‘ This land is your land’ is a song written by Woody Guthrie. This term has been repeated throughout the poem to emphasize that the land belongs to everyone. His inspiration was from the socialism and nationalism that existed in America during the world wars. This essay will look at how different elements of poetic forms have been used in the poem.
Woody has used rhythm to make the song more interesting. Meter and cadence, moreover, contribute to the flow of the poem. Alliteration, for instance, occurs in the ‘r’ in “rich red roses,” and the ‘d’ in “diamond deserts (Guthrie, 2015) .” This, consequently, assists in creating rhythm to the song. Rhythm can also be used to express various words more powerfully than others. He has, for instance, used trochees rhythm schemes such as in the line “…below me that golden valley (Guthrie, 2015) .” The first syllable is stressed while the second is unstressed, the ‘go’ in golden and ‘va’ in valley are stressed.
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Rhyme scheme, stanza and line breaks are observed throughout the poem. Rhyme is important as it helps a song to flow and in capturing the audience’s attention. There is assonance in nearly every stanza. The second paragraph, for example, has two ending words that rhyme; highway and skyway. Stanzas and line breaks, on the other hand, enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of the song.
Woody has used repetition throughout the play. ‘This land was made for you and me’ has been repeated in almost all the verses, hence, making it an anaphora. It, consequently, creates the theme to the poem. Repeating the chorus, furthermore, emphasizing on the fact that the land belongs to all.
In conclusion, it is important to use elements of poetic forms in poetry. They, moreover, affect the way a poem is communicated and understood. Finally, the use of repetition, rhyme schemes and rhythm play a part in how the song flows.
Reference
Guthrie, W. (2015). This land is your land . Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
