Unique Poem Structure With The First Line example essay topic
482 words
I came to the conclusion that Langston was writing about te struggle to freedom for black. Langston Hughes wrote about racism often in his poems, and this particular poem seems to follow that pattern. Hughes gives the feeling of loneliness and dismay at the fact that he is not considered equal to white people. The poem represents the struggle for freedom and to be considered equal. The speaker conveys a feeling of sadness and loneliness in the tone of their voice, as stated in the opening sentence of the poem. 'Wave of sorrow', expresses the sadness, by the speaker who I interpret to be a black person caught up in the struggle to have equal right. Hughes uses language that is used in ever day life. There are no obsolete of slang words incorporated in the course of the poem. The author uses static imagery, painting a picture of an island standing alone by itself off in the distance. I see a sunny, smoot he sandy island surrounded by cal waters and a warm atmosphere.
Langston Hughes uses four stanzas which are all couplets written in closed form. The rhyme scheme is an end rhyme with the pattern ab cb cd ad. This is a unique poem structure with the first line repeating itself again in lines even, and the third line repeating itself again in line five. Thesis a lyric poem, meditation, which in this case th physical object is the island. The rhythm is set to be short with pauses to lead into each couplet. The word choice of the poem is use to keep the poem's structure short and compact.
The word order is slightly different from normal use. The unconventional syntax is used to create a rhyme scheme. I decided to do this poem because of the versatility of the meaning. The way Hughes writes 'Island' it leaves the reader to develop their own opinions of the author's meaning. This poem can be interpreted in many different ways, for instance: I also thought that this poem could mean a person is close to reaching their goal and by saying 'Wave of sorrow, Take me there', I interpreted that as meaning they needed some sort of motivation to point them in the direction of their island or goal.
The versatility of the poem is what makes the poem a success. It allows get involved in the poem and develop their own opinion and interpretations. My interpretation was influenced by other poems written by Langston Hughes. He has been known to write about racism in other works and that influenced my interpretation of this poem.
This is a very short but powerful poem that provides motivation to keep our hopes alive to reach our dreams.
