Critical Analysis of Eve Merriam's Onomatopoeia
Critical Analysis of Eve Merriam's “Onomatopoeia”
“Onomatopoeia” by Eve Merriam allows the reader to enter a world of reality by expressing sounds with the use of vivid words along with graphic imagery. The poem makes the reader envision an old, leaky faucet, dripping droplets of water. It continues to drip one after another, smacking the bottom of a metal sink. Suddenly, after anxiously waiting, the water begins to pour out in full force and flows freely.
“Onomatopoeia” contains several different themes. First, “A healthy dose of reality is needed for fun” (Ruby 136). Absurdity is a very important concept in this poem. It helps brighten up the reading instead of it being dull. The poem is absurd because it goes into full detail to just describe a leaky faucet. For example, it is like writing five pages of instructions for someone just to teach them how to throw a ball. But nevertheless, it is fun without being boring or confusing at all.
Another theme in this poem is language and meaning. Poets often use words that extend beyond their apparent meaning in order to connect to people through as many words as possible. Poetry can become challenging for the poet and the reader when they realize that a word can have more than one connotation. These connotations came about because various cultures use the word differently throughout the years. To a poet with acute hearing, every word sounds like something it represents (Ruby 135). The sounds and the words we use are “intrinsically related” to what they are trying to say (135).
This poem lacks structure and is not very complex at all. But it is still an extremely powerful and interesting poem. As the reader looks at the poem, “the
words drip one by one down the page, occasionally becoming a sputter of smattering drops” (Ruby 136). There is no real rhyme scheme either but many of the words do rhyme such as utter, sputter, and splutter. Out of the twenty-nine words in this poem, twenty-four of them are related by one or more rhyming elements. Merriam uses many literary devices also. The main device she uses...