Introduction
It is hard to disagree that poetry is one of the most powerful forms of art. Specific language choices, unique sentence structures, and different literary devices allow authors to evoke readers’ feelings and convey their message directly to everyone’s heart. One of the most emotional and truth-revealing poems is “For Women Who Are Difficult to Love” by Warsan Shire.
In this literary piece, the writer compares some females to horses running alone while their partners try to tame them (Shire). This powerful simile refers to women’s independence, inner strength, and self-worth, and the poem touches upon the emotional challenges present in some romantic relationships. Shire addresses the audience directly and uses various literary devices and structures to let all such females know they deserve to be loved and do not have to change themselves. With the help of these tools, the poem sheds light on some differences people might have to celebrate females then and promote their complex nature.
Identifying the Speaker
To begin with, there are several ways for a poet to identify the speaker of the poem, address the reader, and reach her purpose; Shire chooses the “you” perspective. To be more precise, the writer could have described the females who differ from others in general, listing their characteristics. It would also be possible to address those males and females who struggle to love these women, trying and failing to change, tame, or understand them.
However, Shire created this poem precisely for those who “tried to be softer / prettier / less volatile, less awake” to meet others’ standards (lines 22-24). The poem’s speaker is probably an empathetic woman who wishes to raise the self-worth, self-esteem, and value of the “strange and beautiful / something not everyone knows how to love” (Shire, lines 34-35). Writing the poem in the second person allows Shire to establish the intimacy and trustworthiness of her words, ensuring the target reader understands the message.
Structure and Syntax
Further, the poem’s structure and syntax, on the one hand, increase the speed and pace of the text and, on the other, emphasize its meaning, strengthening the sense of frustration and inspiration. Thus, Shire uses enjambment, allowing the verses to flow into each other: there are thirty-five lines and only four punctuation marks, one of which is a comma. Therefore, the reader cannot slow the pace of the poem and is exposed to its drama, frustration, and intensity:
and he tries to tame you
compares you to an impossible highway
to a burning house
says you are blinding him
that he could never leave you
forget you
want anything but you (Shire, lines 2-8).
In addition, to strengthen the intimacy and increase the reader’s trust, the author asks them two questions, welcoming them to disclose their relatedness to the poem’s topic and agree with the speaker: “And you tried to change, didn’t you?” (Shire, line 20). At the same time, very short and abrupt lines, with some consisting of only two words, emphasize the meaning of the poem, drawing readers’ increased attention to every line. Females described in the text are frustrated with their experiences, but the speaker admires and is inspired by them, and these feelings are conveyed in abrupt lines.
Repetition
The author uses repetition to highlight the meaning of some words and reemphasize the poem’s central message. Firstly, the pronouns he/his and you/your are repeated frequently among the lines even when it is possible to omit them: “he could never leave you / forget you / want anything but you” (Shire lines 6-8). It becomes evident that “he” is focused on this female, the speaker is focused on this female, and the reader also has to pay their entire attention to such women who are challenging to love.
The repetitions of he and you reinforce the differences between these partners. Shire also uses an epistrophe, repeating the endings of two lines: “and if he wants to leave / then let him leave” (lines 31-32). This verb not only strengthens other people’s intention to leave such women but also prompts that it is what they ultimately do in most cases.
Contrast and Irony
Next, the author uses contrast and irony to demonstrate that such females have both positive and negative sides and that other people’s attitudes are complex. Thus, these women are terrifying yet beautiful, intense yet soft; they set high standards but are also ready to change themselves to meet the requirements of others (Shire lines 15, 18-20, 22, 33, 34). The contrast is also mentioned in the previous section of the paper, as there is a constant opposition between the “you” and “he” in the text. Additionally, such female partners’ feelings toward them are contrasting and ironic in nature (lines 6-8, 31-32). While he knows that other women cannot replace this difficult-to-love one and that his attachment is firm, he still decides to leave.
Imagery and Metaphor
Lastly, the poem is filled with imagery and metaphors, which allows the author to create brighter images and make the text more vivid to highlight the strength of the women it addresses. For example, adjectives like “unbearable,” “terrifying and strange and beautiful,” “intense,” and others emphasize the unique and strong nature of such females (Shire, lines 9, 15, 33-34). They also refer to other people’s inability to be with them.
Metaphors are used in the poem to explain further the differences between these women and all other humans. For example, the speaker says, “his teeth ache with the memory of taste / his body just a long shadow seeking yours,” these metaphors are powerful enough to prove the worth and value of the females the poem addresses (Shire lines 13-14). Further, although they want to, they “can’t make homes out of human beings” (line 29). This keeps these women and other people apart, making their relationships even more challenging.
At the same time, understanding her partner also seems challenging for such a female, as she probably has to “split his head open” to learn what he thinks about and why they are apart, even in dreams (line 28). Thus, it is not their voluntary choice to be different, unbearable, or frightening; instead, they do their best to change themselves or to understand others, but the poem proves the differences are overly firm. Indeed, these literary devices can barely leave readers indifferent.
Conclusion
To conclude, the literary devices and the speaker’s perspective used in the poem allow the writer to highlight the complex nature of difficult-to-love women, demonstrate their strong and weak sides, and shed more light on why human’ romantic relationships can be challenging. Since Shire writes the text in the second person, the level of trust and intimacy in the poem is high. Metaphors, imagery, and structure create brighter images in readers’ minds, while repetition and contrast draw attention to specific details and ideas.
Work Cited
Shire, Warsan. “For Women Who Are Difficult to Love.” Live, Love, Simple. Web.