Poem Analysis: The Colonel By Forché

Generals Die in Bed certainly demonstrates that war is futile and the soldiers suffer both emotionally and physically. Charles Yale Harrison presents a distressing account of the soldiers fighting in the Western front, constantly suffering and eventually abandoning hope for an end to the horrors that they experience daily. The ‘boys’ who went to war became ‘sunk in misery’. We view the war from the perspective of a young soldier who remains nameless. The narrator’s experience displays the futility and horror of war and the despair the soldiers suffered. There is no glory in

The author Gwendolyn Brooks, writes the poem “The Bean Eaters”, to show how the old couples routine is caused by poverty. Brooks actually makes it seem like she distances herself from the subjects in the poem. Brooks does not get very personal as describing the couple’s lives. Brooks does not even give us the character’s names. The couple has an everyday routine and it is showed throughout the poem. The poem is actually quite short and simple, but it sure does pack a lot of meaning into the lines by using symbolism, imagery, and the setting.

Kabul is a beautiful poem, written by Saib-e-Tabrizi, that is an ode addressing the city of Kabul. Throughout the poem Tabrizi describes the beauty of Kabul. The theme is Kabul is beautiful. The literary devices in this poem are similes, personification,and allusion. These three literary devices portray theme and describe how beautiful Kabul really is.

A traumatic event will never define a person’s identity, it will never prove character, or show weaknesses. A person is defined by much more than a single life event. Natasha Trethewey uses her confusion and hurt that she experienced as pieces for an artwork that has yet to be finished. By writing Native Guard, Trethewey recreates herself like a disjointed collage. Using gut-wrenching poetry as her medium, Trethewey uses her words to represent a self portrait of her struggles. Giving the reader a chance to immerse themselves completely within “Native Guard”, her audience is a key element throughout the book. You, as the reader, become an empty shell for Trethewey to build herself anew; a skeleton structure for a new identity.

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.

Poets have the power to present their perspectives of the human experience through their poetic voice. Gwen Harwood, Judith Wright, and Bruce Dawe, all Australian poets have all expressed common ideas expressed by their unique poetic voice.They also speak for those who have no voice, such as the soldiers in Bruce Dawe’s poem Homecoming and in Gwen Harwood's poem Mother Who Gave Me Life where she gives a voice to the Mothers. A key theme resinating through all of these poets poems would be their common ideas on society and the role of a mother.

The title itself alludes to “The Unknown Soldier,” almost parodying it. According to Georgia Virtual School, an unknown soldier died in battle, however, the body is unrecognizable. It is also known that soldiers are tagged. The fact that the title is the way it is and the subtitle mimics a tag implies that the lives of common folk is so insignificant and uneventful that they might just as well be unknown since they are just another face in the vast crowd of people. This relays a metaphor in the eyes of the reader.

In the poem “The Colonel,” Carolyn Forche recounts a cruel encounter with the titles main character of interest while working for Amnesty International in El Salvador. The colonel personality can best be summed as a remorseless man in a chaotic country where violence is customary to the colonel and his people. He also cares not for the civil liberties of the citizens of El Salvador that he governs or the fact that he is revealing his evil personality to Forche with no compunction. The theme for “The Colonel” could be that if people see that wrong is being done in their presence they should try their best to give those a voice that don’t have one.

The speaker is talking about someone as if they met in an "old ancient inn" (2). He speaks of how they "should have sat" (3) as if he regrets what he might have done in the past; he would have approached the situation differently by drinking "nipperkin" (4). The guilt that shrouds the narrator is apparent as he imagines a life for the man.

Poetry can serve as a medium of influence in its own niche community. A great example of influence and outreach is the poem “The Colonel” by Carolyn Forche. The poem is spreading the message about human rights in third world Latin countries and does so beautifully. It builds up the suspense by starting out so ordinary and with unusual interjections such as “pistol on the cushion beside him” or a complaint about tough times of governing. Readers and audience get to know the atrocities of the Colonel but at the same time one could understand the tough times of governing a corrupt country such as the ones in Latin America. Many times the issue is ethical imperialism, applying the moral values of one country to another and forcing them to adopt

The poem, ‘The Colonel” by Carolyn Forche, inventively tells the story of a Forche in El Salvador during the Civil War. Forche is invited to dinner at a high ranking military official’s office after he discovers her in the country and believes her to be an American spy. For my interpretation, I decided to spell out the word ‘Liar’ on a white piece of with a black outline. I chose this word because it was not only what the colonel thought she was, but it was what America thought she was after she shared her poem. I stuck with a black and white theme to highlight the form of the poem.

The colonel used the presence of a gun to establish his power in the house and in his job. Carolyn frighteningly reports in her poem, “There were daily papers, pet dogs, a pistol on the cushion beside him” (Forché). The pistol, perhaps purposely stands out in the sentence compared to all the ordinary things listed to symbolize how often he keeps his gun near him or uses it on his people. There is the possibility of a life threatening situation if things do not go his way. The speaker along with her friend are not safe even as guests in El Salvador like his own people who are typically targeted.

Although widely considered a poem, Carolyn Forche’s “The Colonel” is actually a prose piece due to its lack of metrical structure and the limited impact of the form on the meaning of the piece as a whole. One reason that some may believe it is a poem is that the definition of what constitutes a poem is a grey area; some consider poetry to defined by its special emphasis on expressing or evoking feelings while others argue that it requires the use of rhythmical elements that advance its meaning. In “The Colonel,” strong emotions of disgust are undoubtedly evoked through the gruesome description of the “human ears” spilled on the table which resemble “dried peach halves,” especially when the colonel grabbed one and “shook it in our faces.” These

✔The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane starts off by talking about the soldiers and how they are well prepared and are going into battle with full force. In line 3 he says “ The men at the head butted mules with their musket stocks. They prodded teamsters indifferent to all howls. The men forced their way through parts of the dene mass by strength.” Showing how well prepared they were mentally and physically going into battle. The soldier himself didn’t feel the same way other soldiers had. Showing how scared the main character was, when the rest of the characters were brave and ready to fight.In the poem they start to talk about how the soldiers camouflaged themselves and how long they waited for the enemy to appear. In line 1 Yusef Komunyakaa says that “ We tied branches to our helmets. We painted our faces & rifles with mud from a riverbank.” He then had said in the poem how they were mentally very patient in the war waiting for their enemy to come. Showing a difference between the characters that in the poem the main characters were brave and ready to fight, while the character in the novel excerpt had a different personality and was very scared and had no courage to go to war. ✔The theme of both of the novel except and the poem are the same. In the “ The Red Badge of Courage” shows how a character named Henry badger that runs away from the war with fear, realizing that he has to go back or otherwise he would carry a guilt that he wasn't courageous and masculine

Reading the lyrics to chemo limo did not give the same meaning as to when listening to the song. A sense of emotion came over when hearing the piano and Regina Spector’s voice. Looking at the lyrics while listening to the song gave a better understanding and drew a picture that can be seen as she is singing. These words could mean so much and listening to the song over and over is a must, to get a better understanding.