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Ego-Tripping Poem Techniques

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Poetry Poetry is a type of literature that uses writing aesthetically to create a certain feel or emotion towards a topic. Nikki Giovanni, the poet of ‘The World is Not a Pleasant Place to Be’ and ‘Ego-Tripping’, uses these special techniques of writing to make her poetry speak to her readers. The two poems are connected with showing what the almighty power love has on your decisions but also on your life in general. At the same time, they are teaching you to be humble about your privileged accomplishments.

Nikki Giovanni was born in Knoxville on June 7, 1943. Raised in Cincinnati, she now works at Virginia Tech University. Giovanni spoke of having lived through very gut-wrenching events. “Having lived through one of the most tumultuous …show more content…

While reading this poem, you notice that she uses a great deal of not so much information, and more of inspiration from events that occurred long before the author’s actual time on Earth. The ‘main character’ is incredibly egocentric, saying that they are “so perfect/so divine/so ethereal” (Giovanni 47). The literary devices used were allusion and hyperbole. An allusion is an indirect reference to something well-known. Almost the entire poem is an allusion, referencing back to long before the author’s life. Speaking of being born near the Congo River (1) and being present when the prophet Noah built the ark (27) happened thousands of years ago. A hyperbole is an exaggeration. The poem reads, “The tears from my birth pains/created the Nile” (Giovanni 13-14). Truly, no human being has the strength nor the supernatural power to cry enough tears one time to fill a riverbed. The main theme of the poem talks about how pride shouldn’t be able to give you a big head. Be proud of who you are, but not so much that you become conceited. With the title being “Ego-Tripping” it’s quite an easy concept to understand before you even read the poem. It would seem that the so-called ‘main character’ was tripping over her

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