Firstly, as one analyzes the poem "Ugly Feelings," it seems as if the persona is merely variations of one singular person. However, each stanza of the poem renders a completely different persona from the previous stanza. Hence, through this strategy, Cayanan reveals how different instances call for different personas. One prominent strategy used by Cayanan in this poem is enjambment which gives off suspense and anticipation to the readers. The line "What a rich inner life you have, he says. He means/ I have no life" (9) encapsulates the emptiness of enthrallment. The persona may have been complimented but this compliment was offensive to him. Consequently, the persona performs gratitude by smiling: "A baby whose smile is gas" which is a metaphor for a strained look that resembles a smile. In other words, the persona's smile was also empty; he did not mean it either. …show more content…
In the third stanza, the enjambment in the line "He changes the water in the vase/ as if there were flowers in it" emphasizes the tension between the couple.
In addition to this, the line "pidgin Spanish" exemplifies how the author's diction emphasizes the persona's struggle to create a makeshift conversation considering the fact that the two have no common language to communicate. The line "I have to love" fully encapsulates and reveals how the persona feels in the relationship−it's as if they're forcing something that isn't there. As can be seen in this poem, each stanza reveals different personas; the different persons Cayanan sees his transcendent self when placed in a specific
situation. Secondly, as one analyzes the poem "Mission Statement" the author uses the strategy of repetition and diminishment to render the truth of the poem through both revealing and concealing. Repetition is evident in the poem because each stanza contains the same content but each succeeding stanza contains lesser content; words, phrases, and sentences have been subtracted to emphasize the truth of the poem. More importantly, in the context of the persona, the strategy of repetition and diminishment reveals how the persona himself wishes to reveal to the readers who he is, but at the same time conceals secrets from the readers. Lastly, the use of synecdoche and metonymy throughout the poem is Cayanan's strategy in illustrating how partial renderings may give you the entire thing. In relation to the persona, the "scrap of voice" that we get through the persona, somehow, gives us the wholeness of the poet. Ultimately, the best poetry must reflect "a process of exploration that leads to the discovery of the authentic self" which are strategically hidden and embedded on the disguises of the various personas. Hence, it is the readers who must be challenged to inquire whether or not the author is projecting his true self or merely the persona.
Personification: 'When Fortune frowns her blackest' is the only example of a personification in this poem. Fortune, which is an inanimate concept, is given the human ability of frowning in this poem. This poetic device is used to capture the attention of the reader and enhance
Kim Addonizio’s “First Poem for You” portrays a speaker who contemplates the state of their romantic relationship though reflections of their partner’s tattoos. Addressing their partner, the speaker ambivalence towards the merits of the relationship, the speaker unhappily remains with their partner. Through the usage of contrasting visual and kinesthetic imagery, the speaker revels the reasons of their inability to embrace the relationship and showcases the extent of their paralysis. Exploring this theme, the poem discusses how inner conflicts can be powerful paralyzers.
The use of third person omniscient point of view allows the reader to know the inner thoughts of both characters in the poem. By knowing the thoughts of the father and his son, the reader is able to see both the father’s concerned thoughts and his son’s desire for a
Castillo refers to all words in poems as gold. Every word must be picked and placed with all the care in the world. Along with her imagery and choice of words, metaphors, poetry form, and flow are essential to creating the two featured poems. After many reads of both “Seduced by Natassja Kinski” and “El Chicle” I have been able to visually interpret the worlds created in both poems. “El Chicle” is all about imagery, however, “Seduced by Natassja Kinski” also contains valuable imagery.
