Ashley Dunlap
Pro. Anthony Chu
November 14, 2012
English Comp. 2
Studying Syntax
The poem “Syntax,” by Wang Ping is simply the title. The word syntax means the study of the rules that indicate how parts of sentences go together. In the poem the speaker uses a variety of sentences that are incomplete to make a poem with a questionable meaning. Some of the incomplete sentences the author uses show us imagery. The author also uses diction and structure to clearly format the short poem. Later in the poem the speaker uses the literary device of simile to compare two uncommon things rather than a regular cliché sentence to compare them. Although the author doesn’t use many literary devices in the poem the devices used convey a significant meaning.
The author uses imagery to create images in the beginning of the poem. In the first four lines the speaker uses four incomplete sentences to give us a general idea. The speaker says, “she walks to a table,” “she walk to table, “she is walking to a table,” and “she walk to table now,” to show us that it doesn’t matter how she says the sentence because we the readers get the same visual idea each time the line is repeated. The author is showing us that we can say things in a variety of ways and still get the same point across.
Throughout the entire poem the author uses the literary works of diction and structure. The poem itself is written as syntax. The speaker’s use of language is unique in the poem. The way she speaks makes us curious about the actual meaning of the poem. She uses sentences like, “in nature, no completeness,” and “no sentence really complete thought,” to show that it doesn’t matter the way she’s saying her sentences, we the readers still understand. She also structures her poem so that it relates to the meaning. The poem flows with significant meaning in each line. The poem to me is structured so that the theme can be clearly seen by the end of the poem.
By the end of the poem we the readers...