The poem Search for my Tongue uses a variety of different language devices for e.g. she states “grows longer, grows moist and grows strong veins” the poet used repetition so that she can keep the pace going and the rhythm run smoothly and that she just started a new life as she described it in order. However she also uses personification. I know this because she exclaims “it ties the other tongue in knots” this makes me think that the tongues are combating it out with each other just to tie each other in knots. This is effective for the reader because it engages with the reader so they can be involved in the poem. The poet also uses imagery words so she can catch a picture straight away in the readers mind. I know this because she quotes “it grows back a stump of shoot”. This makes me think of the tongue capturing the language as fast as a gunshot.
Secondly the poem Hurricane hits England by Grace Nichols is about her feeling alienated from life in England and that it took a hurricane to bring her back closer and remind her of her memories. The poet is feeling petrified and dominant.
I know this because she quotes “fearful and reassuring”. This makes me think that she is very afraid of whats going to happen to her that she stayed awake half the night, on the other hand she is ready to defend and strike anyone.
This is effective because it makes the reader continue to read until he/she finds out what happened at the end.
The poem Hurricane hits England uses a wide range of techniques for e.g. she uses lots of rhetorical questions for e.g. she quotes “tell me why you visit an English coast?” This means that she is trying to tell the hurricane why did it visit her land and not someone else’s. She is also trying to say that did she do anything bad that frustrated the hurricane. This is effective because she does not want an answer however she wants the reader to think of the answer while they are reading it which will make it more interesting to read.
The poet also uses similes. I know this because she quotes “what is the meaning of trees falling heavy as whales”. This means that the hurricane was so physically powerful that when a tree fell it was as heavy as a whale. This line is effective because it makes the reader imagine what would have happened if millions of trees fell which would have killed so many people and destroyed so many homes.
The similarities of the two poems are not quite the same because in the content the two poems talk about the culture identity and about their new place. In the language they use imagery and metaphors however in the structure most of the lines are laid out in paragraphs.
The differences between the two poems. In the content Search for my Tongue is about language and Hurricane hits England is about the environment. In the language the poem Search for my Tongue uses personification. I know this because she quoted “it ties the other tongue in knots”. She also used repetition. I know this because she quoted “grows moist, grows longer and grows strong veins”.
In Hurricane hits England the poet used rhetorical question. I know this because she quotes “o why is my heart unchained?” The poet also used similes. I know this because she quotes “trees falling heavy as whales”. In the structure Search for my Tongue is laid out in lines and paragraphs however the poem Hurricane hits England is just laid out in paragraphs and stanzas.
In conclusion I think Search for my Tongue is better because some of the words are in different language, which is interesting to find out and it uses lots of language devices. The poem Hurricane hits England is full of rhetorical questions, which makes it boring and it makes the reader think a lot.