “Tomorrow we enter the town of my birth, I want to be ready”. In this poem, James Morrison is taking you with him on a frantic, frightening roller coaster. The poet’s tone is dark and eerie. The dream in the beginning becomes a reality, which is an example of foreshadowing.
When he describes the mansion on the hill, it puts a picture in your mind, which is an excellent example of alliteration. This poem is interesting and frustrating at first because it makes you think about every phrase. To read it requires keeping an open mind because there are a lot of metaphors. I had to read it over 20 times just to get a vague understanding. Please do not let the length and metaphorical contents of this poem discourage you from reading this intriguing poem. This is definitely a poem that you will not find in a schoolbook. If you like this poem, I recommend that you read the work of other dark poets such as Edgar Allen Poe.
