Jessica Daniel
ENGU3
Mr. Campoli
September 29 2014 An Analysis of Literary Devices in Lisa Barnett’s “To a mismatched pair: A valentine”
Lisa Barnett was born in 1958 and raised in Dorchester, Massachusetts. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a bachelor degree in English (Wikipedia). She has co-written 3 novels with her partner Melissa Scott; Point of Hopes, Point of Dreams and Armor of Light. Barnett has received many awards throughout her lifetime such as the American Lambdo Literacy Award for her science fiction writing and has been a semi-finalist for the Discovery/The Nation Award. Several of her poems had been written concerning the disintegration of a marriage and the rights in the LGBT communities. Barnett wrote
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Rhyming occurs when a sentence or words create the same or similar sounds. Rhymes help us remember what we’re reading and helps increase the interest level of the reader. For example in stanza one, the rhyming pattern is in ABBA ABBA format. Barnett wrote the poem so that the first and last sentence of every 4 lines rhyme together and the two lines (2, 3, 6, and 7) all rhyme together. Barnett did this on purpose. For example, train/remain could signify that the couple went on a trip together and through all the ups and the downs from the trip they still remain together. As I mentioned above, this poem is about how people can be very judgemental towards each other without even realizing it. Another example would be look/book because people tend to only look at the cover book before deciding if it’s a good book or not instead of taking the time to read a few pages. In that passage, Barnett is trying to explain that too many people judge books by their covers, meaning nobody takes the time to really get to know someone before saying whether they like them or not. Usually rhyming is include to emphasise certain parts of a poem. In Barnett’s poem, she uses it to not only emphasis key points but also to keep the ready encaged. A lot of rhyming is included in music, so if the reader can make connections the text, they are most likely to want to keep reading it …show more content…
In stanza one, the tone is more critical and negative, however by the second stanza, Barnett changed the tone to a more positive and thoroughly shows how society creates an opinion about a person based on how they look. People make negative opinions on others so they are bale to feel better about themselves. So many good people have gotten killed because of how they looked their political opinions, and many other reasons. This poem explains how people are so two faced, say one thing but do another. Most people pretend to be so kind and perfect but a moment later, you catch them making fun of someone because they have nothing better else to do. Barnett has written a poem that really makes us think about what society has become and how if we don’t act now, it’s just going to keep getting worse. We are society; we have created an environment literally impossible to be happy in. In every direction you turn, there’s something negative happening, something that can ruin your day or your life. If you’re not popular, you’re classified as a looser or if you’re not the team captain of the football team then you’re not allowed to date the head cheerleader, even if you guys are in love. All of this because society has created this world with standards that have to be met.
One of the simplest literary devices used in this poem was point of view. Barnett made sure that whoever was telling the story was an outsider, talking about what
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.
From the very first word of the poem, there is a command coming from an unnamed speaker. This establishes a sense of authority and gives the speaker a dominant position where they are dictating the poem to the reader rather than a collaborative interacti...
Rhymes are two or more words that have the same ending sound. Songwriters and poets often times use rhymes to help their piece flow better, or keep the audience or readers engaged. Billy Joel’s song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” is filled with rhymes, with a rhyme in almost every single line: “Brando, the King and I, and the Catcher In The Rye / Eisenhower, Vaccine, England’s got a new Queen / Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye” (line 6-8). Billy Joel uses the rhymes to move from one topic to the next, and the song is even in chronological order from 1950 to 1989. The rhyme schemes of the song are end rhymes as well as perfect rhymes. On the other hand, the poem is completely free verse, or without a single rhyme. This makes the poem less artistic and harder to remain engaged and interested. In addition to rhyming, allusions are another way of displaying artistic
Poetry has a way of making us feel every range of emotion, in some cases better than other forms of entertainment. Unlike a novel, which gives a wide field of vision on any subject, poems have a more focused look mostly on the raw emotion of any one topic. Understanding poetry is an art onto itself, to be able to peel back the words and feel the emotions within them is truly its own work. Harder yet is the ability to dissect and explain these ideas to another person (in this case through an essay)and have them feel and see the poem and the topic it brings to light in the same way that you do. The poem that we will explore is powerful and thought provoking, because it brings the ugly subject of oppression to the front of your mind and forces you to engage in a conversation that you have no control over. It makes you feel hopeless and angry at the same time. In the poem Unwanted by Edward Field we are going to explore the parts of the poem but mainly we will
Rhyme-The last words of line one and line three of each stanza rhyme. The last words of line two and line four of each stanza also rhyme. The rhyming words contribute to the rhythm and flow of the poem.
