ipl-logo

Naomi Shihab Nye's 'Shoulders'

641 Words3 Pages

The Significance of Shoulders In Naomi Shihab Nye’s “Shoulders”, the author uses symbolism, consonance and alliteration, and end-stopped lines to convey the kindness that is needed in our world. Nye uses symbolism when she describes “a man [crossing] the street in rain,/[...] his soon [asleep] on his shoulder”. The man is very careful to ensure that “no car [splashes] him” or “[drives] too near”. In this poem, the man carrying his sleeping and unaware son across the rainy street represents the kindness that we need in society to help the innocent through the rain, or hardships in life. The sleeping boy represents the innocent people who are unaware of the challenges in life. The boy is only a small child, and has not experienced many difficulties. …show more content…

The gentleness of these sounds emphasize the focus of the loving relationship between the father and the son, as the father is willing to make an ultimate sacrifice-- protecting his son, but at the same time being hit with all of the difficulties in life. As well as emphasizing that point, the letter “S” mimics the sound of rain falling, further intensifying the image and somber mood. However, in the latter stanzas, the sounds used are more harsh, such as the “d”, “g”, and “r” in “if we’re not willing to do what he’s doing/with one another”. The sounds emphasize the way the mood makes a sudden turn to the serious, connecting to the overall theme of being kind to others. Nye uses the harshness of those consonant sounds to draw a reader’s attention to the message of being kind, effectively conveying the seriousness the need for kindness is. Lastly, the usage of capitalization also conveys a serious mood in the poem as well as a lack of empathy. The reason the man carrying the boy on his shoulders is significant is because many other people, or “cars”, do not exhibit the same generosity. They try to drive “too near” and “splash” him instead. This lack of empathy is further represented by the line, “FRAGILE/HANDLE WITH CARE”. The capitalization seems like a warning label or

Show More
Related

David Wagoner's Poem, Their Bodies

373 Words | 2 Pages

This shows that he wants the students to be gentle with their bodies. He wants the students to be gentle with his parent’s bodies. The end of the poem says they

Read More

An Analysis Of Gwendolyn Brooks 'A Bronzeville Mother Loiters In Mississippi'

852 Words | 4 Pages

Brooks first use of capitalization serves to introduce the masculine and feminine characters of the poem, while emphasizing the lesser importance of the feminine character. We read, “Herself: the milk-white maid, the ‘maid mild’” (6) as the

Read More

Kenneth Patchen's Be Music, Night

1053 Words | 5 Pages

Music could mean crickets singing, rain falling, a visiting breeze or even a creek running. The angels’ choir, or the sounds of night, simply assist us along our journey. For these sounds are the “pale tall choirs.” Pale and tall possibly referring to the moon and the way its light shines down upon the world, or maybe even a literal choir of angels. Poems tend to construct more of a feeling than a sense of understanding.

Read More

The Long Day Close Mise En Scene

766 Words | 4 Pages

As Bud begins to swing, the song “Tammy’s in love” begins to play. The female singers love song accentuates the warmth that Bud is feeling when he is reminiscing about the things in life that he enjoys. While the song is non-diegetic, there is still diegetic sounds such as the church bells, children laughing, and the teacher talking to the students. These types of sounds give you more depth about the situations that he is referring too. When the church bells are ringing, notifying the people to kneel as the blood of Christ is risen, this reflects on people’s commitment to a higher power.

Read More

Killers Of The Dream Lillian Smith Analysis

335 Words | 2 Pages

The points out the dream of a child being individual

Read More

Religious Symbols In The Great Gatsby

918 Words | 4 Pages

The choice of diction in “shouldered”, an unusual way to carry a mattress, evokes an image of Jesus shouldering the cross on his back. The parallel is further reinforced as Gatsby stopped and struggled with shouldering the mattress. The chauffeur extended help but was declined by Gatsby. In contrast, Simon of

Read More

Figurative Language In My Papa's Waltz

588 Words | 3 Pages

He does this to not bombard the reader with a dark abusive poem. This can be seen by the metaphorical style of writing he has incorporated in his poem. For instance, the poet chooses a dance instead of outright saying it was an abusive encounter. Additionally, it shows the love the speaker has for the father. Instead of degrading the father he makes him more human to the reader by adding descriptive words.

