Rhetorical Analysis First Memory vs. Huge Earrings

First Memory vs. huge ear rings The poem First Memory, by Louise Gluck is a modern poem that seems to be about how her first memory has in a way damaged or broken her, and her existence is based off of this event. How I interpret the poem is that her father was abusive and she seemed to rebel against him as soon as she got the chance. Near the end of the poem though she realizes that she has let herself be broken and that love need to come from within herself. The poem huge ear rings, by Charles Bukowski is also a modern poem. This poem is about a woman and the radical changes and things women were able to do during this time period. He talks about how she always has errands and something to do, which is a standard for women in all time periods I believe. Then he goes on to describe her clothes and her demeanor and how she is able to walk freely in the street barefooted. At the end of the poem he says “200 years ago they would have burned her at the stake” which is again referencing how many things have changed for women. He appreciates this woman though, it seems as though he loves her, so he is not looking down on the changes and new things women are able to do. The rhetorical strategies used in these two poems are the form, the rhythm, the word choice, and the tone of the poem. In First Memory, the poem is in free verse. I believe the wuthor chose free verse to keep the poem short, simple, and to the point. The rhythm of this poem is somewhat nonexistent, which is probably intentional, but it is very choppy when you read the poem. The word choice contributes to the tone of the poem as well, making you feel the author’s pain. She used words like revenge, wounded, and pain. These words are simple, but when you read the poem they hit you harder than you would expect. The tone of this poem is pained, which helps me to get the sense the author had a tough childhood. Huge ear rings is also a free verse poem with little rhythm. I believe the author used this form to tell a story in the form of stanzas and call it a poem. The poem tells a story that I can relate to, but in my opinion it just doesn’t read like a poem. In the very first stanza, the author used alliteration by repeating the word errand in two lines and repeating the word do in two lines, but this is not consistent throughout the rest of the poem. There are periods in random places in the middle of lines and all the lines are different lengths, and the author used free verse so this would be allowed. The word choice in this poem is simple, but it is very descriptive and uses imagery and helps you to paint an image of the story in your own mind. The tone of this poem is lighthearted because he is simply describing a scene that happened with someone he loves and cares about. The tone of the poem also seems positive towards women’s rights. First Memory had some strengths and weaknesses in utilizing rhetorical strategies. Free verse was a strength because this form allows the author to convey the message without rules, rhythm, and to keep it simple. I think the rhythm (or lack thereof) in this poem contributed to the effectiveness of the poem because you read it slow and needed to read it more than once to really extract any meaning from it. The word choice and tone were also strengths because they contributed to the story and helping the reader to understand the authors pain. Using the form of free verse was a strength for the author in huge ear rings because it allowed him to simply tell a story. This poem really couldn’t have been written any other way. The word choice was also a strength because although it was simple, you were able to visualize the scene in your head. I think the word choice and lighthearted tone working together leave you questioning the point the first time you read the poem, but when you read it again between the lines you can see the underlying message. The rhythm of this poem was definitely a weakness because there really was none at all and I feel like it is simply a broken up story rather than a poem. Between these two poems, I believe the poem huge ear rings utilized rhetorical strategies more to convey a message. Even though it seemed somewhat like a story, the author used alliteration and imagery to give more substance to the poem. The word choice and tone of this poem helped to contribute further understanding of the poem and round out the poem more so than in First Memory.