Waiting - Analysis
For this poem, I wrote a sonnet. I chose this form to show the love of racing, despite the nerves and apprehension that occur immediately beforehand. It is still a memorable experience because of the race itself, making a dedication to it almost a contradiction. The rhetorical techniques I used were mainly similes, metaphors, and personification. In the first stanza, I compared time to an adversary to show how cruel and unending the wait can be. This is an example of personification. A simile can be seen in the last line of the third stanza, in which the runners are compared to a bounding deer. A metaphor can be found in the rhyming couplet at the end of the poem. While the noise of the gun can be taken literally, as in the starting gun of a race, it can also be interpreted as a potentially lethal gun. When these lines are interpreted metaphorically, the extreme agitation in the minutes before become apparent.
With this poem, I was hoping to create an effect of a contradictory enjoyment. While focussing on the intense emotions before a race, it becomes clear that some of them, at least for me, are negative. Despite these, after the race I can’t wait for another. I believe I met this goal by using more symbolism than in my other poem. I also believe that giving time human characteristics is important to convey the endless wait, how minutes seem to slow to hours after lining up.
With this poem, I was hoping to create an effect of a contradictory enjoyment. While focussing on the intense emotions before a race, it becomes clear that some of them, at least for me, are negative. Despite these, after the race I can’t wait for another. I believe I met this goal by using more symbolism than in my other poem. I also believe that giving time human characteristics is important to convey the endless wait, how minutes seem to slow to hours after lining up.