Poetic Devices are a hugely influential part of poems. The theme of Different Cultures emphasises this as it is elemental for the poet to use these devices in the most vivid of examples to make an outstanding and sweeping effect on the audience. Search For My Tongue does no necessarily use many Poetic Devices but also uses a lot of Literary Devices. It has a great effect and a fine example is form the very first line, “You ask me what I mean”. This line uses personal pronouns very effectively to target the audience and allows them to feel in a one to one conversation. It’s as if each member of the audience is treated individually, and this imposing first line sets the tone. The use of, “You” is very personal and direct and creates a commanding and authoritative opinion. From the opening Sujata Bhatt regards her reader as being ignorant and immature. The tone of her voice can be judged reading the initial line of the poem and her angry feelings are expressed. The personal pronoun in context shows frustration and annoyance in the poets mind.
Comparing the use of Poetic Devices to Half Caste, similarly, Half Caste also uses personal pronouns. An example is, “Explain yuself, Wha you mean”. Here Agard uses pronouns to address the reader as if to say they have said something out of line. Agard’s personal pronouns and specific words create an argument between the reader and himself. Not only does the use of these personal pronouns have an influence on the reader but the phonetically written style emphasises this point. The audience seem to feel under pressure because of Agard’s confidence to speak for himself and put across his point. Because of this the audience feel the need to respect Agard and his opinion. Both of the poems use personal pronouns very effectively, and the constant repetition keeps the audience feeling tense and edgy. Bhatt uses these to force the audience into understanding and believing what she is feeling. By doing this she achieves her aim in writing the poem, which is to make the audience believe and empathise with her feelings. After reading the poem any audience will feel for Bhatt and the difficulty she faces living in culture and society which is very differing to her native culture and society. On the other hand, Agard creates an argument and questions the reader to what they imply by the term, “half-caste”. Agard also uses repetition mainly in the form of refrain throughout his poem; this technique proves extremely effective and creates the image: That Agard is one small weak man; and he is creating an argument for his opinion to thousands of people in a room. These people being regarded as the audience.
Rhetorical questions are very effective in engaging the audience and posing a challenge to them. The idea behind rhetorical questions means that the audience are unable to reply and therefore puts the reader under pressure. Search For My Tongue uses this technique by questioning, “I ask you, what would you do, If you had two tongues in your mouth”. This quote form the 3rd and 4th lines of the poem are very effective and successful in challenging the audience to a thought throughout the poem. The rhetorical question grills the audience to feel what the poet is feeling. Using this technique at the very beginning of the poem, also proves dreadfully successful. It means that any reader is kept under strain while reading the poem. One thing to note in this quote is that there are 4 personal pronouns in just these 2 lines. Sujata Bhatt uses these to such an extent to constantly emphasise her view directly to the audience. It is done to keep her point in the reader’s minds not just for a moment but forever. It’s almost as if a dauntingly angry Bhatt is releasing her fury in one moment.
In comparison to Agard’s poem, similarly we also see the use of rhetorical questions. In Agard’s poem the use of these questions are focused on the refrained part of the poem that is repeated throughout. The use of refrain by Agard is, “Explain yuself, Wha yu mean”. Analysing this example of the use of rhetorical question, Agard constantly uses this as a feature of the poem and is unique to the poem. The language used in this question seems to imply that Agard feels the audience is to an extent ignorant and immature. Agard’s opinion of people has been created because of the way society uses the term, “half-caste” to refer to a person. He feels that many of us in society have become very insensitive and disrespectful. Because of this Agard has written this poem and has definitely become successful in proving his point. The audience grow to feel respect for Agard and his opinion throughout the poem and this is more so because it has been written in his native style dialect. This therefore creates empathy in the audiences mind with his inability to speak the audience’s general language. Half-Caste has perfected its use of the rhetorical question and is very effective in drawing a mindful response form the audience. Comparing the two, the uses of the rhetorical question in the two poems have different purposes. Search For My Tongue uses the technique variably to condemn the audience and create regret in their minds. Comparing this to Agard’s Half Caste, I feel he uses the rhetorical question more effectively. The question which is posed in the refrain puts the audience under pressure and forces them into and un-defendable argument, where only Agard is right.
