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Literary Devices And Techniques In Richard Blanco's 'Shaving'

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In Richard Blanco’s “Shaving”, the speaker’s complex relationship is portrayed through several literary devices and techniques. Blanco’s use of imagery, metaphors, shifts in tone, and symbolism create a paradox for the reader by clearing up the base aspects of the poem yet complexifying the underlying meaning; leaving it completely up to the reader’s interpretation. In “Shaving”, the extensive use of figurative language highlights the speaker’s trouble with his identity, with his varying views on shaving being representative of how he feels about himself. First, Richard Blanco uses intense and symbolic imagery to broaden the possibility of interpretation. Blanco describes the shaving cream as “hugging” the speaker like a “new lover”, evoking a sense of comfort and intimacy yet also suggesting the possibility of betrayal. This further complicates the speaker’s complex relationship with shaving and masculinity as a whole. Imagery is consistently used to illustrate the vast emotions the speaker is experiencing, further showing his complex struggle with identity. …show more content…

An example of a metaphor in the poem is when the speaker compares the razor to a surgeon’s scalpel, reiterating the skill required for a seemingly simple task. The seemingly simple task requiring an extensive amount of knowledge is similar to the poem in its entirety; they both seem easily interpretable and very simple, but become very complex once a deeper understanding is reached. With the use of metaphors, Blanco is able to further associate figurative language with the complexity of the poem, especially by highlighting the complexity of shaving; the act as well as the

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In Richard Blanco’s poem “Shaving,” the speaker connects the act of shaving with his father who has passed away. Blanco uses literary techniques to convey the feelings of the author and how he believes the growing of his beard, as well as the passing of his father is a way of life that cannot be avoided. Blanco begins his poem describing how his beard is a creation of life that is to be appreciated. He acknowledges the beauty of how his beard grows and how it is an “elaborate idea,” something humans cannot fully understand. Blanco compares his beard to “like [an] ocean stream rising to form clouds.”

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In the poem “Shaving” by Richard Blanco, the narrator relates how certain acts of shaving in the morning remind him of his late father. In the poem, the narrator seems to have a complex relationship with his father as he states that his father “...never taught me how to shave. (Line 16-17)”, this interpretation could mean that the narrator and his father did not have the finest relationship, but the narrator still remembers his father’s presence as he shaves in the morning like him. In the poem “Shaving” by Richard Blanco, the author uses literary devices such as simile and selection of detail to convey and compare the shaving ritual to the complex relationship between the narrator and his father.

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Like many things, life itself is a cycle: there are the ups and downs, the unexpected and mundane elements that fill each and every day. This idea is clearly represented in the poem “Shaving”, written by Richard Blanco in 1998, where the speaker uses various literary techniques to first symbolize the growth of his beard with awe-inspiring natural phenomena, then dedicate the act of shaving to mourn the untimely loss of his father, and finally compare the ritual of shaving to the cyclical nature of life, revealing the underlying theme that life could be beautiful at times, but also tragic, so it is important to savor the moments with your loved ones. In the first stanza of the poem, the speaker uses literary techniques to symbolize the growth

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By the usage of metaphor and imagery, both poets offer an emphasis on the idea of internal conflict arising to the persona of each poem. Both poets use metaphor to offer their reader a vivid image either on the guilt the narrator is feeling leading to the PTSD he suffers or the yearning of the mother for her son leading to an emotional breakdown of the mother. Armitage uses the metaphor “[the soldier] see every run as it rips through [the looter’s] life - I see broad

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In Macbeth and The Mask You Live In, the characteristics of masculinity begins with the questioning or threatening of their manhood, which then leads to successive violence, and lastly, the desperate behavior that occurs when ashamed. In Macbeth, and The Mask You Live In, Shakespeare investigates the connection between a man’s questioning and

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In the poem “Afterimages,” Audrey Lorde compares two seemingly different concepts in a metaphor in order to create a specific and significant feeling or idea. This expresses a distinctive identity when the cohesion of two different objects are used in a metaphor. Although most metaphors are commonplace and their meanings easily identified, such as “time is money” in which one “spends” or “earns” time, some metaphors require more thought and analysis in order to convey a specific meaning. In “Afterimages,” Lorde uses the equation EYES =

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First, metaphor is a rhetorical figure of speech that compares two subjects without the use of “like” or “as.” A metaphor asserts a resemblance between two things that are otherwise unrelated. Indeed, a metaphor transfers meaning from one subject on to another so that the target subject can be understood in a new way. (http://www.literarydevices.com/metaphor/). In this poem, we could see metaphor is frequently used.

