Winning Poem Essay

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Recommended: A little learning poem analysis

A poem is a work of art. It needs more than just a rhyme or a simple meaning to be great. “Abandoned Farmhouse” by Ted Kooser explains human nature by making metaphors and inferences about different objects a family of three left behind on their property after a disaster. It also works very well using descriptions to create a lucid image in the reader’s head of the message the poem is trying to convey. There are many more components that add to the poem to make it unique. Theme, alliteration, diction, tone, and figurative language are an imperative part of the poem and help it make a big impact the reader.
There is a theme that shows abandonment throughout the poem. The “fields cluttered with boulders ”(Kooser) show that the farm has recently been abandoned. The family left the farm behind and moved on to the next thing. This also represents how human nature works; people moving from one thing to the next without a care in the world and leaving nothing but objects behind. Also, this could’ve shown how the family that lived there gave up on themselves and life a long time ago. Someone can still be physically in a place, but can be emotionally somewhere else. It is like when someone dies in your family and you are physically present, but you’re emotionally thinking about them and not paying attention to anything around you.

Sound devices also help to reinforce the theme and meaning of the poem. Alliteration is prominent through the poem, but repetition of alliteration was also apparent. The repeating letters and sounds were all chosen for a certain reason sometimes representing harshness and sometimes making boring sounds. “The Bible with a broken back” has a very harsh, choppy sound to it. This shows that the man doesn’t reall...

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...hes after a storm,” show how chaotic the “wrong” event was. It is also symbolism for the family being the toys; having to leave abruptly not being able to preserve anything.
“Abandoned Farmhouse” by Ted Kooser truly had all of the components to make up a fantastic poem. It was the innate winner for me. The thoughts and feelings have about this poem have changed jurastically ever time we’ve read it. I do know that the alliteration, imagery, personification, inferences, diction, tones, and other devices are the best in a poem I’ve seen in a long time. This poem got my mind racing and it was a work of art that had a great storyline to it. The theme of abandonment and showing the stereotypical view of human nature was clear to me the whole time. The literary devices tied the theme together in every way possible. This poem deserved to win and I’m very happy it did.

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