Vallejo utilizes the form of free verse in this poem. He uses free verse to go beyond the constraints of usual structures and forms to express his point of view on the hardships of the world, without regards to the “beauty” of the poem. This poem consists of thirteen non-rhyming couplets, each being identical in structure. This poem is without rhyme because Vallejo wants the content to be perceived as deeper than a rhyme scheme. Rather than writing poems for the art form and beauty of it, Vallejo often writes to bring attention to human suffering and problems in the world
In her poem entitled “The Poet with His Face in His Hands,” Mary Oliver utilizes the voice of her work’s speaker to dismiss and belittle those poets who focus on their own misery in their writings. Although the poem models itself a scolding, Oliver wrote the work as a poem with the purpose of delivering an argument against the usage of depressing, personal subject matters for poetry. Oliver’s intention is to dissuade her fellow poets from promoting misery and personal mistakes in their works, and she accomplishes this task through her speaker’s diction and tone, the imagery, setting, and mood created within the content of the poem itself, and the incorporation of such persuasive structures as enjambment and juxtaposition to bolster the poem’s
I would like to investigate the many struggles of women, whether it be race that differentiates them or an event that any woman could experience that brings them together. Beauty is not easily defined, and women everywhere struggle with not only pleasing the people around them, but themselves. Wanting to describes themselves and feel beautiful is one of the many struggles women experience throughout their lives. “Las Rubias” by Diana García from Fire and Ink represents a common example of what women of color experience while comparing themselves to the “beauty” of white women. The poem is divided into eight numbered sections, each containing their own experience or thought. This is effective because by the end of the poem, the reader has almost
A precedent of the main idea in the poem is , “Abuelito who throws coins like rain”(1). This citation illustrates how much Abuelito loved and cared for the author by describing how the abelito would generously give money like rain. Another instance from the prose is ,”...’I’m making a wooden bucket. This detail is representing how the minor was shaped in thinking that what the parents did ever so crualy was kind and loving in his eyes. When you and Mamma get old...”(16). In addition this quotes displays how loving the grandfather is in the poem ,”Who tells me in Spanish you are my sky”(7). All of these quotes reveal how much the child or the author looked up to and was influenced by their
In “Useless Boys” the writer, Barry Dempster, creates a strong feeling of disappointment and shame in himself and society as he looks back on his youth to when him and a friend made a promise to each other to “not be like their fathers”. Dempster expresses a sort of disgust for the capitalist society his world seems to be built around, a life where even if you’re doing something you initially enjoyed you end up feeling trapped in it. The poem is a reflective piece, where he thinks back on how he truly believed he would end up happy if he chose a different path than that of his parents. The author uses simple diction and syntax, but it’s evident that each idea has a much deeper meaning, which assisted in setting a reflective/introspective mood.
I personally loved everything that this poem stood for. I liked that this poem had two average people at its center. They were not young or insanely beautiful, but they still showed how amazing love can be and how love goes beyond everything. When it comes down to it love has no gender, age, race, or time it is just about humans loving other humans. In this week’s chapter it is discussed how romance itself has a huge cultural impact and this poem definitely connects with this idea. This poem also follows the cliche of love. The way that love is blinding and will conquer all is presented in a real and believable way, but then it can also be considered unrelatable for some because how romance is set up to be and how high the standards are for true love. Furthermore, I like the idea of love going beyond age, beauty, and time but realistically for most people they will never experience a love so intense. People can though understand how what is portrayed in the media is not how everyone experiences love and that people who differ from this unrealistic standard can still be in love in their own intense beautiful way.
In the poem Circe’s Power by “Louise Glück” Circe is powerful witch trying to teach a group of men a lesson. She thinks the men are more like pigs in a sense which I interpreted as they are greedy and act like fools. The men are very materialistic and act as if there are no boundaries. There are many examples of this in the text.
Since the character is illiterate, he has no ability to determine his true feelings for the loved one. Additionally, this use of repetitive words in the poem also shows the lack of diction by the character. When words are repeated, it typically tells someone that they are either confused or have a weak vocabulary. Since it is implied that the man had a small lexicon because of his illiteracy, the poem reveals his ideas in a simplistic and repetitive wording
The 50s were a period of unprecedented social and political conformity, marked by fear of the Soviet Union due to the Cold War. Americans avoided dissent due t fear of being labeled a “communist”, a label which could end careers and tear apart families. It is thus surprising, at first glance, that an era of mass protests rose from a period of such conformity. America in the 1950s was in a sustained economic boom, and the American Dream seemed accessible to everyone. In truth, this fact largely contributed to civil rights momentum. However, the seeds for change in America were planted a decade prior, after World War Two, when thousands upon thousands of African American soldiers returned
The poem “Always Something More Beautiful” by Stephen Dunn is certainly about running a race, but the speaker is also arguing that pursuing something beautiful can help guide us through life. Through the title, we can see that we should constantly look for more beautiful things in life. The poem begins with the speaker describing his experience before a race. He uses words like “best” and “love.” The tone is extremely enthusiastic. In the first line, he talks about coming to the starting place. This can be a metaphor for beginning our lifelong journey. The speaker also implies that we need to approach it with a positive attitude. In the next few lines, the speaker indicates being tested in excellence
Did I Miss Anything? is a poem written by a Canadian poet and academic Tom Wayman. Being a teacher, he creates a piece of literature, where he considers the answers given by a teacher on one and the same question asked by a student, who frequently misses a class. So, there are two speakers present in it – a teacher and a student. The first one is fully presented in the poem and the second one exists only in the title of it. The speakers immediately place the reader in the appropriate setting, where the actions of a poem take place – a regular classroom. Moreover, the speakers unfolds the main theme of the poem – a hardship of being a teacher, the importance of education and laziness, indifference and careless attitudes of a student towards studying.