Both poems ‘Presents’ and ‘Hurricane’ are autobiographical as ‘I’ is used which is a first person pronoun. Even though the poem ‘Presents’ begins with the third person pronoun ‘They’ however the poet uses many first person references such as ‘me’, ‘I’, and ‘My’. The poem Hurricane also uses third person references such as ‘her’ which is employed to distance the character. ‘Presents’ is structured to show the conflict of the characters culture and identity. In each paragraph each sentence is aligned differently however in ‘Hurricane’ it is structured differently. In ‘Hurricane’ the poem is structured to show to build up the climax. The first stanza shows the emotional detachment of the author to the hurricane. In the poem each paragraph shows the progression to contentment as well as acceptance.
Throughout the poem the writer employs many techniques to highlight the importance of cultural identity. In ‘Presents’ the poet begins with the first person pronoun ‘They’ which is plural. This is used to distance herself from her aunts. In the first sentence the writer uses the culturally specific term ‘salwar kameez’ to refer to the Indian dress. This is done to add a sense of realism to the poem. Within the poem the writer uses post modification of the noun blue when referring to the dress as being ‘peacock –blue’. The poet applies this technique to make the poem sound more realistic and conversational as if she had just come to her mind. He also uses post – modification when it comes to describing the sari ‘apple green sari’.
The writer post – modifies the word ‘blue’ with the word ‘peacock’ as a peacock is considered to be an exotic, vibrant and luxurious animal. In the poem the poet uses verbs. In the third line of the first paragraph Alvi uses the verb ‘glistening’ as it really conveys an expensive nature.
Throughout the poem the writer repeats ‘I’ to emphasise her individual from Pakistan. The poet also makes use of similes in the poem ‘marvel at the colours like stained glass’. The poet uses this simile to emphasise the beauty of the colours. Alvi also uses empathy ‘Prickly heat. Alvi does this show her character as being uncomfortable.
In ‘Hurricane’ the writer uses the third person pronoun ‘her’ even though the poem is autobiographical. The poet does this purposely to distance herself from her home, her identity and her culture. The poet also uses personification as he personifies the wind as if it were a ship ‘The howling ship of the wind’. The employs this technique as it helps the reader build a more vivid picture. It also helps describe the situation better (what’s happening). In that same line that poet also makes use of onomatopoeia when using the word ‘howling’. The writer uses onomatopoeia to.
In the poem the poet uses participial adjectives ‘gathering’. The poet uses participle adjectives as makes the reader feel like what happening is continual in this example movement. The poet also employs antonyms and oxymoron’s ‘fearful and reassuring’. The poet employs these to. In the next stanza the poet employs repetition and triadic structure ‘Talk to me Huracan, Talk to me Oya, Talk to me Shango’. The writer uses repetition as it emphasises the point or the feelings, in this case it emphasise the poets relationship with the hurricane. The poet also uses triadic structure as things are easier to remember in threes. The poet employs these two techniques in the same lines as it sounds like an incantation/spell as well as it sounding like a conversation with the storm gods. In the beginning of the second paragraph the writer uses the first person singular pronoun ‘me’ to highlight that the lines are personal. The poet also uses rhetorical questions ‘tell me why u visit, An English coast’. The poet uses this technique to show her confusion as well as to make the reader think. In this poem the poet employs metaphors ‘the blinding illumination’. This metaphor is used to illustrate that her character (herself) is having a revelation or as you could say an epiphany. In the third paragraph the poet uses second person pronoun ‘you’ to address the storm. In the fourth paragraph the writer begins with the line ‘What is the meaning of trees’. He purposely starts off with this line as it sounds rather philosophical and spiritual. Within the poem the poet uses the simile ‘falling as heavy as whales’. The poet uses this simile because it helps the audience build a vivid picture in this case the simile implies that the trees make huge impact when falling as would a whale. Under the fourth paragraph there is a free verse line. The free verse line starts with the word ‘O’. The poet begins with this as it shows emotion and heightens the impact. In this free verse line the poet uses another metaphor ‘why is my heart unchained’. This metaphor is used to show that the character has resolved her problem.
