Analyzing Rita Dove's Poem 'Testimonial'

It is written in three stanzas. The effect of only having three long stanzas is to separate her individual memories of her family. This compartmentalizes her points in the minds of the reader, which strengthens the bonds of her complex memories and music. The shift after line 40 also draws the reader’s attention to her main message she is making. The shift adds complexity to the poem and shows her devotion to her father’s memory.

In the poem, “35/10” by Sharon Olds, the speaker uses wistful and jealous tones to convey her feeling about her daughter’s coming of age. The speaker, a thirty-five year old woman, realizes that as the door to womanhood is opening for her ten year old daughter, it is starting to close for her. A wistful tone is used when the speaker calls herself, “the silver-haired servant” (4) behind her daughter, indicating that she wishes she was not the servant, but the served. Referring to herself as her daughter’s servant indicates a sense of self-awareness in the speaker. She senses her power is weakening and her daughter’s power is strengthening. It also shows wistfulness for her diminishing youth, and sadness for her advancing years. This

This collection having a sentimental meaning was Dove’s favorite, but also emotional works. The collection was based on the life of her grandparents. In 1987, Dove became a creative writing professor at Arizona State University. One night she received a call from the chair of her department ecstatic to tell her that she had won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. The winning collection was “Thomas and Beulah.”

Rita Dove chooses her words very carefully to constantly emphasize the violence in the history of the story. For instance, in the first part of the poem, “[W]e lie down screaming as rain punches through….” (Dove). This line of the poem is one of the more direct references to the violence. The line conveys that the workers have no choice but to submit to the dictator, and in keeping with the political nature of the poem, suggests that economic inequality traps the poor and places them at the mercy of their richer counterparts. The poet also uses more subtle language that conjures up unpleasant and violent imagery, such as the statement that “The children gnaw their teeth to arrowheads” (Dove). Additionally, even when addressing the labor of

Freedom I need freedom Not confinement I need courage Not fear I need bravery Not cowardice

Initially, Collins demonstrates how one can weigh a dog’s weight with his method. Concrete diction in the first stanza, such as, “ small bathroom”, “ balancing”, and “shaky” suggest the uncomfortable nature of his intimate relationship with his pet. Although Collin is unappreciated for the gritty toil determination, he praise himself to applauded that “this is the way” and raising his self-esteem by comparing how easier it is than to train his dog obesity. In addition, the negative diction used to describe Collin holding his dog to be “awkward” for him and “bewildering” for his pet. This establish he rather force love rather willing show patience. When holding a pet on scale, there is less hustle because he secures the dog’s position by carrying it. Where as when he orders the dog to stay on the weighing scale with a cookie, his dog only followed him because of the expected reward.

The next four lines address death with symbolism and personification to establish the idea of not fearing the unknown future. In line 5, the voice talks about the life cycle

Individuals have been brought to believe that the only way to end their griefs and sorrows is to end their lives. Though suicide has become a detriment and devastating issue, it has not been presumed to be an effortless or painless act. In society, people become their own threats as they tend to isolate themselves from others which often increases this devastating issue of unsubstantial pain and long-suffering. In the poem, Tuesday 9:00 am, by Denver Butson, individuals are unable to speak and move because of their own specific problems which are burdening them and their ability to help others. The poet is enforcing the idea that individuals need to open up their eyes and be aware of others relentless despair and their struggle to reach out.

The tone changes again in the last stanza when the narrator snaps back to reality, changing to a more apathetic tone towards dreams, and states, “We wonder. But not

Rita Dove has written many different kinds of poetry. She also wrote books, short stories plays and all types of literature. This essay will focus on specifics of her writing by analyzing three pieces of poetry that Rita Dove has written. The works we will be looking at are In the Old Neighborhood, My Mother Enters the Work Force, and The Bistro Styx. Through these three works you will see examples of Rita Dove’s use of home in her poetry, her use of figurative devices such as similes and metaphors, and you will see Dove’s view on children coming of age in different ways.

Ted Kooser, the thirteenth Poet Laureate of the United States and Pulitzer Prize winner, is known for his honest and accessible writing. Kooser’s poem “A Spiral Notebook” was published in 2004, in the book Good Poems for Hard Times, depicting a spiral notebook as something that represents more than its appearance. Through the use of imagery, diction, and structure, Ted Kooser reveals the reality of a spiral notebook to be a canvas of possibilities and goes deeper to portray the increasing complexities in life as we age.

Rita Dove draws out human emotions through her lyrical precision. In her poem called “Testimonial,” Rita expresses a child's thought process and feelings. The poem starts off, “Back when the earth was new.” This quote is talking about when the child first came into the world. The third through fourth stanza says, “back when the names of things hadn't had time to stick.” This is showing the reader that the child was too young and vulnerable to figure out their surroundings. The seventh and eighth stanza says, “when all the poplars quivered sweetly in rank and file.” These stanzas mean that the child got older, so, they had to come to the realization that they had to move to the next stage of life. Rita used the word “quivered” to show

In the poem “Describe Yourself in Three Words or Less,” Rita Dove wants to express her thoughts of freedom from the stereotypes that are placed on her and addresses the way people are placed into various categories based on their personality. The title of this defiant poem caught my attention because it shows that the writer is going beyond the expectations of three words or less. Rita Dove uses three stanzas to separate the thoughts and ideas that are being presented. This is ironic because she uses stanzas instead of describing herself in three words, as stated by the title. In these three stanzas, there are seven to eight lines that do not have a rhyme scheme which symbolizes not having order to life.

The Poem “Introduction to Poetry” is by Billy Collins, an English poet, and it is about how teachers often force students to over-analyze poetry and to try decipher every possible meaning portrayed throughout the poem rather than allowing the students to form their own interpretation of the poem based on their own experiences.

Poetry is a reduced dialect that communicates complex emotions. To comprehend the numerous implications of a ballad, perusers must analyze its words and expressing from the points of view of beat, sound, pictures, clear importance, and suggested meaning. Perusers then need to sort out reactions to the verse into a consistent, point-by-point clarification. Poetry utilizes structures and traditions to propose differential translation to words, or to summon emotive reactions. Gadgets, for example, sound similarity, similar sounding word usage, likeness in sound and cadence are at times used to accomplish musical or incantatory impacts.