Analyzing Maggie Rojas 'Poem The Festival'

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“The festival” “The festival” by Maggie Rojas is a villanelle, sticking true to its form. The poem encompasses several characteristics not necessary in the villanelle form, but this makes the poem exceptionally, beautiful. One way of looking at the meaning of this poem is to enjoy the time that is now; be mindful of the present and all that it brings, be it good or bad. Rojas’s use of assonance and euphony sets this poem apart as an exquisite, unique poem. Rojas’s use of assonance invokes feelings soothing and exciting throughout the poem. The uses of assonance in “The festival” creates an elongated oo sound through the whole piece. First, the oo sound is heard in the A1 and A2 lines repeated in the poem, then repeatedly in the poem: “I feel …show more content…

For example, the speaker states, “Close your eyes, let the blackness guide you / The passage turns you awry / Live for this moment in time here in this room” (ll. 13-15). The words dance when spoken to create a sound that is melodic in nature, but the meaning of the words create a dissonance. On the one hand, the reader is being guided to a calm embrace, but not before the reader is turned awry. The last two stanzas remind me to be mindful of the present moment regardless of what might be happening. If I am mindful, “love [will] fill [me] with the introduction of [my] eye” (l. …show more content…

“Trivial Oath” talks about relapsing into alcoholism after promising to quit. It seems that the speaker does both in the moment while living life and enjoying themselves. By agreeing to live a sober life, the speaker did not think the consequence through. The same can be said for the speaker regarding the relapse. In “The festival,” the speaker tells the reader to close their eyes in order be overcome by feeling that are felt only when living in the moment. Rojas’s poems, based on theme and structure, align with two poetic movements Romanticism and New

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