Barbie Doll Poem Analysis

Death is a very serious topic something we all must deal with. People all choose to deal with it in the different ways. Poets like to tackle this subject in their own unique ways. The two contrasting portrayals of death could not be further on further realms from the spectrum. “The Vacuum” by Howard Nemerov is based around a vacuum the speaker's wife owned. The speaker is an old widower, who has an empty place in his heart where his wife once was, symbolized by the vacuum. The account of the poem is about an elderly widower is missing his wife, and “can’t bear” to run the vacuum due to the painful memories attached to it. The poem makes it evident that the widower is struggling with his grief and his newly appointed duty of caring for the house. The fractured and slant rhyme scheme of the poem creates a feeling of disarray and incompleteness. Some of the slanted rhymes are “dirt/heart”, “enough/dust”, “mouth/youth”. These rhymes make the poem sound unsatisfied, which reflects how unsatisfied the widower is with the loss of his wife and the current situation. The syntax and sound of the poem are two crucial features. The poem switches between vowels that sound
The poem begins “This girlchild was born as usual”. As a young girl she received gifts such as: makeup, dolls, and miniature home appliances. Later, “in the magic of puberty,” a classmate remarks adversely on how she looks, mocking her about her “great big nose and fat legs.” The young girl's sexual drive, physical prowess, and intelligence are all expressed in the second stanza . By all accounts she is capable, strong, and healthy. However, she chooses to ignore her natural gifts and she decides “to and fro apologizing.” All anyone saw her as was “a fat nose on thick