Poem Analysis: The Centaur By May Swenson
Instructor Smith
English 10-4
8 February 2013
The Centaur “The Centaur” by May Swenson portrays an imaginative, care free young girl as she becomes one with what she thinks is the centaur, she is “the horse and the rider” (38) , but eventually her mother brings to an end her wild ride. Through structure, diction, figurative language, and imagery, Swenson describes a special time for the ten year old girl. The structure in the poem illustrates the freedom of youth and playfulness. The poem is written in free verse to emphasize the significance of her as being free as she fantasizes about being unstoppable and not being ordinary. In lines 23 and 24, the enjambments are crucial to the whole liberal tone of the poem. Through the rhetorical question, “[c]an it be there was only one summer that I was ten?” …show more content…
There are multiple uses of onomatopoeia throughout the poem to describe the true excitement she feels as she rides and brings it to life. In one instance she indicates she “swished through the dust again” (37), and in another she “wind twanged in [her] mane”(43). The most prominent form of cacophonous g,t, b, and ck in “[g]o tie back your hair” (61) shows the negative feeling of her mother bringing her back to reality and having to be under her mother’s rule. The euphonious l, th, y, and u in “trot along in the lovely dust” (19) portray the wonderful atmosphere and scene the girl pictures as she rides. The repetitive use of “my” (46/ 47) points out that it is really the speaker the whole time and not the centaur. The way she “shied and skittered and reared” (33) is shown through the use of strong verbs. By tying the hole poem together, equestrian words are essential in the poem to capture and also to vividly describe what the speaker is experiencing. A strong example of this would be in “the pommel” (25), “the bit” (44), and “stirrups”
English 10-4
8 February 2013
The Centaur “The Centaur” by May Swenson portrays an imaginative, care free young girl as she becomes one with what she thinks is the centaur, she is “the horse and the rider” (38) , but eventually her mother brings to an end her wild ride. Through structure, diction, figurative language, and imagery, Swenson describes a special time for the ten year old girl. The structure in the poem illustrates the freedom of youth and playfulness. The poem is written in free verse to emphasize the significance of her as being free as she fantasizes about being unstoppable and not being ordinary. In lines 23 and 24, the enjambments are crucial to the whole liberal tone of the poem. Through the rhetorical question, “[c]an it be there was only one summer that I was ten?” …show more content…
There are multiple uses of onomatopoeia throughout the poem to describe the true excitement she feels as she rides and brings it to life. In one instance she indicates she “swished through the dust again” (37), and in another she “wind twanged in [her] mane”(43). The most prominent form of cacophonous g,t, b, and ck in “[g]o tie back your hair” (61) shows the negative feeling of her mother bringing her back to reality and having to be under her mother’s rule. The euphonious l, th, y, and u in “trot along in the lovely dust” (19) portray the wonderful atmosphere and scene the girl pictures as she rides. The repetitive use of “my” (46/ 47) points out that it is really the speaker the whole time and not the centaur. The way she “shied and skittered and reared” (33) is shown through the use of strong verbs. By tying the hole poem together, equestrian words are essential in the poem to capture and also to vividly describe what the speaker is experiencing. A strong example of this would be in “the pommel” (25), “the bit” (44), and “stirrups”