Fireworks poem Essay

Fireworks – a device containing chemicals that create a splendid explosion when lighted. That’s the first definition that comes to mind when the word ‘fireworks’ is mentioned. However, in the dictionary, it states that there is also a figurative meaning for fireworks, which is ‘an outburst of anger or other emotions’. In Amy Lowell’s poem, â€Å"Fireworks†, she uses the noun definition of fireworks to express the figurative meaning of fireworks. Throughout the poem, Amy reveals how much she hates this person by using descriptive words to describe the spectacular explosions caused by fireworks. Thus, the main idea of the poem is anger or strong feeling of hostility. â€Å"Fireworks† is an example of a lyrical poem because the poem rhymes and it has a regular and continuous rhyme scheme, which is – AA, AABB, AABB, AA, AABB, AABB, and AA. A lyrical poem also shows emotions and imagination. In this poem, the poet showed emotions by the lines that stated, â€Å"You hate me and I hate you†. The poem also showed imagination because Amy used the noun meaning of fireworks to demonstrate the figurative meaning of fireworks. However, this poem has an irregular meter because each line has a different number of syllables. Also, there isn’t a pattern in the stressed and unstressed words. This poem also didn’t have any onomatopoeias, consonances and assonances. The poem is written in seven stanzas, which includes four regular quatrains and three regular couplets. The first stanza is a couplet that tells the reader the poet hates this person and the person hates the poet too. It also states that they are both polite about it. The second and third stanzas (quatrains) describe to the reader what happens when the poet sees her enemy. The poet’s anger is expressed though vivid fireworks. The fourth stanza (a couplet) again tells the reader the poet hates her enemy. The fifth and sixth stanzas (quatrains) inform the reader what happens when the poet’s enemy sees the poet. Again, this frustration of the enemy is reveal through descriptive fireworks. The last stanza (a couplet) talks about the anger the two creates and the first line of the poem is re-stated again. In this poem, Amy uses a lot of descriptive words to describe the fireworks. The strong descriptive words create a vivid image of fireworks inside the reader’s head. Amy also chooses to use words like â€Å"mauve† and â€Å"azure† instead of just saying â€Å"purple† and â€Å"blue†. The imagery pictures she created were – spits and sparkles in stars and balls, buds into roses and flares and falls, scarlet buttons, pale green disks, silver  spirals and asterisks, shoot and tremble in a mist, peppered with mauve and amethyst, saffron cubes, crimson moons, wheels all amaranths and maroons, golden lozenges and spades, arrows of malachite’s and jades, patens of copper, azure sheaves, glossy leaves. The words Amy used in this poem were carefully chosen to create such detailed pictures. â€Å"Fireworks† include many literary terms. As said in the pervious paragraph, this poem has a lot of imagery. The whole poem can also be referred to a metaphor because throughout the poem, it compares anger to fireworks without using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’. In addition, there is alliteration in the poem. In the second stanza, the third line, it says, â€Å"In spits and sparkles in stars and balls†. There was a repetition of initial sounds in the three words ‘spits’, ‘sparkles’ and ‘stars’. Also, the second stanza, first line and the last two words â€Å"burst apart† can be an example of a connotative diction because the dictionary meaning means to break apart but it can also mean to get very angry. This can also be an example of a hyperbole because it is an exaggeration of how angry the poet must be feeling. The fifth stanza, first line and the last two words can also be a connotative diction because the dictionary meaning is ‘to tear apart’ but in this case, it means to be furious. This can also be a hyperbole too because it exaggerates anger the poet’s enemy feels. The last example of a connotative diction is the second stanza, second line and the last two words, which is, â€Å"blazing heart†. The dictionary meaning is ‘a burning heart’ but can also mean a strong feeling of hostility. The last literary term found is a symbol. The last stanza and the second line states, â€Å"Such fireworks as we make, we two!† The word ‘fireworks’ in this line doesn’t mean fireworks (a device containing chemicals that cause a splendid explosion) but instead meaning the problems and furious agreements the poet and her enemy create. Each of the devices the poet used is very important to the poem. The first and most obvious device the poet used was imagery. The poet used many descriptive words that created and showed the readers how the fireworks actually looked like. The main idea of the poem is expressing anger though fireworks so it is very important to show the readers how each of the fireworks look like. Another device used was the hyperbole. Using a hyperbole exaggerates a word or phrase and can emphases how much the poet hates her enemy and the other  way around. Connotative dictions are also important in this poem because they show how the poet and her enemy feel. Last but not least, the metaphor throughout the whole poem is the most significant device used because it compares the poet and her enemy’s frustration of each other through fireworks. In conclusion, this poem is using the noun definition of fireworks to express the figurative meaning of fireworks. The poem is about the poet hating her enemy and the enemy hating the poet. Throughout the whole poem, their anger towards each other is expressed in the form of fireworks. Therefore, the main idea of this poem is anger or a strong feeling of hostility.