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Hanging Fire By Audre Lorde Analysis

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The poem “Hanging Fire” by Audre Lorde illustrates the concerns and struggles many people face during their adolescent years. The poem is written in the voice of a 14 year-old girl that is worried about several different obstacles she is facing. “Hanging Fire” is expressing the hardships that come along with growing up by showing the everyday thoughts and fears of a teenage girl, as well as some more serious problems she is trying to conquer by her lonesome. “Hanging Fire” is written in a language that is very straight forward making it simple to comprehend what the girl is trying to stress. The girl seems extremely concerned with everything going on in her life from simple temporary problems, to more intense problems such as dying. Throughout the poem it is easy to understand her distress because she clearly states specific things she is worried about. The poem does not contain any complex or difficult stanzas, and it is easy to follow the girl’s thoughts. Since the poem is told in the voice of a 14 year-old girl, she does not use any elaborate metaphors. The form of “Hanging Fire” is different than most poems. It does not rhyme or have any regular meter. The poem contains 3 stanzas. The first stanza has 11 lines, and the other 2 stanzas contain 12 lines. Each line is relatively short. The part …show more content…

Using this style of writing makes the theme more easily understood. The imagery used in “Hanging Fire” helps to demonstrate the challenges the young girl is facing, and why she seems so worried. The switching back and forth to different thoughts and concerns she is having shows what it is like to be a teenager. This poem is meant to show the negative side of transitioning from a kid to an adult. It illustrates the tribulations of dealing with teenage struggles as well as beginning to worry about things in the adult

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