Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
The action in the poem "The Best of the Body" is told from the perspective of a third-person subjective point of view.
Form and Meter
The poems are written in free-verse and because of this they do not have a fixed form and meter.
Metaphors and Similes
In the poem "Botanical Fanaticism" the narrator compares at one point the way the white communities looked at the black communities in the beginning of the 20th century with the way they regarded cockroaches. This comparison is used in this poem to show just how badly the black communities were treated and how much the narrator's ancestors had to endure.
Alliteration and Assonance
We have an alliteration in the poem "The Culture of Near Miss" in the line "is subtracted becomes less, there is hardly any boy left,".
Irony
One ironic element is presented in the poem "Heads Wrapped in Flowers" where the narrator claims that those things we believe to be the most harmless are the things that have the power to put a person's life in danger the most.
Genre
The poem "The Best of the Body" is a meditative poem.
Setting
The action in the poem "The Culture of Near Miss" takes place on a distant beach at dawn.
Tone
The tone used in "The Best of the Body" is a neutral one.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonists in "Botanical Fanaticism" are the narrator and her ancestors while the antagonists are the white oppressors.
Major Conflict
The major conflict in "Heads Wrapped in Flowers" is between childhood and adulthood.
Climax
The poem "A Hot Time in a Small Town" reaches its climax when the narrator receives her food at the restaurant.
Foreshadowing
N/A
Understatement
At the beginning of the poem "A Hot Time in a Small Town" the narrator claims that the heat is not detrimental to the people living in the small town. This is later proven to be an understatement at the end of the poem.
Allusions
The main allusion we find in the poem "Botanical Fanaticism" is the idea that the black communities in America have an extremely hard and cruel life.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The spleen is used in the poem "The Best of the Body" as a general term to make reference to a person's mental capacities.
Personification
We have a personification in the line "The Easter hats usually exploited gardens" in the poem "Heads Wrapped in Flowers".
Hyperbole
We have a hyperbole in the poem "The Culture of Near Miss" in the line "low-tide sparkle of a cosmos the sea will take away".
Onomatopoeia
We have an onomatopoeia in the poem "Heads Wrapped in Flowers" in the line "crying their sorrow".
