amina*
English- per. 3
September 14th, 2003
“Advertisement” – Wislawa Szymborska
Commentary
In the poem Advertisement, by Wislawa Szymborska, the author cleverly employs a variety of literary techniques to help accentuate the irony, enticement, and harm of prescription drugs. The literary techniques which are used to exemplify this are personification, tone, and the structure of the poem itself. In this figure rich poem, it is ironic that Szymborska seems to be encouraging the use of drugs to ease pain at the beginning of the poem, all the way through to the last three lines. Although the shortest part of the poem, the last lines seem to be the most powerful, by explaining the harm and addiction with drugs. They are also the most influential because they convince the reader that Szymborska is trying to tell readers that in reality drugs do ease pain temporarily, but eventually they are addictive, harmful, and not worth it.
By giving the drug human qualities, it helps the reader in understanding the power and influence of drugs. “I can minimize injustice, lighten up God’s injustice.” This excerpt illustrates the effectiveness of personifying the drug by going as far as saying the drugs are so powerful that they can replace a supreme being, such as God. When the author writes, “I mend broken cups with care,” she is using “a broken cup” as a synecdoche for broken, anguished people in general. By first impression, it seems that the author is showing that drugs help in alleviating pain. By personifying the drug near the end of the poem, however, it helps in giving power to the drug and showing the incredible amount of influence it has on people, even after resisting the temptation. In the last stanza, when Szymborska states, “Sell me your soul, there are no other takers,” she seems to be demonstrating the lively element of persuasion, but in reality, is stating that drugs, which are presented as very human-like in this poem, can steal a person’s morality and sense of being. By delivering an animated persona, she cleverly conveys a perplexed observation or jesting intention to help emphasize her real intention, which is basically that drugs are harmful and addictive.