Andrew Hudgins Use of Diction and Figurative Language

Sarah Jackson

Literary Analysis of Poem

Andrew Hudgins’ use of Diction and Figurative Language

People have been writing poems to express all sorts of feelings. An elegy is a solemn and formal lyric poem that is written to mourn the loss of someone or something. Andrew Hudgins uses several elements in his elegy “In the Well”. He uses diction and figurative language to create the purpose and message of the poem.

In the poem, “In the Well”, Hudgins’ diction is an essential element in conveying the author’s message. Throughout the poem the speaker uses words that create negative connotation.

In the line, “It tasted first/of dark, then earth, then rot”(5-6), the words dark, earth, and rot create a negative and uncomfortable feeling for the reader. Andrew Hudgins chooses a child as the speaker of his poem. In the first line he writes “My father cinched the rope, a noose around my waist.”(1-2) to emphasize the fear and uncertainty that would be felt if one was being lowered into a small, dark place. As the reader you feel the fear greater as you realize the speaker is a child.

A second important element Andrew Hudgins uses in his poem is figurative language. He uses the metaphor, personification, when he says “I could taste my fear. /It tasted first /of dark, then earth, then rot.”(4-6) This is personification because it uses the human sense of taste although we don’t literally taste fear. Lastly, in the final line, “Then light. Then hands. Then breath.”(20) the speaker indicates he does not have to be fearful and can relax knowing that he is safe.

The author’s message is shown through the use of diction and figurative language. The message and moral of the poem is that you have to face your fears to get past them. In the poem Sarah Jackson

Literary Analysis of Poem he writes, “I could taste my fear. It tasted first of dark, then earth, then rot.”(4-6) to show his fear while going down into the well. As he is pulled out of the well, he writes “Then light. Then hands. Then breath.” to show he is relieved to be out of the well and is safe.

Andrew Hudgins deft handling of the iambic line and the way he continues to weave metaphysical concerns into the fabric of his poems distinguishes his work (Anonymous). In his elegy, “In the Well.”, Hudgins uses diction and figurative language to reveal his message. The author wants us to realize that in order to overcome our fears we must first face them.

Works Cited

Anonymous, Anonymous. "Poetry -- The Never-Ending by Andrew Hudgins." The Virginia

quarterly review 67.4 (1991): S138. Proquest Learning Literature. Web. 20 May 2011.

Hudgins, Andrew . "In the Well." Elements of Literature Fourth Edition. Austin, Texas: Holt, Sarah Jackson

Literary Analysis of Poem

Rinehart, and Winston, 2009. 737. Print.

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