Analyzing Maggie Rojas 'Poem The Festival'

“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

the drum and base flow through…/ … Live for this moment in time here in this room” (ll. 1, 3). Because the end-rhyme of the two lines are repeated to the end of the poem, it creates a feeling of wonder and astonishment that mirrors what I feel is the meaning of the poem. Being mindful, one does not know what is to come but can easily be amazed by what results mindfulness brings. Coupled with the title of the poem, “The festival,” Rojas use of words that have elongated, soothing oo sounds reminds me of when I was a child visiting the circus and being astonished by the sounds and acts that surrounded me. The repetition is nostalgic.
Not only does Rojas’s assonance invoke nostalgia, but it also has a euphonic feeling that seems to contradict what is being said in the poem.

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.

17).
“Trivial Oath”
“Trivial Oath” is exemplary when discussing good poetry. Not only does it use an unconventional rhyme scheme (ABC ABC), but it uses anaphora throughout the entire poem. I have never seen both of these devices used in a poem before. When examining this poem, the unconventional rhyme scheme as well as the use of anaphora are needed to enlighten the reader one of the poem’s meanings: someone who battles with alcoholism will return to it.
The poem uses anaphora heavily to create a feeling of familiarity with the subject matter. Every line mimics the beginning of the last depending on which stanza it is in. For example, every line in the third stanza begins with the oh: “Oh, the terrible light… / Oh, the unbearable reel… / Oh, the face” (ll. 7-9). The fourth and fifth stanza both employ anaphora as well. Repeating the same words and phrases in the poem mirrors some alcoholics promises that they will not over-indulge again as well as their lapse back to heavy drinking. Similarly, Rojas uses an idea as anaphora in the first two stanzas. Instead of repeating the same word for six lines, Rojas repeats the idea of a list for the first six lines of the poem, which is an unconventional use of anaphora. Each tercet has “First… / Second…/ Third” in its respective lines (ll. 1-3). The list shows the symptoms of overusing alcohol. The first two stanzas captivate me, and any other person who drinks alcohol, while the remaining stanzas serve as a warning to using alcohol in excess. Having dealt with people who have an addiction problem, this speaker poem captures their rhetoric honestly without humiliation. Moreover, it does not apologize to the reader, nor does it apologize for the addict.
The rhythm of this poem reminds me of spoken word poetry. Every line in the poem, save the last line, ends in enjambment that allows me to speed up the tempo of the poem until I come to a punctuation mark. For example, I would read the end of the ninth line and the beginning of the tenth line without stopping because of the lack of punctuation: “Oh, the face I will have to put on as I enter in prepare / I swear, never again, not with all my best friends or my musketeer” (ll. 9-10). Because there is no punctuation between the two lines I read without interruption, but the commas that follow require me to pause; the differences in tempo because of punctuation gives the poem the same qualities as spoken word poetry.
Synthesis
The two poems analyzed are the same because they both rely heavily on structure. Both “The festival” and “Trivial Oath” employ rhyme scheme and form as devices in the poems. Maggie Rojas does not deviate from the rhyme scheme, reminding me of renaissance, Augustan, and romantic poetry, really poetry until the 20th century. For example, in “The festival,” the villanelle, Rojas uses the conventional rhyme scheme of A1 a A2, a b A1, etc. This is definitely a poetic form that has been around for a while. Also, in “Trivial Oath,” Rojas’s rhyme scheme is ABC ABC. I equate heavily rhymed poetry to old-fashioned forms of poetry. (Not to say older forms of poetry are unwanted.) In their rhyme scheme, the poems remind me of older poetic movements, but in their content, they remind me of schools and movements in the 20th century.
Thematically, both poems are the same: living in the present no matter the consequence.

“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

Formalism.
Both Romanticism and New Formalism are structured and focus on individualism. To be clear, New Formalism is a movement that desired to bring attention back to traditional forms of poetry, so by extension in focuses on individualism as well. Of the poems that I have seen by Rojas, they are structured, especially the two analyzed in this paper. Not only are they structured but both deal with individualism through autonomy. “The festival” advises the reader to amuse themselves in the present and all that the present brings. Likewise, “Trivial Oath” talks about making choices independently, even if they are bad choices.
These two poems were very enlightening for me. “The festival” reminded me to be mindful and stay in the mindfulness when it feels like things are dark and stagnant. “Trivial Oath” was my favorite of the two honestly. When I first read the poem, I had to step away from it because I was flabbergasted at the use of anaphora on every line and the rhyme scheme. Thematically, it fit well with the devices used in the poem. These two poems were exemplary.