When Philip Levine wrote the poem "You Can Have It "he allowed his tone of hurt, anger, despair, and frustration to immerse into the readers heart, and through specific words and phrases such as "Thirty years will pass," "dies," "sleeps,' and "am I gonna make it" the reader is given the ability to sympathetically wrestle the duende in Levine's shadow. To begin Levine is already at home and he can hear his brother trudge up the staircase to the door. Instantly, he saw his brother drag his prostrated body through the house and with an extreme effort he sprawled his limp body across the bed- "You can have it" are the words that escaped his fatigued spirit and in turn were left echoing in Levine's mind. Next, with a hasty glance in his brother's direction the illumination from the evenings glimmering twilight forces Levine to see his brother's colorless physique from the drudgery of the daily labor, and the …show more content…
It is important to notice each stanza is created with a different emotion in hopes that it will be a guide while in search for a process that helps "in the healing of that wound, which never closes;" (67) in turn it, allows the reader to fallow simultaneously as Levine wrestles with the duende. With the grappling match well on its way Levine has a sudden epiphany and he allows his diction as well as his tone of despair to attach himself with his brother to give the appearance of a first-person narrative as he realizes that life stops for nothing, not even work, and in turn, he grows frustrated with the fact that their lives only consist of
In the third stanza, the language becomes much darker, words like: anger, explode, and against make this stanza seem even more warlike than the first stanza.
The main character, Hard Rock as a kind of “Superman” to other penal patients is recognized immediately in the poem through a repeating of the accounts that are strewed about him; the forthright narrative of the poem sets up the vagueness of how he will respond after his "treatment" in the sanatorium. The poem associates with those who anticipate his return; they are confident that Hard Rock's essence has not been shattered by a surgical “treatment” or shock therapy, and the lines slither nearly to a halt with dissatisfaction in verse four. The "nothing" (line 27) of Hard Rock's reaction to mockery and provoking and the hollowness of his eyes, "1ike knot holes in a fence," (James 194-195) decrease the valiant expectations and delusions to desolation. The final section recounts the spectators' efforts to reinterpret, to grasp onto faith that their idol of heroism could counter against the greatest determinations to dominate him, but the spirit has disappeared out of the hero-worshipers too, and the poem reports them as hammered, submitted, denied of their inner self as Hard Rock has been of his. The poem expresses the anguish of the despondent and it rallies against the implementation of power that can restrain even as fractious a character as Hard Rock.
In many parts of the poem, Guest uses metaphors to show the strength that one should always keep while facing their troubles. He tells his readers to "Lift your chin and square your shoulders, plant your feet and take a brace" to prepare for whatever could be ahead (lines 2-3). Even through the metaphor "Black may be the clouds above you" which gives a clear perception of difficult and hopeless moments that might be surrounding an individual, it is still better than running since it "will not save you" (lines 8-11). It is throughout the poem that Guest has used many metaphors to remind his readers about the facing the problems that will lie ahead. It is even pointed at points, such as, "You may fail, but fall fighting" to remind the reader that not all problems can be confronted. However, the author suggests that with a person's body language, like standing tall, could become a resolve. With these metaphorical commands, it gives the reader the feeling of a solider or fighter that is preparing to face an enemy. This is also further emphasized from his use of repetition. Guest repeats the figurative phrase, "See it through" to show the reader to overcome the toughest or most hopeless of problems. It is also from this statement that he suggests to go keep going no matter what since in the end it is possible that one can succeed. Becoming the clearest and most encouraging phrase and title of the poem, Guest has made the distinction of his theme to overcome everything that one can in order to achieve the best for one's
...ltimately makes the young girl feel that she will break underneath all the pressure she is placed upon by her peers. Inevitably it seems that Judith Ortiz Cofer used similes in order to connect both the act of maturing to a much more somber factor which have reinforced the tenor of the poem.
The informal language and intimacy of the poem are two techniques the poet uses to convey his message to his audience. He speaks openly and simply, as if he is talking to a close friend. The language is full of slang, two-word sentences, and rambling thoughts; all of which are aspects of conversations between two people who know each other well. The fact that none of the lines ryhme adds to the idea of an ordinary conversation, because most people do not speak in verse. The tone of the poem is rambling and gives the impression that the speaker is thinking and jumping from one thought to the next very quickly. His outside actions of touching the wall and looking at all the names are causing him to react internally. He is remembering the past and is attempting to suppress the emotions that are rising within him.
The 1990 poem “I Am Offering This Poem” by Jimmy Santiago Baca is themed around the life of a prisoner who has nothing else to offer except poetry. As one learns, more about the author’s background, the context of the poem becomes clearer. Examine this piece of information taken from the biography of Baca, “A Chicano poet, Baca served a ten-year sentence in an Arizona prison and his poetry grows out of his experience as a convict” (Baca). Baca’s experience as a prisoner reflects in his writing in that prisoners are often deprived of their rights and many of their possessions while serving a sentence. In his poem, “I Am Offering This Poem”, Baca speaks from the point of view of a prisoner having nothing to offer his love interest except the
We are left with a threat--a steel fist in a velvet glove of poetry--and it becomes a poem that we "have to" understand, whether we want to or not.
...the last line of this stanza, the man's voice is compared to "terrible silver hands". Terrible, a strong emotion, shows the girl's fear towards the man's ruthless voice. Silver, as a kind of metal, is attractive, valuable but cold. The man is attractive to the girl, the girl loves him. Nevertheless, the man's attitude towards the girl is cold and in different. That's why the man's voice here will be compared to "silver hand". Above all, the man's attitude is cold, tepid and certain towards this relationship.
Stating “Write It” ( line 19) , “ And Look!” ( line 10) are climactic points in which the speaker wishes to believe herself, that losing really is no disaster, so she must see it, and write it. In the beginning, the poem seems bubbly and unremorseful but as it develops, the speaker shows her real passion for something lost, “.
These tenors represent the full spectrum of emotions and strength in life. It is as if he is discussing god and the life you have been given. It is gentle enough that you often feel strong and powerful but also strong enough to humble you.
of the difficulty in acceptance. In the first few stanzas the poet creates the impression that she
The poet mourns the death of his loved one and wants the world to grieve with him. His wants his subjective to be objective. The first stanza links everything to noise. He wants to 'silence the piano ' for example, showing how he wants no more noise in the world. Throughout the poem, there are many imperatives. This relates back to Remember, where the poems title is included in the imperatives. The third stanza has no imperatives at all, and many antonyms. This is the poets way of saying they meant everything to him. The second stanza uses 'scribbling ' to personify a plane. The use of personification in the poem links back to Do not go gentle into that good night. The first stanza contains references to things that can be easily done like 'stop all the clocks '. The second has things that are theoretically possible but a bit harder to do. The poem seems to get less and less realistic as it goes on. The final line, 'For nothing now can ever come to any good ', is quite bleak, showing how the death of his partner has affected the poet. It gives him no good feelings
I found that throughout this poem there was much symbolism within it. Identifying that it was written in first person form showed that this poem relates to the author on a personal basis, and that it was probably written to symbolize his life. But when talking about people’s lives, you can conclude that people’s lives are generally and individually very diffe...
...y change. Once the poet begins to reveal his love towards the young man, he begins to realize that Nature has prevented him from being with the young man. The only thing left to do is give up. Instead of giving up the poet finds it easier to accept the young man for his true love and allow the young man to sexually please woman. Although it was inconvenient for both to be male, the poet accepted the homosexual relationship and longed for the young man’s love in return.
...stanzas in First Love tend to be of similar length. In How Do I Love