Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
The poem “Hairless” is told from the perspective of a third person objective point of view.
Form and Meter
The poem “I GO INSIDE THE TREE” is written in an iambic pentameter.
Metaphors and Similes
The narrator compares her brain with a hive in the poem “THE MAD COW TALKS BACK”. This comparison is used in the poem to transmit the idea that the narrator has little to no control over her thoughts and how she is sometimes overwhelmed by her own thoughts.
Alliteration and Assonance
We find alliteration in the line “The concrete walls seep warmth and we smell” in the poem “Barbican Audience”.
Irony
We find an ironic element in the poem “I GO INSIDE THE TREE” in which the narrator urges the reader to step inside the tree even though the inside of the tree is described as being extremely hostile and a dangerous place.
Genre
The poem “Hairless” is a meditative poem on the impossibility of hiding the truth for a long period of time.
Setting
The action described in the poem “I GO INSIDE THE TREE” takes place, as the name suggests, in a tree in an unknown time.
Tone
The tone in the poem “THE MAD COW TALKS BACK” is a confused one and at times even violent.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist in the poem “UNCERTAINTY IS NOT A GOOD DOG” is the narrator and the antagonist is the dog.
Major Conflict
The major conflict in the poem “THE MAD COW TALKS BACK” is between what is considered normal and those who think outside the box and are different from what is considered the norm.
Climax
The poem “Barbican Audience” reaches its climax when the narrator reaches the place where she feels happy with herself.
Foreshadowing
The title of the poem “UNCERTAINTY IS NOT A GOOD DOG” foreshadows the later description the narrator gives of the dog in which the dog is described as being violent and as eating excrement.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
In the poem “UNCERTAINTY IS NOT A GOOD DOG” the narrator describes the dog rolling in a fox whole until the dog has the same smell as the foxes. This is an allusion made towards the way in which a person who stays in a state of uncertainty for an extended period of time can reach the point where he or she become so accustomed to the feelings of uncertainty until it becomes something normal for them.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
We find metonymy in the poem “Barbican Audience” in the first stanza where the term “lake” is used to refer to happiness in general.
Personification
We find personification in the line “ideas from outside can travel” in the poem “THE MAD COW TALKS BACK”.
Hyperbole
We find hyperbole in the line “pure knowledge, mind in action” in the poem “Hairless”.
Onomatopoeia
We find onomatopoeia in the line “the big win resonate in the little room” in the poem “Hairless”.
