Dana Gioia Imagery

Author Dana Gioia uses many forms of imagery in his poems. We will analyze a few of his published poems to show them throughout this essay. The first one Money, then Insomnia, as well as Unsaid. These three poems are similar yet so different. Some background information about Gioia includes he is from California, and comes from an Italian and Mexican family. He was also the first person from his family to go to college. A couple of Gioia’s accomplishments are; he is an internationally acclaimed and award winning poet, at one time he was the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, and he attended Stanford University as well as Harvard. After reading some background information on Gioia I think that because of his background this is

After graduating college, he became a CEO of a company where he began to have money, so he knows what it is like on both sides. Some of his poems are very closely related in the meaning and the imagery used. To begin, the poem titled Money illustrates that money is something negative and bad, that people put so high on their lists they tend to forget what really matters. Gioia uses sarcasm, and humor, throughout this poem. Money is something everyone needs in order to live, but money also changes people. Some of us have more money than others, some spend money when they shouldn’t, and some have only money. This poem starts out from the very first line describing money, “Money, the long green,” paper money is exactly that a piece of green paper that is cut into a long rectangle. The next two lines of this poem are again describing money using slang words for money. The speaker has great use of imagery in this poem that everyone who reads this first stanza of the poem already has an image painted for him/her of exactly what the speaker wants you to have. A picture of money. There are so many slang words for money due to the fact that everyone has a need and a

By Gioia using these terms he continues to use imagery and illustrate money. People have to pay bills so by using the term “fork it over” you do not picture handing a fork to someone you picture something like having to give someone else your money. In the third stanza of this poem Gioia is describing “rich” money. “Greenbacks” are simply the green bills, “double eagles” are expensive gold coins, coins that the average person would not have to spend. We can tell he is talking about rich people by the first line in this stanza “To be made of it!” the imagery is someone with a lot of money, not the literal term. Many times children hear a similar term “I am not made of money”, it paints the illusion that if your made of money you have a lot of money. In the fourth stanza Gioia is using metaphors by comparing things to money. “Holds heads above water” money will keep you afloat if you have enough of it to pay your bills and pay for the necessities of life, but if you do not have enough money you will sink. You can make ends meet if you have money “makes both ends meet”. The thirteenth line “Money breeds money” means if you are smart with your money you will always have