A. E. Stallings's Poem 'Sestin Like'

420 Words1 Page

The New York Times Poetry Pairing “Sestina: Like” dives into whether or not “like” is a hindrance on conversation and social media or an innovation linguistically. A.E. Stallings’s poem “Sestina: Like” takes the stance that “like” creates a barrier against communication and discussion. While “They’re, Like, Way Ahead of the Linguistic Currrrve” by Douglas Quenqua takes a different view by explaining the nature of language to change, therefore using “like” for emphasis is simply an alteration, not an issue. In order to back her claims, Stallings utilizes irony and comparison to create a satirical tone in her poem. In the lines “‘I’m like/ so OVER him,” I overhear. “But, like,/ He doesn’t get it. Like, you know?” Starling uses the imitation

Open Document