Selected Poems from “Postcolonial Love Poem” by Natalie Diaz
Links to poems
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Antonio’s questions:
1. As you view Diaz’s work, analyze the many ways that she uses line breaks. Can a line breaks be considered a rhetorical device?
2. Diaz writes solely in free verse. Is there a specific reason as to why she does not choose a traditional structure? Does free verse help her with her message?
3. There is a theme of water, as well as thirst in Diaz’s poems. What does the rhetorical device of the repetition of water constitute for the poems? Does it have one meaning, or multiple? Was this repetition used effectively?
4. Are rhetorical devices more effective in poetry, or prose?
Ms. F.’s questions:
1. In “American Arithmetic” Diaz writes, “I am doing my best to not become a museum / of myself.” What does she mean by this and how does it contribute to the purpose of her poem?
2. How do these poems as a set function to present an argument? What are the arguments in these poems? Cite specific evidence.
