Can you paraphrase the poem if necessary? The poem explores the world of pool players and the culture surrounding the activity. Who is the speaker in the poem? How would you describe this persona? The speaker is a boy who is member of a group. The persona the speaker presents is a very jazzy, cheerful person who enjoys life. What is the speaker’s tone? Which words reveal this tone? Is the poem perhaps ironic? The speaker’s tone is very calm and happy. The words “jazz” and “strike” helps the reader understand the speaker is a very relaxed person who is focused on having a good time. The poem is not ironic because the speaker uses words that exemplify how the group feels. What heavily connotative words are used? What words have unusual or …show more content…
If so, why? The setting is important because it goes along with the story. If the setting was not stated, the reader would not understand the purpose of the language the poet used. What is the theme (central idea) of this poem? Can you state it in a single sentence? The theme is children wanting to mimic the culture they see around them. How important is the role of metrics(sound effects), such as rhyme and rhythm? How do they affect tone and meaning? Rhyme and rhythm help make the poem easier to remember, but I feel they did not affect the meaning or the tone. I feel it distracts the reader from the meaning until the reader slowly reads and analyzes the piece. How important is the contribution of form, such as rhyme scheme and line arrangement? How does the form influence the overall effect of the poem? The line arrangement and rhyme scheme creates a more personal and cultural effect on the poem. The structure makes the reader understand how the people would describe what the children are doing. Without this style, the poem would sound like a random person is …show more content…
How would you describe this persona? The speaker is male or female who is very critical of the world, but accepting of its flaws. What is the speaker’s tone? Which words reveal this tone? Is the poem perhaps ironic? The speaker’s tone is very pessimistic, but it is still honest. The words that reveal this tone are “mask,” “bleeding,” “vile,” “clay”. The poem is not ironic. What heavily connotative words are used? What words have unusual or special meanings? Are any words or phrases repeated? If so, why? Which words do you need to look up? The words I needed to look up wee “myriad,” “guile,” “vile,” and “over-wise”. The connotative words used in the poem were “mask” and “clay.” The word “mask” means disguise and it represents a human face in the poem. The word “clay” actually represents sad souls. The word “mask” is constantly repeated because the main message of the poem is about people wearing masks. What images does the poet use? How do the images relate to one another? Do these images form a unified pattern (a motif) throughout the poem? The poet uses images of the human face throughout the poem that promotes a general message of the failure of being an