Speechless II: Structure & Language Techniques

Speechless II: Structure & Language Techniques

Overview of Structure

  • “Speechless II” is an experimental poem that utilises a unique structure.
  • The poem is composed entirely of questions, with absence of answers contributing to the central theme of confusion and exploration of identity.
  • It doesn’t follow any traditional poetic structures, reflecting the internal struggle and chaotic thoughts of the speaker.

Prominent Language Techniques

  • The recurrent use of questions is a significant technique in this poem. The series of questions without answers gives a sense of anxiety and bewilderment to the readers as they try to understand the poet’s narrative.
  • Anaphora and epistrophe, techniques involving repetition at the beginning and end of lines respectively, skilfully add emphasis to certain queries, and create a pervading sense of uncertainty and unease.
  • Metaphors are used to convey the speaker’s feeling of being overwhelmed or drowned by their daunting questions. For instance, when the speaker asks, “When everything is said and done, who doesn’t feel like they’ve been out at sea?”, it is a powerful metaphor indicating the exhausting and disorientating nature of the speaker’s own experiences.
  • Use of Parataxis, the arrangement of clauses or phrases one after another, without words to indicate coordination or subordination, creates an accumulative effect of relentless questioning. This technique beautifully encapsulates the speaker’s introspective process and relentless self-questioning.
  • Rhetoric is glaringly at play in ‘Speechless II’, as the entire poem is an exercise in persuasive or emotive speech.

Interplay of Structure and Language

  • The structure and language techniques in “Speechless II” powerfully complement each other in conjuring a vivid image of the speaker’s internal dilemma.
  • Structure, composed of a string of questions, lends itself to represent the turbulence within the speaker’s mind, while the bold language techniques serve to enhance this turbulent effect.
  • Through structure and language, Sam-La Rose skillfully makes tangible the speaker’s introspective process and highlights the quest for self-discovery and understanding in an increasingly perplexing world.