Enlightenment (Trethewey poem) Literary Elements

The poem is told from the first-person point of view. The speaker is likely Trethewey herself, given the biographical details relayed in the poem.

The poem is written in eighteen tercets of free verse.

The speaker compares her father to a field guide: "listening / as he named — like a field guide to Virginia — / each flower and tree and bird." She also metaphorizes the past as a beautiful ruin: "When I think of this now, / I see how the past holds us captive, / its beautiful ruin etched on the mind's eye."

There is alliteration in the T, W, B, O and H sounds, respectively, in the lines: "at Monticello, he is rendered two-toned:," "his forehead white with illumination —," "with his slave. Against a backdrop, blue," "my young father, a rough outline of the old man," and "the better measure of his heart, an equation."

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Historical poetry

The poem is primarily set at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's historical home.

The tone of the poem is contemplative

The protagonist of the poem is the speaker. The antagonist of the poem, to a certain extent, is Thomas Jefferson.

The main conflict of the poem is the disagreement between the speaker and her father about Thomas Jefferson's actions.

The climax of the poem occurs halfway through, when the speaker realizes that her father may have felt a personal connection to Jefferson's point of view.

In the opening of the poem, it is foreshadowed that the speaker perceives problems with Jefferson's legacy.

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The poem makes multiple allusions to Thomas Jefferson and his life, including his home, Monticello, and his affair with his slave, Sally Hemings.

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