Poem Analysis: The Fence

Poem Analysis (The Fence) "His face streaked with moonlight and blood"(The Fence, Leslea Newman 8). This line was very powerful to the reader because it makes a vivid picture in their mind, not a pretty picture but definitely a powerful one. “The Fence“ was the boys support in devastation as the fence desperately tried to find comfort in the situation. The poet included some strong words that added meaning and has strong connotation. The opening line "I held him all night long"(1) shows the three words: all, night, and long means that it felt like forever because they describe how the night felt and it was endless. Within the endlessness the fence was there, for support. When the speaker is describing what it feels like being there they say "We

Near the beginning there is a simile to try and capture the sorrow and emotional weight that was felt "He was heavy as a broken heart"(2) This is a genuinely sad line because when the reader thinks about a broken heart they think that there are pieces of a vital part of your being that were meant to be together but were forced apart by something or someone. By the way this line is set up it makes the reader feel a weight in their chest because of how heavy the line is. To make this thought even more prominent there is alliteration to capture your focus. The other simile was about comfort "I cradled him like a mother"(20) and this makes them feel comforted because the fence was there to help and by comparing the fence to a mother makes the fence seem more human and loving. Another big part about the poem that needed you to be in tune with was the whole thing showed personification because fences can not really think all this or give support. The poem gave the fence human thoughts, feelings, and actions and was really effective and