This poem is often refered to as a dramatic poem - a monologue or dialogue written in the voice of a character assumed by the poet.
Tone.
The tone of this poem is rather imaginative because it gives us a discription of every-day things from a Martian's point-of-view. However the tone is not confusing or hard to decipher what Raine is unfolding. The tone is also humorous as you read it because of the use of riddles or images - trying to decipher these are entertaining. They are really quite amusing once the reader has an understanding what the Martian is describing because his terms are so foreign - or different from our comprehension of the English language. .
Purpose.
I think that Raine wrote this poem to give man a different perspective on our reality. The poem is used to describe things of our world that his people (the Martian) will understand. Raine presensts a unique, innocent eye communicating an odd and beautiful version of the earth, while glimpsing the various ranges of human experience through a Martians eyes. Raine forces the reader to see for the first time things he or she has been glimpsed - and maybe even taken for granted - during a lifetime in a twisted and mixed language to revive the ordinary.
Analaysis.
This informal poem is written in free verse or syllabic meter. There is no regard to stress or traditional use of rhyme. Raine uses several riddles in this poem to show what the Martian sees during his visit to earth, and he uses imagery to suggest a mental picture. The journey begins, for example, during the first stanza of the poem: "Caxtons1 are mechanical birds with many wings". A Caxton is a book representative of the 1st English printed material by William Caxton - Raine is illustrating a book. By using the word 'mechanical' Raine is defining books as void or lacking of thought or emotion. Raine completes the first stanza: "and some are treasured for their markings-", insinuating their opposing wealth and riches.
