The Poem Facing It By Yusef Komunyakaa - 744 Words

The poem â€Å"Facing it† by Yusef Komunyakaa has a tone that will haunt a reader well after they are done reading it. The poem is about the author, a veteran visiting the Vietnam veteran’s memorial for the very first time. The author describes the emotional impact the visit has on him. The author uses lines such as â€Å"I said I wouldn’t, dammit: No tears.† (Komunyakaa, 1947, line 3-4) and â€Å"I’m stone. I’m flesh† (Komunyakaa, 1947, line 5) to drive home the emotion and deep feelings in the poem. Throughout the poem the author utilizes personification to add to the effect and tone of the poem as well. The author talks about the memorials stone as if it were alive. He uses the line â€Å"I turn this way –the stone lets me go.† (Komunyakaa, 1947, line 9). This is an example of the personification the author uses to help bring the stone to life. The author feels the stone truly has a strong hold on him. The memories and feelings that the memorial brings forth from the veteran are the driving force to the tone of the poem. The poems is heavy and heartbreaking. It clearly shows that the visit to the memorial has an enormous impact on the author. The author describes several different visions he has while at the memorial. The visions that he has are as real to him as if they were physically present. The author makes it easy to see and feel things through his eyes. The words used to describe his thoughts and feeling evoke emotions of sadness and at times, even despair. The author’sShow MoreRelatedThe Poem Facing It By Yusef Komunyakaa1077 Words   |  5 PagesThe poem â€Å"Facing it† by Yusef Komunyakaa has a tone that will haunt a reader well after they are done reading it. The poem is about the author, a veteran visiting the Vietnam veteran’s memorial for the very first time. The author describes the emotional impact the visit has on him. The author uses lines such as â€Å"I said I wouldn’t, dammit: No tears.† (Komunyakaa, 1947, line 3-4) and â€Å"I’m stone. I’m flesh† (Komunyakaa, 1947, line 5) to drive home the emotion and deep feelings in the poem. ThroughoutRead MoreAnalysis Of Poem Facing It By Yusef Komunyakaa1063 Words   |  5 Pagesthe most prevalent emotions in literature. In his poem, â€Å"Facing It,† Yusef Komunyakaa tells his experience with war and how it has affected him. The poem begins with the author experiencing a loss of identity as he is at the Vietnam Ve terans Memorial. Then, he experiences nostalgia whilst reminiscing his past. Lastly, he experiences flashbacks that deter his ability to distinguish the past from the present. Komunyakaa wastes no time in loading his poem with themes. He touches on grief, war, gainingRead MoreAnalysis of Facing It by Yusef Komunyakaa Essay example667 Words   |  3 PagesAnalysis of Facing it by Yusef Komunyakaa Cruel and terrible events forever leave a mark on our memory. Especially, when these events are directly related to person, the memory reproduces every second of what happened. Unfortunately, humanity fully cognized the term of war. Facing it by Yusef Komunyakaa reveals another several sides of the war. Poem tells the reader about which consequences, the war left and how changed peoples lives. The hero identifies itself with the Vietnam VeteransRead MoreWar : An Unavoidable, Haunting, And Educational Event1149 Words   |  5 Pages Haunting, and Educational Event â€Å"In Flanders Fields,† by John McCrae, â€Å"In Time of War,† by W.H. Auden, and â€Å"Facing It,† by Yusef Komunyakaa all share a theme of war. The symbols and settings used in these poems illustrate the theme of war and its hardships clearly. Last, the authors all have biographical backgrounds surrounding past wars. The symbols used in all three of these poems closely relate to the idea of war. In â€Å"In Flanders Fields,† McCrae uses the symbols of crosses in the field toRead MoreUse of Imagery and Figurative Language in â€Å"Facing It† by Yusef Komunyakaa1031 Words   |  5 PagesUse of Imagery and Figurative Language in â€Å"Facing It† by Yusef Komunyakaa In his poem, â€Å"Facing It†, Yusef Komunyakaa describes his ambivalent emotions towards the Vietnam War of which he was a veteran. Reflecting on his experiences, Yusef expresses his conflicting feelings about the Vietnam War and his feelings about how racism has played a part in America’s history. By using visual imagery and metaphoric language throughout the poem, Yusef is able to reflect the sad and confused emotions heRead MoreAnalysis Of Facing It By Yusef Komunyakaa And Dulce Et Decorum Est847 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Facing it† by Yusef Komunyakaa and â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† by Wilfred Owen, are 2 great poems written in the perspective of soldiers who experienced disturbance of war. In â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† Owen talks about his experience in World War 1, taking the reader inside the actual event and giving them the insight on his feelings watching his fellow troops die. In â€Å"Facing it†, Komunyakaa also discusses his feeling towards his fellow troops who didn’t survive the attack but he also sheds light on hisRead MoreLangston Hughes And Yusef Komunyakaa And My Black Face Fades Essay1693 Words   |  7 PagesLangston Hughes and Yusef Komunyakaa, much like any two poets when compared, are very different. However, they composed two poems that are very similar. Langston Hughes’s poem, â€Å"Theme for English B†, and Yusef Komunyakaa’s, â€Å"Facing it†, can be compared in many different ways. The most outstanding similarity of the two poem’s, is the fact the speakers are outsiders and very much unlike everyone else in the poem because of their race. With the quotes â€Å"I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem†Read Moreâ€Å"Facing It† by the American black poet Yusef Komunyakaa of Shreveport is written with the use of600 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"Facing It† by the American black poet Yusef Komunyakaa of Shreveport is wri tten with the use of visual images. Yusef Komunyakaa writes about one of his many trips to the Vietnams Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. This Memorial is a long polished slab of black reflectant granite with the names of all the US soldiers who lost their lives in Vietnam. Yusef says â€Å"my black face fades, hiding inside the black granite†. Here Yusef uses his reflection in the wall to bring the reader back to the warRead MoreFacing It By Yusef Komunyakaa1158 Words   |  5 PagesIn the poem â€Å"Facing It†, by the poet Yusef Komunyakaa, he himself is the one who is speaking, the poem is about his own life experience at the Vietnam Memorial. The way a person can tell if the own poet of the poem is the speaker is by the use of first person. In this case, the poet uses words like â€Å"I† and â€Å"I’m† that support the fact that he is the speaker. The Vietnam War was a Historical event taken place in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Which was on e of the first War that African Americans wereRead MoreNostalgic Memories In Yusef Komunyakaas Facing It Essay1499 Words   |  6 PagesNostalgic Memories In Facing It Just as farmers brand their livestock in order to claim them as their own, humans do the same when it comes to important events. There are certain moments in ones life when an incident is so powerful, emotionally or physically, that it leaves a mark on a person forever. The branded symbol that is left could be positive or negative, but there is no doubt that it has caused a wave of all-encompassing feeling. And although when looking back at the past