Poetry Devices and Evaluation

Simile

An example of a simile in the poem Queens was “By year’s end, a sprinkler waving like flag on our mowed lawn”(Lines 4-5, Queens). This was an effective example of a simile because it adds more color to Alvarez’s creative work of art. Instead of stating that there was a sprinkler in her yard, she made it easier for the reader to picture the movement. This was an additional description while describing life in the neighborhood. By positioning the simile in the beginning of the poem it gives the illusion that everything is normal and peaceful. It foreshadows how circumstances will change as the poem continues just as when the wind stops blowing the flag will fall and no longer wave.

Personification

The poem Dusting was my favorite of all the poems I read. While there were many alliterations and some assonance throughout, the personification stuck out to me because it gave me something to imagine and relate to. "My name was swallowed in the towel" (Line 13, Dusting). From the beginning, the poem appears to be sweet and carefree, but then a harsher ending results. The alliteration in the beginning uses soft sounds to express the sweetness of the girl writing in the dust. The personification of the towel swallowing up the letters is appropriately added to give a negative effect. I liked this the most because it contrasted with the beginning of the poem. It showed the mother’s perspective of her thoughts on her child’s actions.

Evaluation:

Julia Alvarez is a modern writer that has had decades of experience and brought many opinions to the table of thought. She has worked to change societal norms through expressing her opinions in her works of art. She rose above the struggles of moving to a new country and demonstrated the successfulness of being passionate in her interests. She not only writes but has reached out to the public through her actions, and has stayed true to her heritage at the same time. She has effectively contributed a new style to modern literature. “I touched the screen and sang my own heart out with my new muse, I am Chiquita Banana and I’m here to say…”  (lines 28-30, First Muse) This is an example of the speaker discovering that it was unnecessary to listen to the standard ways of how to write poems but one could create their own way of writing.

I connected with the poem Dusting because it conveyed that there is beauty in performing the smallest of actions. For example, “the dining table in script, scrawled/ in capitals on the backs of chairs/ practicing signatures like scales” (lines 3-5, Dusting) The way that those lines were worded showed the innocence of the speaker and reminded me of the carefree things my siblings do. I also connected to “Queens”. I thought the description of the neighborhood that they lived in was interesting and that the line “Ay Mrs. Scott, que pena!” (line 31, Queens) brought the reality that they still used their language to my mind. In the perspective essay, I thought it was interesting how Alvarez responded to the statements on returning to writing in her native language. As a Latin- American, I like how Alvarez manages to mix both cultures into a new writing style. “Alvarez, like these authors, has altered contemporary American literature by stretching the literary cartography of the Americas.” Because of this she has become an example for future modern writers. Nothing seemed to challenge me concerning my faith or worldview.