In the following poem by Martin Espada, what tone is created by the poet’s word choice and by the poem’srythm?
Image by Meryl CA
www.mybitofearth.net/2010/04/surprise-quack-quack.html
Question by phish12345: In the following poem by Martin Espada, what tone is created by the poet’s word choice and by the poem’srythm?
In the following poem by Martin Espada, what tone is created by the poet’s word choice and by the poem’s rhythm?
Chelsea, Massachusetts
Christmas, 1987
The apparition of a salsa band
gleaming in the Liberty Loan
pawnshop window:
Golden trumpet,
silver trombone,
congas, maracas, tambourine,
all with price tags dangling
like the city morgue ticket
on a dead man’s toe.
Feel free to answer in the comment section below
One Response to In the following poem by Martin Espada, what tone is created by the poet’s word choice and by the poem’srythm?
Leave a Reply
It is a humorous poem that immediately recalls the William Carlos Williams poem, “the red wheel barrel”
“So much depends on a red wheel barrel
glazed with rain
beside the white chickens.”
Ultimately, the tone turns sardonic as the comparison of prices to toe tags complains that commerce kills art.
You can also contrast the rural setting of WIllaims with the urban setting of Espada.
extrafriendlyfire
November 3, 2013 at 11:17 pm