Go and open the door.

Maybe outside there’s

a tree, or a wood,
a garden,
or a magic city.

Go and open the door.

Maybe a dog’s rummaging.
Maybe you’ll see a face,
or an eye,
or the picture
of a picture.

Go and open the door.

if there’s a fog
it will clear.

Go and open the door.

Even if there’s only
the darkness ticking,
even if there’s only
the hollow wind,
even if nothing is there,
go and open the door.
At least
there will be
a draught.

LITERARY/LANGUAGE TECHNIQUES: sensory Imagery- personification, repetition, metaphor, anaphora

(repetition of first part of clauses)

TONE: imperative, tone of the poem is optimistic

Main ideas:

 the door I thought was a barrier to change-- the door as a vehicle for immeasurable
success.
 change, even if it is mundane (the draught), is better than remaining stagnant in life

 What does the image of the door represent and symbolize?

The door is a barrier between one’s every day life and something new. It is an idea where one is

stepping out of their comfort zone.

 How does the poem present a point of view on the concept of change?

This is saying how some people are really afraid of the concept of something new and unknown. For

some people, the door represents impossibility. Holub challenges this view and presents an

alternative viewpoint: the door can be an agent of change.

 How does the poem develop your own view and experiences of change?

It does make me more curious and want to experience new things. This poem shows how a lot of

humans, even if their comfort zone is empty and blank, will not want to leave their limited world

 The repetition of insisting to open the door encourages the reader to go on, accept change, but if

nothing has changed, “at least there’ll be a draught”.

 A closed door can be a barrier, a symbol of things that keep us confined and limited as

individuals. By opening the door we remove those barriers and are introduced to possibilities

 Thus the door can be perceived as both an entry and an exit

 The door can be seen as a dual metaphor for what restricts us (our own thinking, perceptions,

physical limits etc.) as well as being a gateway to opportunity and change.

 Yet the poem reminds us that there are no certainties when we open the door, just varied

opportunities which are then listed and range from the common and ordinary (“a tree”, “a dog’s

rummaging”) to the fantastic and abstract (“a magic city”, “the picture of a picture”).

 CHANGE: The change may be subtle like “the hollow wind”, or as confronting as the stark

“eye”, or unexpected like the “magic city”, or a new perspective through “the picture/ of a

picture. But all encompass the notion of change: that which may alter us, our world or give us a

new perspective. positive force. Even “if there’s a fog” when we open the door, an obstacle or
 difficulty, and things at first lack clarity, or we feel uncertain, the poem reassures the reader that

“it will clear”.

 there is still benefit in experiencing whatever we find, no matter how insignificant or momentous.

It is the attempt that matters.