What does this poem mean?

Question

It's for my homework.  Identify four or five examples of each of the parts of speech (nouns, verbs and adjectives) from the poem El Olvido. Choose words that you think help to establish the mood of the poem. Then, comment on how the words you have identified shape the mood of the poem. 


It is a dangerous thing
to forget the climate of your birthplace,
to choke out the voices of dead relatives
when in dreams they call you
by your secret name.
It is dangerous
to spurn the clothes you were born to wear
for the sake of fashion; dangerous
to use weapons and sharp instruments
you are not familiar with; dangerous
to disdain the plaster saints
before which your mother kneels
praying with embarrassing fervor
that you survive in the place you have chosen to live:
a bare, cold room with no pictures on the walls,
a forgetting place where she fears you will die
of loneliness and exposure.
Jesús, María, y José, she says,
el olvido is a dangerous thing

buddhamiss · Accepted Answer

I hope that you are just not being lazy and not doing your homework..  but if you need help here it is..  There is nothing more satisfying or fun then figuring things out for yourself.. 

Nouns - thing, climate, birthplace, voices, relatives, dreams, name, clothes, fashion, weapons, instruments.. now that you see the pattern you find the rest.. 

 The main adjective here is "dangerous" and has been used five times
others are secret, embarassing, cold, bare, forgetting, dead, sharp, not familiar, plaster.. What others can you find? 

as for verbs forget, choke, call, spurn, use, disdain, kneels, praying, fears, says., wear, .  What have I left out.. 


In my humble opinion - this poem is saying a number of things
the main words that set the tone are dangerous, bare, cold, lonely, exposure, and mostly from the author's description of the worry of the mother - you can feel her angst

Here is the lesson of the poem - in my opinion.  


- in life use the lessons you have been taught to keep yourself safe.  

- do not be too quick to jump into the unknown  - change is a good thing but can be dangerous and unfortunate  

- don't turn your back on your family who love and worry about you - no one knows you better than them and no one cares more for you.  

-  it important to know your people's and family's history so you will understand who you are and what shaped you so far.. why they are how they are and what shaped them.   

- el olivido (to forget) is a dangerous thing 

Nice poem..  good imagery

tiede · Answer

With an e e cummings poem, asserting "it somewhat is what it capacity to me" is like attempting to nail Jello to a tree. This poem has continuously regarded very professional-feminist, or a minimum of anti anti-feminist. It talks approximately autonomous thinking to me. Effie (a attractiveness that sounds suspiciously like the be conscious "iffy") curiously never theory for herself and all it incredibly is left of her crumbly recommendations is a gaggle of subjunctives: woulda, coulda ,shoulda, musta. Even God seems on those 6 crumbs with puzzlement; even His omniscience will no longer be able to fathom why a individual could stay her existence permitting others to think of for her.

elizabeth j · Answer

It is about forgetfulness, I will give you that.  I hope no one else answers you because I really bet you can figure this one out on your own.  Think heritage.

Anonymous · Answer

I think this is about someone forgetting there family, where he's from. He sounds like he might be from Mexico maybe?

Anonymous · Answer

I hav'nt got a clue....What grade are u in??holy ****

Trending News

What does this poem mean?

5 Answers