Read More

Those Winter Sundays Analysis Essay

784 Words | 4 Pages

The final stanza incorporates a lot of emotions from the speaker such as unconditional love, fear, regrets, compassion, and hatred. This then opens the reader to a type of coldness that appeals on a totally emotional level. For example in the first line of the last stanza “speaking indifferently to him” meaning that child is being cold towards the father very much like the weather outside. Then in the third line of the last stanza “polished my good shoes as well” is his father showing love once again. Although kisses and hugs are nice showing a sense of compassion his father shows his love is a different way he shows his love by doing his manly duties and making their home is warm before the rest of the family awakes and making sure they look good.

Read More

The Dawn By Garcia Lorca Analysis

1406 Words | 6 Pages

However, after reading the first stanza, it is evident to the reader that, there is oppression in the air. The first stanza reads that, “Dawn in New York has four columns of mire and a hurricane of black pigeons splashing in the putrid waters,” and this is clear to the reader that, the New York Dawn is not a normal dawn and that life in New York is despondent. According to the writer, the dawn does not come with something to smile about. After reading the poem, we realize the writer’s reason for entitling it as such.

Read More

Naomi Shihab Nye Analysis

1221 Words | 5 Pages

Arab American poetry has flourished since the 19th century as a reaction of the immigration in America in 18th century. The Arab-American poets have influenced by the cultural and social background and have affected their thoughts, beliefs, and works. A diverse cultural backgrounds may interfere in the work of the poet. And there are many Arab American poets, who expresses their personal thoughts through poetry. Naomi Shihab Nye is one of these poets who uses poetry to express her cultural and personal perspective.

Read More

Naomi Shihab Nye's Kindness

757 Words | 4 Pages

“Kindness” is a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye that provides a solution for our society to become more flexible and receptive to other viewpoints through taking the time to empathize with the hardships that we may not be able to understand. According to literary scholar Anna Maria Hong, “Nye proposes that rather than being a random and discrete act, kindness is a mode of being arrived at through a series of basic human experiences.” Kindness is not just a random act, but is rather a kind of mindset and active force that is to be achieved and used through human experiences like loss, empathy, and recognition of death (Hong). In the first stanza, Nye communicates that loss is a prerequisite to kindness when she says, “Before you know what kindness

Read More

Woman With Dead Child Kollwitz

798 Words | 4 Pages

There is no name for a mother who has to bury their own child. In Kathe Kollwitz’ artwork, Woman with Dead Child, viewers learn the agony and pain associated with losing a child. This artwork, crafted in 1903, grabs attention by expressing love, passion, and emotion over the simplicity of a human being. Viewers of this piece capture a shock and a heart-breaking feeling when first viewing the artwork. Suffering through love is a terrific way to describe Kollwitz’ artwork created by etching.

Read More

Critical Analysis Of My Mother The Land By Phill Moncrieff

728 Words | 3 Pages

The poem My Mother The Land by Phill Moncrieff poetically describes the struggles the aboriginal people faced at the hands of the European people and colonisation throughout history. The fact that the author based the poem on accurate historical events adds to the authenticity of representations and engages the reader in an emotional journey with the struggles the aboriginal people faced with the somewhat loss of their country, culture, identity, people and place. The author uses a variety of language features and text structures to create this view point, for instance the author uses several language features and text structures throughout verse one to demonstrate the loss of culture and people. The poet uses effective language features throughout the poem to describe the loss that the narrator feels in their country, culture, identity, people

Read More

Figurative Language In Naomi Shihab Nye's 'Shoulders'

638 Words | 3 Pages

People of any and every background face difficulties. Many people do not even know how many people support and care for them. For example, when a family's house in a community burns down, it is reassuring to see their neighbors, friends, family, and even strangers, come together in order to protect and help the family in a time of need. In Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Shoulders,” she shows just how important protecting loved ones is. “Shoulders” is about a father who needs to protect his son from the rain in order to let him sleep.

Read More

Poem Analysis Of 'Kindness' By Naomi Shihab Nye

698 Words | 3 Pages

The literary elements in this poem add to the effect the poem has on the reader, which can be different for everyone, but it makes the reader reflect on their own life and how kindness has changed

Read More

More about Naomi Shihab Nye's 'Shoulders'

Open Document