At the beginning of the poem, the speaker starts by telling the reader the place, time and activity he is doing, stating that he saw something that he will always remember. His description of his view is explained through simile for example “Ripe apples were caught like red fish in the nets of their branches” (Updike), captivating the reader’s attention
In ‘My Last Duchess’ Browning also uses iambic pentameter to also show how controlling the Duke is as the poem follows strict rules. [add evidence of him being strict]The use of rhyming couplets is to emphasise words at the end of the line and make readers think of the specific word choice.
The first literary device that can be found throughout the poem is couplet, which is when two lines in a stanza rhyme successfully. For instance, lines 1-2 state, “At midnight, in the month of June / I stand beneath the mystic moon.” This is evidence that couplet is being used as both June and moon rhyme, which can suggest that these details are important, thus leading the reader to become aware of the speaker’s thoughts and actions. Another example of this device can be found in lines 16-17, “All Beauty sleeps!—and lo! where lies / (Her casement open to the skies).” These lines not only successfully rhyme, but they also describe a woman who
The definition of a rhyme according to Yourdictionary.com is a poem composed of lines with similar ending sounds or to speak in words or phrases with the same ending sound. An example of a rhyme being used outside of “The Lamb” is to say the words bike and like, or another example of rhyme is the children 's poem “Humpty Dumpty”. In “The Lamb” the author William Blake uses rhymes to make his poem more expressive. For example “ Little lamb, who made thee?/ Dost thou know who made thee?/ Gave thee life and bid thee feed,/ By the stream and o’er the mead;” (Lines 1-4). The author uses the words thee, feed, and mead, all rhymes that give the poem The Lamb much rhythm. The definition of rhythm according to Yourdictionary.com is a recurring movement of sound or speech. Another example is “Gave thee clothing of delight,/ Softest clothing wooly bright;” (Lines 5-6) . Last example I will use from “The Lamb” is “He is meek and he is mild,/ He became a little child:” (Lines 15-16). These are all examples of rhymes that the author uses to create rhythm and make the poem
...a definite and recognizable pattern. This poem is certainly not a sonnet, either in subject matter, meaning, or format. The rhyme scheme for this poem is that of A B B A, C D D C, E F F E, G H H G. There is enough continuity in this rhyme scheme to hold the poem together as a whole through the use of the pattern, however the changing of the actual rhyming words and the fact that, for instance, the A word is only repeated one time (as are all of the others) intensifies the poets feelings of loss over the change in his love's desires. Through the rhyming scheme, the poet is conveying the hopelessness of the two of them getting back together and repeating the beautiful love they once shared.
On the surface the poem seems to be a meditation on past events and actions, a contemplative reflection about what has gone on before. Research into the poem informs us that the poem is written with a sense of irony
...ur lines each. Each line ends with a vertical line that marks the feet. The rhyme isn't but there is rhyme in this poem like "Me" rhymes with "Immortality" and, farther down the poem, with "Civility" and "Eternity." This poem repeated the phrase, "We passed," which is changed a bit in the fifth stanza to, "We paused." This repetition of a word or phrase throughout a poem is called anaphora. The use of these poetic elements allows the words to flow as they describe an event.
There have been many interesting and appealing poems written throughout history. One of the most interesting and appealing poems is Robert Frost’s “Out, Out”. The poem has the ability to make the reader visualize an event in vivid detail without making it into a short story. The poem depicts a very dramatic scene and makes it seem as if the reader is really there. Poems are generally thought to be about love and feelings, but some poems can actually be like a short story; these are called narrative poems, which means that they tell a story. The poem “Out, Out” is a great example of a narrative poem, telling the story of a young boy cutting a tree.
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, “regarded historically as the culmination of eighteenth-century novelistic art” (Jones 1) unpacks the antithetical love story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, the main characters, despise each other upon their first meeting, but by the end of the novel, they are happily married. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy are opposites in every way from their mannerisms to their lifestyles which are revealed through conversations, events in the novel, and symbolic motifs. Elizabeth Bennet, protagonist or heroine, is developed through her interactions with antithetical characters: her sisters and mother. Mr. Darcy is developed through events in the novel, his friends, and the Bennet
In many cases, poems are very abrupt and awkward sounding when read or spoken aloud. A simple solution to end a poem’s awkwardness is a rhyme scheme. Many poems don’t rhyme for reasons of subject matter but to make the poem more interesting and easier to read the poet uses rhyming words. In many cases, poets use end rhyme, which is using words that rhyme in the end of the phrase or sentence of each sentence. “A Poison Tree” by William Blake is a great example of end rhyme used in poetry.