A Word is dead

A WORD is dead  

When it is said, 

Some say. 

I say it just 

Begins to live

That day. 

Analysis:

The first element that recalls reader attention is the word dead. The title is a metaphor: the tenor “word” and the vehicle “dead”. The title conveins the topic of the text. The text is arranged in to six lines and it is organized in one stanza. All lines are very short. The reader can divide the poem in two parts: the first consists in the first three lines and the second consists of the last three lines. The narrator writes in the third person. 

The first section expresses the opinion of the word death. Indeed the poet wants to express the lifecycle of the word. On the contrary the second section is about the life of the word so it is in contrast with the first part. Moreover in the second part there are two run on lines or enjambement that have the function to make reading faster. The rythmic scheme is AABCDB. The poet has combined with the rhymes the first two lines and the line three with the last line. The combinations are in contrast because the first is about a undefined moment and the second is about a precise moment, person and opinion.

In the first section there is an alliteration of the sound "d". It is a dental sound so it is a strong sound. It has a function to break the reader. In the second parte there is an alliteration of the sound "s" that suggest a silent atmosphere. 

The main theme of this poem is that words never lose their meaning once they are spoken. They have the function to remain with the person spoken to as long as the words are remembered. All people must think twice before saying the word itself, because every word has a important value.