Analysis and Comparison of Two Poem Essay Example

some of the renowned poets who have used their own poems to articulate the political affairs of the American government and its people. These two poems which seem to have a lot of similarities also have numerous differences. This paper therefore tries to analyze the major themes portrayed by these two poets in their poems titled “America” and “Somebody blew up America” respectively. This paper also tries to analyze the writing styles and language of these poets and how such styles enhance the major themes they convey.

Allen Ginsberg and Amiri Baraka are two controversial poets whose works have in the past been considered contentious due to the weight of the message that they try to convey. These two poems have become a landmark of not only in the American history but also in the world history as it shows the extent to which courageous and bold individuals can go to defy normality and the prevalent morality of the society just to articulate their views on various issues affecting the society.

Similarity

One of the similarities about the two poems is the aspect of politics being conveyed in each of them. While the “American” poem written by Allen Ginsberg in 1956 consisting of various accusation of the American government and its citizens for its attempt to divert the issue of cold war by blaming other countries such as Russia for the occurrence of the war. On the other hand, the poem “Somebody blew up America” by Amiri Baraka is also a political poem that touches on the fundamental political beliefs held by many Americans concerning their role as a superpower. In his poem, Amiri discusses the issue of

political tolerance against terrorists, where he begins his poems by addressing the aspect of terrorism in the world and even listing some of the most renowned terror groups and personalities which he thinks should be blamed for the unending terror activities in the America and even beyond the countries boundaries. The poem by Amiri went viral and attracted mixed reaction in which some people supported its themes citing that they portrays what happens in reality while others condemning the poem claiming that it enhances the issues of racial discrimination, homophobia against some people, and also that it enhances the aspect of violence in the community. The other similarity about these poems is the fact that they portrays the personal views of the poets as the poets provide their own opinions concerning political related issues in the world and the impact of the American government and the American people on these political issues.

Contrasts

Despite their similarities in articulating the political issues of the American government and its people, these two poems have significant differences starting with the aspect of the themes, language and writing style. The first major difference between the poems can be seen from the fact that while Allen tries to oppose the American government diversion of responsibilities and blaming of Russia for the occurrence of the cold war, Amiri Baraka on the other hand supports the various military intervention taken by the American government to support terrorists and even support the negative stereotyping that some people are subjected to by the aspect of aspect of terrorism in the world. Allen is of the view that the various political decisions taken by the American government

totally contravenes its democratic principles and that it acted irrationally by diverting all the blames to Russia and the Russian people for the occurrence of the Cold War. Amiri is however of the opposite opinion and claims that the American government has so fact acted within its capacity and with the principles of its constitutions to ensure that it protects the interest of its people.

The second major differences between these two poems are the language used by each poet in order to convey the main message associated with their poems. While Amiri uses direct language to articulate his personal opinion concerning terrorism activities against America, Allen however uses indirect language and in most instances prefers to sue sarcasms where he does not give direct meaning of his words. Unlike Amiri, Allen seems to be so much concerned on the weight and the impact of his words which makes him to adopt sarcasms while articulating his points and therefore does not give out the direct meaning of his words thus making the reader to adopt high level of critical and creative thinking in analyzing the various sarcastic words used and how they relate to the theme of American government’s political affairs. The other major differences between the two poems is the aspect of allusion which is a figure of a speech which makes a reference to a place, an individual or an object. While Allen uses allusion to engage the imagination of the reader to make the reader come up with his/her own version of the message conveyed in the poem, Amiri on the other hand uses allusion to give the reader the direct meaning of

what he tries to convey in his poem.

Conclusion

The above two poems may have significant similarities and differences concerning the themes and language used by each poet. However one thing that remains clear is that these two poems addresses societal problems and thus provides a platform in which the two poets can give their concerns on matters related to the American political affairs. The two poems help the reader to appreciate the critical role that literature and specifically poems play in addressing some of the negative challenges that affects the society.

Work Cited

1. Baraka, Amiri. Somebody blew up America. Oakland layout by Blackdotpress, 2001. Print.
2. Ginsberg, Allen. Allen verbatim: lectures on poetry, politics, consciousness. McGraw-Hill Companies, 1974. Print.
3. Keniston, Ann, and Jeanne Follansbee Quinn. Literature After 9/11. Vol. 1. Routledge, 2013. Print.