won't you celebrate with me Essay Questions

Discuss Clifton's use of meter and rhyme in this poem.

"won't you celebrate with me" is written in free verse, meaning that it does not follow a strict rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. This does not, however, mean that it contains no rhyme, nor does it mean that it never falls into meter. Slant rhyme—a form of rhyme in which words have similar but non-identical endings—helps subtly create momentum, with words such as "everyday" and "celebrate" ending in similar ways. Similarly, Clifton uses internal rhyme—rhymes using syllables that appear mid-line—in passages like "born in babylon / both nonwhite and woman." Meanwhile, much of the poem is written in an iambic meter, with alternating unstressed and stressed syllables in phrases like "what did i see to be except myself?" By avoiding any strict meter and rhyme patterns but still subtly letting these structures arise, Clifton creates a compelling, songlike readability while maintaining an informal mood.

Discuss this poem's relationship to the sonnet form.

"won't you celebrate with me" is not a sonnet, but it can be understood as a loose adaptation of the sonnet form. Firstly, it contains fourteen lines—the same number as used in sonnets of all types. Moreover, the poem is in part oriented around a shift in the speaker's perspective and tone. At the start of the poem the speaker appears uncertain, shyly asking the listener to celebrate with her. By the end of the poem she is self-assured, and tells rather than asks listeners to celebrate. Sonnets are oriented around a shift in tone or perspective, meaning that the evolution on display in this work matches that seen in many sonnets. Finally, sonnets are often used as a form for love poetry—and this poem can be read as a work of love poetry by the speaker about herself.