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In both the poems, the mood undergoes a transformation towards the end. In Maya Angelou's "The Lie," the mood shifts from a hurtful one to a falsely cheerful one as the speaker pretends to be happy when the person leaves her. On the other hand, Alice Walker's poem "Never Offer Your Heart to Someone Who Eats Hearts" ends on a positive note. When examining the tone, we can observe that "Never Offer Your Heart to Someone Who Eats Hearts" begins with a warning tone, cautioning the reader against giving their heart to someone who will cause them pain.
The tone is quite grim and foreboding.
However, towards the end of the poem, in the final stanza, the tone shifts to a hopeful and joyful one as Alice Walker writes about the "holy women" who are waiting on the shore.
The poem as a whole carries a subtle comedic undertone; the idea that a man could consume your heart is almost absurd.
On the other hand, "The Lie" starts with a bitter and menacing tone but transitions to a false tone when Maya Angelou writes, "I'll help you pack," indicating that the speaker doesn't truly mean it.
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Both Walker's and Angelou's poems exhibit an effective use of structure.
"The Lie" is structured in three four-lined verses with a rhyme scheme. The shift in tone is evident after the third stanza with the rhetorical question, "Are you leaving?" The last stanza introduces a different rhyme structure, AABB. In contrast, Alice Walker's poem is presented in the form of a recipe, with short lines and commands that make it seem like the reader is directly engaging with Walker.
The poem lacks a rhyme scheme.
The word "delicious" is italicized in a recipe-like manner, adding a sinister touch to its usage.
Tension builds up throughout the poem but dissipates into a calm tone by the end. When analyzing the language of the poems, negative verbs like "hold," "threaten," "sear," and "tearing" are used in both works to convey the desire to inflict harm. Walker's poem also employs negative verbs to illustrate the man's indifference to causing pain to Walker's heart.
Unlike "The Lie," "Never Offer Your Heart to Someone Who Eats Hearts" incorporates sibilance, as seen in the line "send it shuttling from side to side," which creates a sinister and menacing tone, almost as if one can hear the man's saliva in his mouth. Imperatives are also utilized in this poem, with Walker instructing the reader on what they "must do," indicating her experience in heartbreak and her wisdom in advising others on avoiding similar pain.
The poem discusses "freezing" one's heart, suggesting that by doing so, it becomes inaccessible to others. Cooking and recipe-related terms such as "rare," "delicious," and "stewed" are used, enticing the reader to follow the instructions carefully to achieve the desired outcome, akin to following a recipe. In terms of imagery, "The Lie" employs metaphors like "flood your path" and "sear bottomless chasms in your road" to vividly depict the extent of damage and pain the speaker could inflict.
Changing the mood in poems "The Lie" and "Never offer...". (2020, Jun 02). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/never-offer-heart-someone-eats-hearts-lie-4904-new-essay
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