(Student’s Full Name)
In the poems, “Home Movies: A Sort of Ode” by Mary Jo Salter and “The Things” by Donald Hall both personas in the poems pay tribute to their upbringing as a child, which is memorialized in the things that they possess in their homes. Both poets rely on creative use of alliteration and lineation to convey their message. However, each poet used these elements to achieve a different effect in their respective poems.
In both Salter’s and Hall’s poems, the use of alliteration is key in re-creating their childhood or emphasizing the things that represent their childhood. For instance, Salter states the following: “Mother sticking a bow as big/ as Mousketeer ears in my hair” (ll. 10-11). One should note the words “Mother” and “Mouseketeer” which are both capitalized so as to emphasize their significance to the persona’s life. Another example of alliteration is seen when the poet uses words such as “bow” and “big.” However, the use of common letters indicates that the big bow is insignificant when compared to the persona’s mother attempting to transform her daughter into a mousketeer. Hall’s use of alliteration is also demonstrated in his poem, as shown in the following: “a white stone perfectly round, / tiny lead models of baseball players, a cowbell, / a broken great-grandmother’s rocker, / a dead dog’s toy” (ll. 6-9). Although Hall employs the use of alliteration in his poem, unlike in the case of Salter’s poem, it is not used to emphasize anything. The alliteration is used by the poet to list mundane, uninteresting items instead.
Both Salter and Hall experiment with lineation when conveying their message. For instance, in Salter’s poem the line is broken up in mid –sentence: “the three-layer cakes/ablaze with birthday candles, the blizzard/ Billy took a shovel to” (ll. 3-5). It should be noted that the sentences in Salter’s poem are very long and contain many commas. When the poet uses lineation in this manner, then it helps the reader to get the impression of a scene of the persona’s life still continuing or running on in the same manner as those run-on sentences in the poem. Therefore, the lineation of the poem suits the title of Salter’s poem who is attempting to provide a textual video of the persona’s childhood. Hall’s poem is composed of one sentence that is broken up into 13 lines. Although it contains a long run-on sentence, it is not broken up into stanzas in the same manner that Salter’s poem is. In addition, the manner in which Hall uses line breaks in the poem appears to emphasize the triviality of things that have been collected over the years, as indicated by the following: “white stone perfectly round, / tiny lead models of baseball players, a cowbell, / a broken great-grandmother’s rocker, / a dead dog’s toy” (ll. 6-9). It should be noted that Hall does not break the line in a manner to underscore the importance of anything that is listed. The ad-hoc nature in which the lines are broken appears to emphasize the triviality and mundane nature of the things collected.
In conclusion, the poets, Donald Hall and Mary Jo Salter, employ the use of both alliteration and lineation to express the theme of the persona’s upbringing, which is signified by things that they possess at home. However, Hall uses these elements to underscore the triviality and mundane nature of these things while Salter uses these elements to showcase important scenes in the persona’s upbringing as a child.
Works Cited
Hall, Donald. “The Things.” Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, 1 Jan. 1928. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/things>.
Salter, Mary Jo. “Poetry Magazine.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/29684>.
