Analysis Of Poem Facing It By Yusef Komunyakaa - 1063 Words

War is one of the most controversial topics in today’s society. However, because poetry tends to focus on the experiences of the author, it is quite widespread. Grief, fear, and pain are some of the most prevalent emotions in literature. In his poem, â€Å"Facing It,† Yusef Komunyakaa tells his experience with war and how it has affected him. The poem begins with the author experiencing a loss of identity as he is at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Then, he experiences nostalgia whilst reminiscing his past. Lastly, he experiences flashbacks that deter his ability to distinguish the past from the present. Komunyakaa wastes no time in loading his poem with themes. He touches on grief, war, gaining control, acceptance, and sentimentality. The†¦show more content†¦This sets the tone because it represents the process of grief. However, over time, they feel emotions from anger to depression, to acceptance, etc. In these stages, emotions and memories catch up to them f orcing them to release their emotions. The author also uses stones as a symbol of strength and courage. The line, â€Å"I’m stone,† translates to â€Å"I’m strong† or â€Å"I’m brave.† In the line, â€Å"†¦the stone lets me go,† the author uses personification by giving life to the stone. It means that the stone or bravery is no longer weighing on the author. In other words, the author no longer feels obligated to suppress his emotions. The line, â€Å"He s lost his right arm / inside the stone.,† translates to â€Å"He’s lost his right arm while being brave,† in reference to service in the Vietnam war. Lastly, the author uses methods to produce a description that paints an image in the reader’s mind. The lines, â€Å"The sky. A plane in the sky. / A white vet’s image floats/ closer to me, then his pale eyes/ look through mine. /,† puts the reader in the author’s position. The poets use of form helped build the theme of the poem. Komunyakaa uses open form, a structure that follows no guidelines, in the poem. Specifically, he uses free verse—this form consists of lines that have irregular meter, no stanzas, and no rhyme. The author included both stressed and unstressed syllables, as well as many feet in the lines of the poem. This connects to the themeShow MoreRelatedAnalysis of Facing It by Yusef Komunyakaa Essay example667 Words   |  3 PagesAnalysis of Facing it by Yusef Komunyakaa Cruel and terrible events forever leave a mark on our memory. Especially, when these events are directly related to person, the memory reproduces every second of what happened. Unfortunately, humanity fully cognized the term of war. Facing it by Yusef Komunyakaa reveals another several sides of the war. Poem tells the reader about which consequences, the war left and how changed peoples lives. The hero identifies itself with the Vietnam VeteransRead MorePoetry Analysis On Facing It798 Words   |  4 PagesPoetry Analysis on â€Å"Facing It† Veterans are more susceptible to the memories of war, pain, suffering, and death. Memorials such as the Vietnam Memorial bring back many memories for veterans when they view these memorials. Those memories can attack the mind, and cause a veteran to feel vulnerable. Many veterans can only associate those memorials with the pain, suffering, and death that they had seen while at war. Yusef Komunyakaa expresses the pain that is felt within war veterans when they remember