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AP Literature And Composition: Let It Be Forgotten By Sara Teasdale

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Avery Rembish Mr. Smigel AP Literature and Composition 14 March 2023 As the title suggests, “Let It Be Forgotten”, a poem by Sara Teasdale, is a reflection on the speaker’s desire for something to be completely forgotten. Teasdale employs several techniques within the poem to communicate her message, with a heavy emphasis on the use of simile, symbolism, and connotation. Alongside this, she uses meter and personification to draw the reader in, create an emotional connection, and create an atmosphere where the reader can relate, or get lost in Teasdale’s own account. When looking deeper into the ideas that the speaker conveys, why they want to forget, the reader is given room to build their own interpretation that connects their experiences …show more content…

This, paired with connotation and symbolism, help convey the message at hand, focusing on the ways something that must be forgotten can fade. One example of this is the line “Forgotten as a fire that once was singing gold” (Teasdale, line 2), which could allude to the poem being about a loss of passion. Fire is often seen as a representation of passion, and the part about it “singing gold” provides a positive connotation. This could possibly be about something once beautiful that is gone, or a spark that has diminished. Similar analysis can be applied throughout the poem, such as the line “as a flower is forgotten” (Teasdale, line 1) being about something delicate and precious, or something that was loved briefly before being quickly disregarded and tossed to the side. All of these similes are necessary for giving background to the speaker’s perspective, and for giving reason to the poem. While whatever it is that the speaker wants to be forgotten is never explicitly stated, the way Teasdale writes allows for the reader to engage with the speaker’s story and discover what that may be in a way that leaves room for interpretation and more personal connections. It shows the many ways that something can disappear, or go away, and how each can provide different

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