reflection

“Life in a Slam”

As I sit here in the morning light,

Watching the day set in slowly,

With sweet silent thought in flickering flight,

The tears from beneath my heart rise to my eyes.

Myself I can picture in my imagination world,

In a land far, far away,

Chasing something within my own soul

And the tears they swell in eyes and stay.

Maybe this is how it’s planned to be?

Maybe one day I would pursue my dreams?

Maybe? Maybe? Oh does it matter anyway!

And the tear they swell in my eyes and flow in a stream.

Process Analysis:

In “Life in Slum,” the poem explores the life of the persona through such poetic

devices as imagery and symbolism that helps create the meaning as well as intensify the

mood in the poem. The title of the poem utilizes a metaphor that enables the reader to relate

the context to an existing societal setup. The poem also uses symbols. Ideally, the

environmental context of this poem is hidden in the title. Further, imagery forms another

important poetic device in the poem. For instance, the title of the poem gives the reader an

impression of the location of the persona. On the other hand, the writer of the poem seems to

be addressing certain issues in society in a rather poetic manner. Therefore, this poetry

analysis of “Life in Slum,” will focus on the use of imagery, symbols and also to mention

tone.

The title is designed to deliver as well as give a clear impression of the challenges

addressed in the poem. The title shifts the mind of the reader to an impoverished surrounding.

In other words, the title offers a descriptive image of a slum and more importantly how it

reflects human survival. Basically, as the poem starts, the reader gives a snapshot of the

persona somewhere in a slum. In other words, use of imagery in the poem provides the reader

with a sense of own memories or experiences that the persona emotionally connects to the

poem (Perez).

Referring to the 2nd stance the persona is chasing something within own soul. This

constant use of imagery exposes us to the persona experiences. The persona has to reveal own

experience briefly the use of this tool makes the poem effective. At this point, it is right to say

that the persona is ambitious but the environment and economic hardship deter progress.

Through the use of repetition, the poem reveals the hardship and life in slums in a rather

unique way. For example in the last stanza, the persona is in conflicted thoughts. “Maybe this

is how it is planned to be,” or maybe one day I would pursue my dreams.” These two

questions are important in the poem because they somehow show the quagmire the persona is

in.

The poem is also somehow informal. Literally, the poem does not conform to formal

rules but the poet keeps it organized. From a look, the poem is made up of two stanzas, with

the first stanza made up of eight lines with the exception of the second stanza with five lines.

There are no formal rules but at a glance, the poem’s pattern can be noted. The poem lines are

inconsistent in the sense that they are not uniform. The short lines in the poem play a very

important role because as a descriptive poem, they create the impression and form a

consistent rhythm. Use of repetition in the poem is also essential in forming the tone of the

poem.

Additionally, the tone of the poem that of pain and sorrow. In connection with this is

the setting of the poem. The persona in the poem is hopeless. Throughout the poem, the

reader feels sorrow for the persona. For example, the fact that it’s in the morning and the

persona seems to be wondering signals unemployment. The persona represents the bigger

picture that people in slums have endured. The persona seems to be in self-conflict when the

poet describes the persona to be chasing within own soul. Choice of words is also another

notable element in the poem. For example, the last stanza, represent the persona conflicted

thoughts. Maybe? Or maybe this is how it is planned to be? This mix-up illustrates that the

persona is trapped in social-economic hardships.

In the poem, “Life in a Slum,” figurative language has been employed in the poem.

Figurative language uses different figures of speech such as rhetorical devices or alliterations

to make the poem more persuasive and impactful (Zwaan 240-250). In the poem, the use of

figurative language is used to create an impression of the life the persona is experiencing.

The author demonstrates the use of symbolism to emphasize the state of economic

hardship. The poet writes, “The tears from beneath my heart rise to the eyes,” and “the tears

they swell in my eyes and stay.” These two examples as presented in the poem convey

information in a rather twisted way. As the two symbolisms reflects, the person is in agony.

“Myself I can picture in my imagination world,” use of figurative language, enable the poet

to explain to the reader’s hardship and challenges in this society. From the onset of the poem,

the poet is able to express the economic as well as social challenges in this environment. My

relationship with the chosen place is based on cultural concerns to my experience in a slum

during my teenage. I have been able to show this by applying imageries, rhetoric devices and

symbols to mention a few. The poem is able to tell a story of life experience in a slum. In

broad perspectives, the theme in the poem can also be used to relate to global social

economic issues that are affecting the people. Economic hardships and psychological

perspectives as represented in the poem concerns large ideas related to politics a society.

Arguably the persona state can in one way or the other be attributed to poor governance. On

the other hand, the aspect of the persona giving up depict a society where people are

reluctant.

To conclude, the poem ‘Life in Slum” makes the reader realizes the economic and

social challenges that people endure every day. By use of imagery, the use of repetition and

symbolism, the poet has been able to create a clear impression of the situation in slums.

Simply, this poem analysis has concentrated on various aspects that have enhanced the poem

to deliver the message.

Work Cited

McCurdy, Nina, Vivek Srikumar, and Miriah Meyer. "Rhymedesign: A tool for analyzing

sonic devices in poetry." ​Proceedings of the Fourth Workshop on Computational Linguistics

for Literature​. 2015.

Perez, Craig Santos. ​from Unincorporated Territory [saina]​. Omnidawn Pub., 2010.

Zwaan, Rolf A. "Toward a model of literary comprehension." ​Models of understanding text​.

Psychology Press, 2014. 249-264.