William Street Kenneth Slessor Analysis

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Some see the ugliness in the most beautiful things but others see the beauty in the most hideous of things. The poem William Street by Kenneth Slessor demonstrates this thesis statement as he talks about how he sees the beauty in the street that is renowned for its ugliness and the unsightly surroundings it is engulfed with. This poem's literary techniques and imagery gives the readers an insight into the environment and the surroundings that are seen vividly even though they are described through the use of foreshadowing. Each stanza gives the readers a different understanding on what is going on during the poem. Each stanza also makes the readers question their opinions and their understanding of the poem and the street. While analyzing Kenneth’s poem we see his use of imagery , personification, metaphorical language and repetition. With the end of each stanza repeating the words “you find this ugly, I find this lovely” the use of repetition gives the audience the sense of how the poet is displaying his message with this literary technique. The repetition also gives insight in how he see’s something that everyone calls ugly as something beautiful.The readers are also always drawn back to processing their opinions with his use …show more content…

William Street by Kenneth Slessor portrays a message about how underdeveloped communities or in this case streets that consist of drugs, alcohol, prostitutes and even worse things can be seen as something beautiful. Kenneth see’s all the issues and “ugliness” that others see as elements to what makes this street have character and charm. His vision and his understanding throughout this poem brings a message of how the places and maybe even people, are seen or portrayed as ugly can be seen as beautiful through another set of eyes.It gives readers something to speculate about even