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Naming Of Parts By Henry Reed

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Naming Of Parts By Henry Reed
Losing of Parts

Henry Reed’s poem, “Naming of Parts” (1942), follows a distracted soldier enduring a monotonous military training session during WWII. An anapestic meter encompasses the poem which provides the prose with a lilting and comic effect, which ironically contrasts with the harsh backdrop of war. Coupled with devices like symbolization, personification, and allusions, Reed establishes the callousness of war, but simultaneously enforces a more subtle theme of the stifling indoctrination of society. In “Naming of Parts”, indoctrination comes in the form of rigorous military training. The mechanical repetition of the military-speak (Line 1, Stanza 1 and Stanza 5), creates a stifling atmosphere for both the speaker and the audience.

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