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Similes in the poem such as ‘till he was like to drop’ are used to create a more descriptive image in the reader’s mind. Metaphors when saying ‘He lifted up his hairy paw’ and in many other sections of the poem to exaggerate areas to give the reader a more interesting view. So the poet can express what he is trying to prove through and entertaining way. The imagery device enhances the poem to make it stand out more so it grabs the reader attention. The poem was a very entertaining and humorous.

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It also shares a sense of hope that the city could be rebuilt by people. The clever use of metaphor is a very important and useful tool that the author uses to their advantage throughout the poem. For example, the author also leverages metaphor to describe the terrifying sound of an earthquake such as, “Full-throated syllables, up- / rising from deep down” (3-4). This use of metaphor draws the reader to the loud, thunderous noises that erupt from deep in the earth when earthquakes strike. Thus, the author makes clever use of metaphor in these instances for dramatic effect.

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Julia Alvarez’s poem, “Dusting,” is told from the perspective of a women looking back at herself as a child. In the poem, the speaker is addressing how her mother and her childhood self, differed. The speaker is itching to spread her thoughts through words while her mother does the exact opposite by erasing herself or keeping anonymous. In the literal sense, the main conflict between the speaker and the mother is that the speaker writes anywhere and everywhere she can, while the mother follows behind cleaning off all the marks.

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In the poem “I Have Walked a Long Time”, Sonia Sanchez uses a plethora of figurative language, a desolate and melancholic reflective tone, and syntax change in changing stanzas to showcase the effect of ancestorial suffering, the changing emotions that are swelling in the speaker, and the hidden feelings that the speaker speakers, ultimately showing how the changing generations are moving away from past suffering, bringing their own new fears to light. To start, Sanchez uses multiple figurative languages such as personification to describe the ancestorial suffering that is still relevant in the speaker's life. Personification is used in many way throughout the poem. We see the very first instance in line 2-3, where the speakers states that they have walked further than “death that splinters / wid her innuendos...” (Sanchez).

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Poetry The Poem “Shaving” by Richard Blanco shows how the event of shaving causes the speaker to think about the finer details of his life, and the short but now meaningful memories he has of his father, as well as the the impact that miniscule and unseen processes have on the world. The first stanza of the poem demonstrates to the reader the thought process of the narrator whilst he shaves. The first 5 lines set a precedent for the underlying narrative of a “silent labor” that blossoms into something substantial. This epiphany of a slow, continuous effort having a substantial outcome is supported by other examples of this phenomena stated in lines 4-9; examples of this being “ocean steam rising to form clouds”(line 4), or “the fall of fresh

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943 Words | 4 Pages

The balance between her reminiscing the past or holding on to so much aggression that she is forced to let go. These balances of struggle hold true throughout the entire poem to highlight the subliminal metaphors equipped with items typically used to destroy rather than build, along with symbolism that alludes to fighting

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1953 Words | 8 Pages

The viewer happens to be equated with the location of the male and is thus forced to view the product from his level. The male is a signifier of Western perfection, he is well groomed and wears a suit which represents wealth, dominance and tradition. Furthermore his pristine hair and facial features are again signifiers of prosperity. Ultimately, his presence becomes almost patriarchal as he flaunts

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His sense of attaining masculinity is fuelled by an indomitable desire to rise above his father’s spendthrift, lazy, ineffectual and effeminate character and he associates violence, haughtiness, and aggression as the only set of emotions to be displayed for expressing true masculinity. He beats his wives and threatens to kill women.

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