Analysis Of First Fight. Then Fiddle

Breath in Poetry: In search of self-pleasure

Gwendolyn Brooks’ “First Fight. Then Fiddle” is a sonnet with ten syllables in every line, rhymes as abba in Shakepearean’s. As an old form of poetry that follows the structure and rhyme, “First Fight. Then Fiddle” mimic a rhythmic melody in semantic stanzas. And “First Fight. The Fiddle” rhymes better than Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus” which requires deeper exploration in dimension. Although, different style in the writing, they share some common ideas. Both poems talk about death and survival and about the darkness of evil that lurks inside the snatched lives. In “First Fight. Then Fiddle”, Brooks addresses that life can be intimidating with many turns, enjoyment of it can be captivating. Brooks

The intimate encounter with death brings her depth of erroneous to the sanity realm. On the contrary of “First Fight, The Fiddle” where life is celebrated and cherished, despite all calamities transpired in life. No matter how hard the life could get, to any individual, any race, any society, life will prevail as always. Even in the most violent times, when hope has strayed, the will to survive

Then Fiddle” which comes in more structure. Nonetheless, “Lady Lazarus” is written in three-line stanzas. Although, a poem usually contrives metaphorical form, a poem also can be understood in its narration. The art of reading these poems depends on how they are asserted by the readers. “First Fight. The Fiddle” is more like a song, just like the meaning of most words in the poem that relate to music, and “Lady Lazarus” is supposedly a voice of the uprising. “Lady Lazarus” is meant to be read aloud. To heighten the aural effect, the speaker’s, voice modulates across varying levels of rhetorical intensity.” (Rosenblatt). Both poems bring pleasure on how they resonate and on how they are interpreted. The depth of pleasure from reading a poem emerges through the meaning, the beat, the harmony of word structure, the rhyme, or the history or a message behind every poem that the poet tries to recount. Poetry ignites the emotion of its reader and sometimes arouses its reader. (Norton