Journal: Facing it

Journal: Facing it

1. Who is the speaker?

The speaker of this poem is black, US war veteran from Vietnam. Yousef Komuyakaa, the poet who wrote this poem, “Facing It”, did a stint in Vietnam and was a war correspondent.  

2. What is the speaker's attitude toward the subject of the poem?

Komuyakaa’s attitude toward the subject of this poem is about remembrance, sorrowfulness, and seeking some consolation for all of those soldiers who sacrificed their lives during Vietnam War. He is particularly sensitive to the plight of the African American soldiers of the Vietnam War.

3. Are the language colloquial, formal, simple, unusual?

The poet has a sense of language in its vernacular use or informal way of speaking; yet, he also includes a rich sensitivity towards the sound of the words and sentences that has an element of drama and music. The poet’s bio claims that this comes from his background and interests in jazz and blues music. He has a very simple yet, complex approach to language and poetic form.

4. Are there any allusions (references to something outside the poem, such as events or people from history, mythology, or religion)?

Komuyakaa makes an allusion to the War Memorial and in its images of the names of soldiers engraved into the polished black stones. Thus, he also reflects the color themes in American society and also of black and white soldiers pitted together against a common enemy as well as the cruelty of war. The poem reveals the painful consequence of Vietnam and how many people were affected by it – both overseas and at home in America making this poem so touching and dramatic.

5. Look at the figurative language of the poem--metaphors, similes, analogies, and personification. How do these images add to the meaning of the poem or intensify the effect of the poem?

There are few metaphor in this poem, such as “I am stone” (Line 5), “I'm flesh” (Line 5), and “I'm a window” (27). There are also simile, for example, “My clouded reflection eyes me like a bird of prey.” (Line 6-7), and “My own in letters like smoke.” (Line 16).  Personification is also used in the poem such as in, “My clouded reflection eyes me…” (Line 6), “the profile of night slanted against morning.” (Line 7-8), and “the stone lets me go” (Line 9). Analogies can be found as Komuyakaa compares a person’s name to booby trap “I touch the name Andrew Johnson; I see the booby trap’s white flesh.” Moreover there is a rich analogy between the monument and the black mirror “inside the stone. In the black mirror.”      

6. Is there any alliteration, assonance, consonance repetition? What tonal effect do they have?

There are no obvious or extreme examples of alliteration, assonance, or consonance repetition in the poem; so, it has a flat and dissonant quality to it instead of any real matching sounds that are in any way harmonious.  The effect is slightly jarring and jagged; it is like dissonant jazz with clashing tonal qualities that strike odd notes that pitch high and low – it has an emotional effect that is unsettling and jangled.