Advice from the Experts Analysis

In "Advice from the Experts," Bill Knott uses a panicked tone, simile, and repetition to set the scene of a person about to jump off a building. The author describes the people urging the speak not to jump as, "a bunch of gawkers perched," above him. The simile of the people being gawkers shows that the people probably don't honestly care about whether the speaker will jump or not, they just want to stare openly at the drama. The speaker then says that they urge him, "don't, don't jump." The word "don't" being repeated could be an honest urge from the people that they don't want him to jump or they could have repeated it to add dramatic effect.

Domestic Work Analysis

In "Domestic Work," Natasha Trethewey uses an assertive tone and simile to describe the work of a woman who works as a cleaner in a house. The woman in the poem longs for a different job yet she still describes cleanliness as "next to godliness." Her apparent belief in god shows that even though she is upset at the job she has currently, she believes it's from god. She compares it to the work of god as in that she is doing what she is supposed to be doing and no matter how much she wishes she could do something else, ultimately, she is where she is supposed to be.

Tour Analysis

In "Tour," Carol Snow uses an indifferent tone and imagery to paint the picture of a person coming across a shrine in Japan. The image of a "swept path" and "camellia blossoms" allows the reader to think that the character in the poem is beautifying the shrine. In the next stanza, however, the speaker says, "Or — we had no way of knowing — he'd swept the path between fallen camellias," which suggests that the person didn't mean to make the shrine beautiful and that he actually didn't care because it was an accident. The poem suggests the idea that certain things in life are not important to some people as they are to others. Whoever made the shrine probably had a deep connection to it but a person walking near it might not have a similar connection. 

Prometheus Poem

Over and over again

Life is just the same

Prometheus schooled for years,

So that he may be able to contribute the fire in his mind to society

He writes life down on a paper,

Prints the pages, and sells the book

But in return for his gift he gets chained to the rock of creativity

They only want more and everyday it’s the same

He tries to reach his mind again

But there is nothing there

Day after day, meeting after meeting

They peck at his soul for another story, for more life

He cannot give them what they want

Every night, he drinks his sorrows away

His mind is not his anymore

And the alcohol destroys his liver

One thing can save him now

A retired man can break the chains

Leave it all and he may be free

Or stay contained to the rock forever

Analysis of "Radio"

In, "Radio," Laurel Blossom uses repetition and an annoyed tone to explain the aggravation of having a person break into your car when there's nothing of value in it. In a strange pattern of stanzas, Blossom repeats "no radio" over and over again. This repetition can seem somewhat annoying to the reader which allows them to empathize with the speaker. The way the poem is structured is somewhat choppy which might be a suggestion to what the car looks like after it was broken into. Blossom says, "In car, nothing of value," which gives the impression that the break-in was unnecessary because the car had nothing that a thief would want and really it's just an inconvenience for the owner of the car. The tone and repetition Blossom uses help create an image to the reader.

The Farewell

In, "The Farewell," Edward Field uses a serious and sad tone. She uses metaphors and onomatopoeia to show the reader what can happen to a person who is too trusting in other people. The poem starts by saying, "They say the ice will hold so there I go, forced to believe them by my act of trusting people," which uses the ice as a metaphor for something bad that the speaker encountered due to trusting people too much when they say it's okay. The poem continues with the speaker falling into the cold water after the ice cracks under his feet and he dies. In the last sentence, "'Goodbye my darlings, goodbye dear one," as the ice meets again over my head with a click," Field uses onomatopoeia to allow the reader to hear the "click" of the ice. Edward Field uses the metaphor of breaking ice to convey the message that a person shouldn't be too trusting in other people because they could end up getting hurt.

The Poet

In, "The Poet," Tom Wayman uses a indifferent tone and icons to explain the mind of a poet. Each stanza is about certain things a poet can or cannot understand. The icon in this poem is the poet himself and each line is a complex statement about the poem. For instance, when the author says, "Cannot give clear verbal instructions, Does not understand what he reads, Does not understand what he hears." He's explaining the inner-mind of the poet. Wayman is trying to show the reader how different the mind of a poet can be and might possibly be trying to show the audience inside of his own mind because he himself is a poet.