19 pages • 38 minutes read
The form of the poem matches the satirical presentation of death by suicide. The compact look makes the poem look like a tiny object—a bauble that would fit into a person’s pocket. From one angle, the poem presents death by suicide as a material experience, so the poem looks like a commodity. The tidy form belies the unpleasantness of death by suicide. The difference between this form and the poem’s adverse content creates tension, helping the reader to see that death by suicide doesn’t look like the poem—it’s not a quaint experience.
As for meter, Parker doesn’t abide by an established pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. In Line 4, the reader won’t stress “and,” but they’ll stress “drugs” and “cramp” (Line 4). However, “cause” (Line 4) is up for debate. The reader can stress “cause,” turning “drugs cause cramp” in a trio of snaps. If they don’t stress “cause,” the line becomes iambic meter, where an unstressed syllable comes before a stressed syllable. The absence of a standard meter reinforces the casual, lighthearted presentation of suicidal ideation.
The poem has a direct message, and the didactic genre manifests in the syllables per line. Every line but Lines 6 and 8 possesses four syllables. Line 6 possesses three syllables. In a sense, Parker makes it “give” (Line 6) away a syllable. Line 8 has an extra syllable—perhaps it takes an extra stress to live.
The lines rhyme, and Parker creates an ABABCDCD rhyme scheme. As with the tidy form, the sing-song rhyme scheme undercuts the fatal issue. The rhymes make the poem sound like a mellifluous lullaby, adding to the work’s irony—suicide is not a sweet, cuddly song.
Alliteration is a literary device where the poet creates a pleasant sound by linking words that share the same first letter or a similar sound. Alliteration occurs in Lines 1 and 2, with the first word of each line starting with an “r.” Parker continues the alliteration with Lines 3 and 4. These lines begin with a word whose first letter is “a.” Additional alliteration is presented in “cause cramp” (Line 4). The letter “g” brings together Lines 5, 6, and 7, but there is no overt alliteration in Line 8, reinforcing the notion that life isn’t pleasant.
If life is less unpleasant than death, the reader might wonder why death receives alliteration and life doesn’t. The allocation of alliteration contributes to the playfulness of the poem. Parker’s goal is to combat the allure of death by suicide. It sounds like an easy answer—as effortless as stringing together words that start with the same letter—but it’s not. The twist is that attempting death by suicide doesn’t come with a sweet tune like it does in the poem. Living isn’t melodious, but unlike suicide, it’s not deceptive. There’s no tricky alliteration to fool the person into thinking life is a symbol of happiness, making life the honest option.
Diction is a literary device where the poet uses deliberate words to establish the poem’s tone, genre, and themes. In Parker’s poem, the words are snappy and palpable. Their quick sounds turn the poem into a quip or series of witty statements about death by suicide. The abrupt diction also makes suicide look like a material experience: It’s as if the speaker is shopping, and each word—razor, river, acid, gun—is an item they are considering buying. As each commodity features a clear negative, the speaker doesn’t buy it and advises the reader not to consume it. In other words, the diction turns the method of suicide into brands or products. The speaker tosses them away as a person might dispose of a cheap pair of sunglasses.
The diction supports the claim that life isn’t great. The speaker tells the reader, “You might as well live” (Line 8). The words lack exuberance. The speaker doesn’t have a high opinion of life, and they don’t make life seem amazing. The words make living seem like a resignation or an annoying acceptance. Life is life—it’s not fantastic, but it’s less wearisome than attempting death by suicide.
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