HOMEWORK: analysing "A Word is Dead"
The title immediately makes me think of something off, sad.
The poem is organized into six free vers, but the reader conceptually divides it into two parts.
In the first two lines, the repetition of the "d" intentionally creates a closed sound
during the reading. In the first three the "s" is also very present: with these two alliterations,
the poet invites us to stop and reflect. Than, always in the first three verses, there is a contrast
between passive form, which indicates death, and active form.
In the second part a different opinion is expressed, that is, that when a word is said
it just begins to live. During the reading, the first two words "I say" make us slow down,
always to make us reflect, while the following words are less important, which,
with the use of a "just-begins" run on line (enjambent), run fast.
The last verse again presents a slow sound, always to make us reflect.