The colonel poem analysis. Carolyn Forche: Poems Summary 2022-10-20

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The Colonel is a poem written by Carolyn Forché, a poet known for her work in human rights and social justice. The poem tells the story of a woman who visits a colonel in his home in El Salvador during the country's civil war. The poem is written in first person, with the speaker describing her encounter with the colonel and the disturbing events that unfold during her visit.

At the beginning of the poem, the speaker describes the colonel as a "man of history" and notes that he is "not young." The speaker is immediately struck by the colonel's "courteous manner" and the "luxurious furnishings" in his home. However, as the conversation progresses, the speaker begins to sense that the colonel is not what he appears to be. She notes that he is "not a man you would want to meet in an alley," and that he seems to be hiding something.

As the conversation continues, the colonel begins to reveal more about himself and his role in the civil war. He tells the speaker that he is a "man of strategy," and that he is responsible for "interrogating" prisoners in order to gather information about the rebel forces. The speaker is horrified by this revelation, and begins to feel a sense of dread as the colonel describes his methods in detail.

Despite the colonel's apparent kindness and hospitality, the speaker can't help but feel that he is a "monster" and a "man without a conscience." She describes the colonel's eyes as "flat" and "dead," and notes that he seems to be "beyond redemption." The speaker is disgusted by the colonel's actions and the suffering he has caused, and begins to feel that she is in grave danger.

As the poem concludes, the speaker reflects on the disturbing events of the evening and the impact they have had on her. She notes that the colonel's story has left her feeling "numb" and "empty," and that she will never be able to forget the horrors she has witnessed. The poem ends with the speaker wondering if she will ever be able to tell the colonel's story to anyone else, and if anyone will believe her.

Overall, The Colonel is a powerful and haunting poem that explores the effects of violence and oppression on individuals and society. Through the speaker's encounter with the colonel, Forché highlights the brutality of war and the dehumanizing nature of violence. The poem serves as a powerful reminder of the need for social justice and the importance of standing up against injustice.

The Colonel Poem Summary

the colonel poem analysis

What effect does that have on the poem? She has observed, thought about, and expressed in poetry some of the most tragic events in twentieth-century world history. Towards the end of the play, she talks about how she had been treated inhumanely toward her presumable death. The soldiers were primarily teenagers and young men in their early twenties who had not yet had the chance to experience life. Writers too have not been left out in telling about the same issue. He pours human ears onto the table from it.

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The Colonel: Meaning, Summary & Analysis

the colonel poem analysis

This poem includes a hyperbole, which is defined as a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect. Charles Yale Harrison presents a distressing account of the soldiers fighting in the Western front, constantly suffering and eventually abandoning hope for an end to the horrors that they experience daily. Together, they eat an expensive meal. From the poem, the issue of justice is seen in the first sentence where the narrator says it was true since he or she was in his house. On the windows there were gratings like those in liquor stores. This song influenced generations to make a change, to stand and find where… Weapons Training Bruce Dawe Secondly, Bruce also shows unfavourable light through the text structure and the way the poem is presented.


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Carolyn Forche: Poems Summary

the colonel poem analysis

After reading The Things They Carried and watching Forrest Gump, Full Metal Jacket, my perspective has changed considerably about the Vietnam War. His wife carried a tray of coffee and sugar. By use of various themes in different writing, all talking about justice, we can come up with a presentation of how justice is displayed in our society. However the poem has universal appeal in that the insensitivity and anonymity accorded to Precious lives reduced to body bags are common attitudes towards soldiers in all historical conflicts. The poem reinforces this effect through its stark irony and short poetic flourishes, its outer appearance, and the length and terseness of its sentences. This is a startling turn in the poem that really captures the character of the man who was only moments earlier enjoying a nice meal while watching TV. Some of the ears on the floor caught this scrap of his voice.

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Analysis Of The Poem 'The Colonel' By Carolyn Forche

the colonel poem analysis

The papers of the day lay there, his pet dogs attended and there was a pistol resting on a cushion just beside the Colonel. She claimed however that they could not leave, because there was no where they could go and be accepted. She describes how someone asked her how she liked the nation. There was some talk then of how difficult it had become to govern. He swept the ears to the floor with his arm and held the last of his wine in the air. When the narrator is on leave and goes to the performance in London, he is uncomfortable with the heroic way in which war is portrayed. The ninth stanza keeps on with the Colonel, describing him as an angry, private, thin man.

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Carolyn Forche: Poems Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

the colonel poem analysis

During their passage, many died and they also found bodies in the water, sometimes children, who died in an attempt to leave their country. Countless Vietnam veterans were psychologically scared, while other was embittered by poor treatment the public gave them when they came home. However, it has been noted in Australian history that there was very little to no compassion given towards the returning soldiers from Vietnam; Homecoming is an attack at society for their reverence and respect-or lack of. This contrast is unsettling. The famous twenty-one gun salute is also ridiculed.

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Analysis Of The Poem ' The Colonel By Carolyn Forche, The...

the colonel poem analysis

Water seeped into the earth and was found bubbling in another palace. The poet and her friend understand when to keep silent. Lines 17-26 The colonel returned with a sack used to bring groceries home. The moon was hanging above the house and a police show was playing on the television, which was showing in English. There is no other way to say this. This article explores the poems and the poets themselves; investigating content of the poems and role of these prisoners as poets. Dawe masterfully utilizes imagery, sound devices and irony to also convey his perspective about war.

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The Colonel Prose Poem Analysis

the colonel poem analysis

There were no footsteps there, no deer killed. It commented on the lives of being a soldier returned from war. The windows were barred, resembling licensed premises for the sale of alcohol. They then, not only physically scarred and mentally changed, carry remedyless guilt with them. It brings her closer to her normal world.

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The Colonel Poem Summary, Notes And Line By Line Analysis In English By Carolyn Forché • English Summary

the colonel poem analysis

On the television was a cop show. The poets… For the Union Dead Poem Explication The sixth stanza begins a new page and a new topic. A gold bell for calling the maid was on the table when they had dinner, which included lamb racks and fine wine. The colonel returned with a sack used to bring groceries home. They stay silent as he gets up and returns with a grocery bag. Or are they going to turn their ears to the floor and shed any responsibility for helping to make things better? They each ponder their options - be eaten on the sea, captured in Europe? On the windows there were gratings like those in liquor stores. Something for your poetry, no?.


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The Colonel by Carolyn Forché

the colonel poem analysis

She describes this encounter, when his wife served coffee and some sugar, which she brought in on a tray, when the Colonel's daughter manicured her nails with a file and his son left to go out for the night. They ate their dinner, a spread including wine and a rack of lamb, with a gold bell gracing the table, used to summon the maid. The speaker is one of these people in Raqqa, living through the American and Russian soldiers, and then the Americans again, moving through their city. It came alive there. She was at his house, alongside his wife, daughter, and son. Forche was 27 when she lived in El Salvador and worked as a I Was Only 19 Essay It made everyone consider the real gains of war and the point of war at all.

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