Prompt: Analyze how the literary elements and techniques used in the poem contribute to its meaning.
Identify the Thesis Statement: is it defensible? Does it respond to the prompt? Does it offer an interpretation of the text?
Identify the Topic Sentences: do they give an overview of what each paragraph is about
Identify the Evidence & Commentary: do they support the ideas in the thesis statement? Does it analyze specific literary elements and techniques? How does the essay fulfill the requirements of the Sophistication point?
The essay is provided below. please make sure all the answers are detailed.
“The Music or the Misery” Timed Write
In his poem, “The Music or the Misery,” Hanif Abdurraqib uses imagery-filled allusions and metaphor to convey his perception of love as a potential source of pain. Abdurraqib communicates his feelings and fears regarding love and establishes a distinction between real love and superficial love. In fact, by juxtaposing real and superficial love, Abdurraqib illustrates the depth of real love and the profound impacts love has had on his life.
Abdurraqib begins his poem by describing the type of love he isn’t referring to – superficial love. Abdurraqib does this through an allusion to a cartoon character. Abdurraqib asserts that when he refers to love, he does “not mean the cartoon heart. the one that swells from the wolf’s chest. when distracted by a girl wolf. his tongue rolling onto the hot pavement. right before the anvil drops from impossible height. and he is crushed again.” (line 14) Rather, when Abdurraqib speaks of love and the heart, he speaks of something deeper and more meaningful than a brief attraction or momentary infatuation. This allusion, which is rife with imagery, is not only something readers can picture but also something they can relate to. It is generally understood that the love depicted in cartoons is not real love. By choosing to use something so familiar to establish the difference between infatuation and love, Abdurraqib maximizes readers’ understanding. Additionally, in beginning his poem by declaring what type of “love” he is not referring to, Abdurraqib sets the stage for a description of an even greater love.
This real, “true” love is so great that it requires a metaphor to be fully explained. Abdurraqib writes, “I saw my heart in the eyes of my mother. it was too small to save her. I wrote my heart in a poem. it took up the whole bedroom” (line 5-7). The “heart” Abdurraqib refers to is a metaphor for love, and his description of seeing his heart in the eyes of his mother gives readers insight into what he believes love looks like. Readers can relate to the feeling of a parent’s love and understand how powerful that love is. This helps them understand how strong Abdurraqib believes love is. Ultimately, though, love is limited. While one’s love may be so enormous that it cannot be contained in the pages of a poem, so enormous that it consumes an entire room, it is still not enough to save someone. The juxtaposition Abdurraqib creates between love feeling simultaneously enormous and not nearly large enough introduces readers to the pain Abdurraqib associates with love.
It is true that love has some frightening implications. Abdurraqib hints at this through an allusion to racism. He professes, “so you see the dilemma. I just promised someone that I would watch them grow old in a country that wants them dead. so I just can’t spare any more room.” (line 9-12) This line is likely a reference to racism towards African Americans and the police brutality that has flooded contemporary news. Abdurraqib’s love terrifies him because it means he not only has to worry about himself, but about the life and safety of the one he loves. It’s scary, this idea that he may have to watch as his loved one is victimized for something entirely outside of their control. Abdurraqib’s heart and mind are filled not only with love, but with worry for the one he loves, so it makes sense that he “can’t spare any more room”. That’s the thing about love that Abdurraqib is trying to convey – it leaves us open to pain.
Abdurraqib concludes his poem with the repetition of the allusion he used to open it. In a full circle moment, he once again utilizes the imagery of a cartoon anvil plummeting through the sky to crush a helpless, love-struck, cartoon wolf. Like a cartoon wolf when he looks up and sees, for the first time, the anvil plummeting toward him, Abdurraqib harbors feelings of fear and uncertainty regarding love. Love is beautiful, but it also casts an endlessly dark shadow due to its potential to cause pain. Despite this, Abdurraqib is giving himself to love, offering up his “mixtape” although though he knows it will leave him vulnerable. Even with an anvil hanging over his head like the sword of Damocles, Abdurraqib still blows a kiss because love is worth it.