ENGL 125 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Yusef Komunyakaa, Assonance, Alliteration
10 Apr 2019
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Poem: facing it by yusef komunyakaa (born 1947) Ekphrastic poem: written about another work of art. He is trying to figure out what he might be responsible for, what is role in it was. Sounds get repeated in the first three lines: Very forceful words, almost all words are stressed. Lot of ts: frustration, anger, trauma, regret, as if he is cutting it off (final) Literal at first, and then becomes metaphorical. Paradox: stone and flesh at the same time. Stone is a mirror, gives us back an image. We see ourselves looking at the names, giving body to the names. Names shimmer on a woman"s blouse --collier says this is the true shift in the poem. Moves from memory of horror ( booby trap"s white flash ) to beauty ( names shimmer ) Cloudy, difficult to see because of emotions. Names are hazy, do not stand out. Can walk away from the horror because we are still living.
