Elements of Poetry in the Twenty-One Love Poems By Adrienne Rich - Coursework Example

Elements of poetry in the “Twenty-One Love Poems” By Adrienne Rich (s) Elements of poetry in the “Twenty-One Love Poems” By Adrienne Rich Introduction Throughout nearly all her poems in the “Legislators of the world essay”, Adrienne Rich effectively employs the use of the three main elements of poetry namely the sillies, imagery and metaphors in order to enhance the meaning of the poems and provide insights into the objects and subjects of her works. Generally, throughout Rich’s prose and sequential poetry structures, she succeeds in using the three figurative elements the interweaving of the ordinary, the special social pressures and unspectacular environment at the edge of her informational passage awareness. For example, the poetry element of Simile has been widely used in the five poems by bringing unrelated objects into comparison in order to encourage the audience to look at the subject of the poem in a new perspective. On the other hand, imagery is also one of prevalent and noticeable features in the poems of. In an attempt to make the poems more vivid by creating mental images, Adrienne Rich has tactfully used imagery in numerous instances throughout “Twenty-One Love Poems.” to explain unfamiliar objects or subjects by comparing them to more familiar or recognizable societal life experiences and expectations. For example, imagery of violence clearly seen in the 2nd poem as the poet presents the cities as empty and formless. Finally, the poetry element of metaphor has also been extensively used in nearly all the poems. Unlike similes, metaphors particularly involve creating abstract experience using making comparisons between two unlike things without using “as” or “like”. Generally, the poet has used all the three elements of poetry not only to make the poems more vivid and interesting but also to provide insights into a wide range of issues being discussed in the poems from her real life experiences to the overall societal struggles in the search for good life, social justice and the post-war effects to the society. Many of the issues addressed using these elements are those touching on the political and feminist contents This paper critically discusses the poet Adrianne Rich’s skillful use of figurative elements of poetry of similes, metaphors and imagery in five of her poems contained in the“Twenty-One Love Poems”. Imagery Imagery is normally used to mean the expression of words in a manner that will create an image in the mind of the reader (Frederic and Mason, 12).Adrienne Rich has extensively used the element of imagery in a number of instances as an important figurative device for poetic interpretation throughout nearly all the five poems analyzed. The use of vivid and descriptive language has not only added depth to the poet’s work but has also served to increase the appeal of the message of the poem to the human senses in order to enhance and deepen the readers understanding of the poem. According to many experts, powerful forms of imagery are often used to engage to better express ideas and concepts by engaging the five senses of human namely the sound, touch, taste, smell and sight. For example, in poem I, Adrienne Rich imagery as seen in the statement “…if simply as we walk through rain-soaked garbage…” to highlight the moral decadence in the city. Here the rot in the society characterized by widespread pornography, science fiction vampires and victimized hirelings are compared with rain-soaked garbage to give them a symbolic meaning and further contribute to their meaning and set the mood of the poem. Generally, Rich began her poem I of the “Twenty-One Love Poems” with a walk within the city which assumes an imagery of violence presentation. On the other hand, in poem III, the statement “the green sparks of the blue-eyed grass of the early summer and the green-blue wild cress were washed by the spring” is another example of the use of imagery to explain unfamiliar objects or subjects by comparing them to more familiar or recognizable societal life experiences and expectations. Generally, imagery dominates these poems. From these poems, the focal point is on a group of lesbian love poems, originally published in a separate booklet. Throughout the poems, Rich portrays her imagery in a glimpse of the power established through love; specifically the love of women for women. Perhaps this is an irony in disguise as in most societies the love of women for women is minimally observed in as far as their freedoms and rights are concerned. On the other hand, imagery is alsoportrayed in ‘a valediction forbidding mourning’ (Adrianne, 1472), Adrianne creates an image of a love that is forbidden by death. The image of a red plant in a cemetery paints the clear picture from the 11th line ‘A red plant in a cemetery of wreaths’. In ‘diving into the wreck’ the author paints the picture of a male dominated society. The reader is required to have read ‘the book of myths’ to be able to find a road map (Adrianne, 1451). Imagery in the same poem is where the camera is used by the reader to be able to capture the truths. The knife has also been used to portray the readiness for a dissection and her state of mind. Finally, “I wake up in your bed. I know I have been dreaming.” There is a special recognition and an inner meaning to this imagery (Fredric & Mason 124). Ideally, the strength in Rich’s poems is the discovery of one’s self in another. This self-discovery ranges from the knowledge and identification that seems most achievable in the same sex love. The encounters and feeling for other peoples pain for example leaves this poet