Poetry: Poem Analysis

The works we studied within Creative Writing were all helpful in creating my own works to submit to the class. Throughout all of the reading, many of the works inspired me in different ways, whether it was short story plot ideas or word usage in the poems. While crafting my work for the final portfolio, I reviewed many of the poems from our poetry packet in an effort to find inspiration and to create new interesting images. I took the most inspiration for my formal poem, which I found most difficult to write. One of the poems that was most useful to me was Jilly Dybka’s “Memphis, 1976.” Dybka’s poem follows the sestina form; I also wrote my last poem in this form, so it helped to follow the form by looking at her poem as an example. Dybka’s
There is no need for metaphor in a narrative that tells of real events, at least there is not a need for it here. The imagery within this poem is very distinct; many of the words are unflattering or unattractive. The speaker describes Elvis remembering and wishing to be the “younger, other, / Ann-Margaret-screwing Elvis,” which is a loaded image in terms of where Elvis is at the time versus what he wishes that he still was. In a makeshift ode to Elvis, the speaker describes him as “drug-addled and swollen” with “pills on [his] tongue, heavy pinkie rings” which is a very visceral and grotesque image. The imagery within Dybka’s poem is very rich and emotional just as much as it is primitive and horrifying.
Jilly Dybka’s “Memphis, 1976” offers a style of the Sestina in a topic that I found very interesting, so as I began to write my formal poem, I read this work throughout. The speaker in “Memphis, 1976” has a very condescending or upset voice as they describe the grotesque image of Elvis as he deteriorated. I found this image and the voice very interesting and attempted to create a unique voice in my own formal poem. Where Dybka’s poem follows a narrative style, I used this form to create the how-to poem. Dybka’s work inspired me to create a moving poem that uses grotesque images and interesting
Imagery is not as much a strong suit of mine as it is of Dybka. The rich imagery comes in the form of “waxy lips” in “Dead Letters” and the “pushing-breathing-screaming never- / ending Sisyphus” which is also working as a metaphor in “How to Survive.” (“Dead Letters,” line 4, “How to Survive,” lines 15-16). I rely much more on metaphor and Dybka does; obviously with a narrative poem, she is able to do more telling than showing. However, I tried to promote the images through the use of metaphors. Instead of saying that someone is very strong or resilient, I used metaphors for these terms; in “How to Overcome” the lines “you will never / be the sturdy sunflower, the rough roach” (lines 4-5). I found that using metaphors in my poems, along with the imagery, made the poem much more visceral and