Speechless V: Plot

“Speechless V: Plot” is a complex and abstract poem with a distinct structure.
Though the poem has an appearance of narrative progression from start to end, it subverts a traditional linear plot in favour of disjointed snapshots and layered meanings.
The unanticipated shifts, breaks and pauses in the poem are part of its structural make up and reflect the poem’s underlying themes of confusion, fragmented identity, and the struggle to articulate thoughts and feelings.

The poem uses stream-of-consciousness, a literary technique that presents the internal thought process of the speaker, to carry the narrative. The resulting choppy, often disjointed sentences capture an intimate portrayal of the speaker’s internal landscape.
Enjambment and caesuras are used to manipulate pace and rhythm, affecting the poem’s overall tone and emotional resonance.
Sam-La Rose employs a variety of figurative language including metaphors and symbols such as the recurring symbol of ‘glass angel’ to underscore the poem’s abstractness and invite multiple interpretations.
Use of synecdoche, representing a part as a whole or a whole as a part (e.g., using “suit” to represent a businessman), reflects the fragmented nature of the poem and the speaker’s identity.
Image clusters revolving around themes of fragility, isolation and complexity contribute to the development and exploration of the poem’s main themes.

The intricate structure and diverse language techniques of “Speechless V: Plot” work in unison to convey a sense of fragmentation and complexity.
The non-sequential structure of the poem mirrors the internal chaos of the speaker, making the reader experience the same sense of disorientation as the speaker.
Through the interplay of structure and language, Sam-La Rose skilfully renders abstract concepts, like the struggle to articulate complex emotions, into experiential reality, letting readers glimpse into the speaker’s thought process and emotional state.