Building With Its Face Blown Off Analysis

The poem ‘Building with its Face Blown Off’ directly portrays the results of a catastrophe after being hit by a detrimental bomb. The poet describes the situation through displaying specific scenes of the damage done throughout the poem. The poem vividly conveys the destruction caused through the utilization of personification, impactful contrast, unique enjambment and the boldness of the final stanza. In result of incorporating these elements, the poet achieves to deliver the intended message to the reader.
In order to create a distinct setting of the poem, the poet uses personification which therefore subjecifies the ‘house’. In line 6, the poet writes “as if the room had answered the explosion.” By personifying the room and giving it vocal
Stanza 7 effectively compares the physical house to a child's doll house. This not only expresses a compact environment, but also conveys that it is being controlled by someone or something. Comparing the damaged house to a doll house connotes that the bombing of the area was like a child’s game. The poet connects the reconstruction after the bombing to “[picking] up a bureau” and [straightening] a picture” which amplifies the poets mocking tone.In stanza 8 the destruction is again contrasted to a “room with a stage.” A stage serves to steer the center of attention to the subject in the spotlight, but the poet follows to write “no audience” and “no dialogue”. This highlights that in reality the bombing was more of a silent “performance” rather than a severe effect. Through contrast the poet juxtaposes two typical events to underscore the underlying truth that there is no significant meaning and that the bombing was abrupt without a “beginning”, “middle” or
The line breaks, such between “white striped wallpaper” (3) and “of a secondary storey” (4), the poet evokes an explosion-like cadence. The poet does not finish his thought in one individual stanza, but drags it onto the next stanza creating pauses between ideas. This interesting structure of the poem accentuates and connects back to the bombing of the city. This rhythmic cadence is significant because when an explosion occurs, everything is stopped and momentarily or even eternally broken or damaged. The poet incorporates these aspects into the poem through these line breaks which momentarily buffers the poets thoughts which intensifies the entire situation drawn by the