shrewd, “I was talking to my own soul.” In this regard, it can be argued that the most noticeable style by Adrianne is imagery. Simile Simile is an important literary element that involves using direct comparison of objects explicitly through the use of connecting words such as “as” or like. According to Frederic and Mason (14), simile is a comparison of words which gives the previous more power as much as the latter word. Terms such as ‘like’ or ‘as’ have been used between the two words These creative words are used to emphasize on the seriousness of an issue or its effect on the whole text. The figurative style of Simile has been widely used in the five poems by bringing unrelated objects into comparison in order to encourage the audience to look at the subject of the poem in a new perspective. Additionally, in poem I, Rich outstandingly identifies her heartfelt relationship with injustices and atrocities which originates from the mere fact in which she eloquently and simply puts this poem. Simile’s use has been demonstrated in several poems. In a valediction forbidding mourning in the third stanza’s second line, a comparison has been made between repetition and death (Adrianne 1472). The author tries to explain the severity of a repeated feeling to that of death. In ‘burning oneself out’ Adrianne has compared the act of looking into the stove as that of looking into the mirror. The term as has been used to compare the two practices in the first and second line of the first stanza. The two acts have been used to describe what time does to us when we are taken back by deep thoughts. Metaphor Metaphors are used in giving something the name of the. However, in metaphor comparison is not the goal but to give something a higher or an exaggerated description. A metaphor basically calls one thing another. For example, saying that fire is blood, meaning that the fire is red hot. This article will focus on the use of the above styles in analyzing poems by Adrianne Rich. Metaphor has also been widely used in nearly all the poems create a form of abstract experience by making comparisons between two unlike things without the need to use connecting words like “as” or “like” as in the case with similes. For example, the use of metaphor can be seen when the poet says “Whenever in this city, screens flicker with pornography…..”(Poem1). This statement forms the structural center of a common language. The cities presented in these poems serves as the alienating setting. These are the cities where the less fortunate people ranging from young children to the women socially have got no place at all. These cities represent the violent world in which the lovers must unconditionally inhabit; yet these cities ironically seek a transformation in relation to love and relationships (Fredric & Mason 135). Another instance of the use of poetic element of metaphor is seen in poem V when Rich compares herself as a poet with artists dying in child bearing process. “Their hands clasped for centuries-of artists dying in child birth.” (Poem V). Throughout the V poem of the “Twenty-One Love Poems” presents a lot of similes in the comparison of challenges dominant in cultural values with the discourse while this poem exonerates and exemplifies the internally self-reflexive and dialogic motion of Rich’s literary work. These poems seemingly from the first one makes an assertion regarding the relationship between women and their society but later on disintegrates in last poems such as in a love made possible and impossible by forces. Rich achieves an elementary self-criticism in this writing trend nonetheless. There is therefore a dialogically resonating elements and a detachment of desire throughout Rich’s “Twenty-One Love Poems’” entire collection; the poem keeps the entire collection from being facilely subsumed. Metaphor use is clear in ‘from a survivor’. The pact made between the author and the person the pact was made with has been described as ordinary (Adriane, 1471). In ‘from an atlas of difficult world,’ the author used different words to describe occasions. The term grey day, has been used in referring to the season of spring (Adrianne, 1550). Grey is a plain colour with almost no emotions expressed. The television in line nineteen has been likened to sliding images which jerk. In a classroom poem has used stone as a metaphor to express lack of emotion. The students in a class have been described to lack understanding of poetry. Conclusion In conclusion, Adrienne Rich effectively utilized the three main elements of poetry namely the sillies, imagery and metaphors in order to enhance the meaning of the poems and provide insights into the objects and subjects of her works. The use of artistic words and writing styles has been portrayed throughout her work. The use of imagery simile and metaphor have been expressed in almost all of her numerous poems. Generally, the use of imagery, metaphor and simile helps in expression of feelings by an author. Just like the classification of animals in biology, thoughts are numerous and diverse, their grouping into categories by use of imagery is also useful in language. Finally, the use of these skills by Adrianne has made her work to stand out and appealing while curious at the same time to her readers. Works Cited Frederic, John and Mason, David. Western Wind: An Introduction to Poetry. 5th Ed. Pittsburg: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Print. Rich, Adrienne. "Burning Oneself out." 1973. The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 1865 to the Present. Ed. Nina Baym. Shorter 7th ed. Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton, (2008). 1490-1502. Print. Read More