The Loss of Language and Identity
One of the themes that can be noted from the Rita Joe’s poem “I Lost My Talk” cultural and language identity. The poem presents language as an important part of one’s Expression And Cultural Identity. The speaker of the poem is essentially a person that has been left with no option but abandon her native dialect while attending the “Shubenacadie school”. It can be noted how the speaker was not merely taught a new language at the school, but was actually forced to replace her native language. The author cannot even talk about the place she is coming from without a consideration of the ballad (or story) having to get “scrambled” one that brings in the suggestion that she may never fully comprehend or understand her “word” in the English language. Therefore, the speaker asks that she can be allowed to “find her talk” – that is relearning her native tongue as well as reconnecting with her culture – as a way of truly know, as well as sheer, the person she really is.
As can be noted in Lines 1 and 2 (‘I lost my… you took away.), it can be noted how the poem starts with the author stating how she has managed losing her native language, one that she calls her “talk”. According to her, the language had not disappeared, and was rather stolen from her – by the people she had been addressing. Repeating the term “talk” is one that immediately insists on what is at the centre of the poem, that is, language. Choosing the term “talk” as opposed to “language” proved to be necessary. At the same time, the actual sounds of the term “talk” also add to the intensity of the poem. Note the manner the /k/ and /t/ consonance and the /aw/ assonance corporate together towards creating a staccato and sharp rhythm:
“I lost my talk
The talk you took away”
- When it comes to symbols used in the poem, the author uses words such as “talk”, which is essentially symbolic in the poem of identity and power. When the author says that she has “lost her talk”, she means that she has lost both the native as well as the power the language can afford: the power of fully expressing herself, connecting to her culture and history, and knowing who she really is. Some of actual symbols noted in subject poem include:
- Lines 1 and 2: “I lost my talk / The talk you took away.”
- Lines 5 to 9: “You snatched it away: / I speak like you / I think like you / I create like you / The scrambled ballad, about my word.”
- Lines 10 and 11: “Two ways I talk/ Both ways I say.”
- Line 14: “Let me find my talk”
- One device or figurative language that has been used in the poem include parallelism. Parallelism is used in the second stanza as a way of adding intensity and emphasis to the subject list of all the ways where she has been forced becoming like the oppressors:
I speak like you
I think like you
I create like you
One can notice how each statement follows the very same grammatical (as well as featuring anaphora of the term “I” as well as the epistrophe of phrase “like you”. The uniformity noted in the above lines stand out as a reflection of how the speaker as well as the other students at her school had been forced to conform to the subject dominant culture. Not only has the language of the author been stolen, but her identity was also stolen: all she may do is parrot her way back to what she was told. The repeated lines are a suggestion of the way students can be made to comply as opposed to embracing and expressing their authentic selves.
The author once more turns to parallelism once more in the lines 10 to 12 when she says:
Two ways I talk
Both ways I say
Your way is more powerful.
Subject parallelism in this case manages to echo the author’s point: even with whether she attempts speaking with tongue, the fluency where the school has robbed her of, one that does not allow her to better articulate her real version, the school has managed weakening her through forcing her into some version of her that is not herself. These lines being repeated refers to the manner the speaker may only echo that has been given her.
Form can also be noted as having been used in the poem. The poem essentially has about 15 lines broken up in four short stanzas that have a variety of lengths (ones that range from 3 to 5 lines per piece). It may not really conform to any of the traditional forms, one that fits for a poem pointing out the harmfulness that comes with assimilation and conformity.
- The speaker in this case is Othello, and powerful speaker as well as an impressive character. The person being addressed in this case is Desdemona. The scene includes when the Othello uses the words not merely in defending his elopement with Desdemona, although also in enabling him in keeping her.
- The speaker’s state of mind includes a reflection of lago’s worldview, one that is essentially characterized by suspicion and cynicism. Othello expresses lago’s cynicism frequently, and specifically in the opening acts of the play.
- Figurative language in lines 11-12 in Shakespeare’s Othello can be noted in the lago, who is one of the bad guys, and Othello, one of the good guys that turned to a guy who is not so good, and both use a figurative language in describing their intentions, actions, as well as emotions.
- It culminates to the main issue being trusting the wrong lot of people and jealousy. It can be noted how Othello trusted lago and was deceived by him, even though lago was supposed to be his best friend.
The main purpose of Mr. Homer in the play lies in him representing the colonizing powers. It can be noted that in the play continuing, it becomes rather evident that the character is not as he appears; in fact, they may appear becoming opposite of what his character first looks like. While the character indeed agrees with the subject article in the play, the Magistrate is actually compassionate as the System’s member who in deed works towards making the life of Rita Joe better. For Mr. Homer, his purpose in the play appears to be one of a socially responsible individual. Such can also be noted from how Mr. Homer ran a shelter for the First Nations community that is homeless, with the necessary post-colonial name – the Centre.
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