Analyzing the Poetry Explication Essay

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Henry Reed is a free-versed and metaphorical poem; because of the word "we," I can say that the speaker in the person uses the first person point-of-view.

"Naming of Parts" talks about an issue termed as "the problem of war" by military historians and philosophers. In simpler language, the problem is determining whether 'war is war' is a continually recurring part of the life of human beings or a totally unexpected occurrence, a deviation from the norm. A partial answer to this question has been provided by Reed's poem. In Reeds opinion, militarism and war are not natural. For instance, in the first stanza, Reed uses a significant choice of the red-flowered Japonica. Like its name suggests, "Japanese quince" or japonica refers to something that is related to Japan- a member of the Axis powers that were allied against the U.S. and England in the Second World War. (Being an Englishman, Reeds served in the Second World War, the supposed period in which the poem was set) this effect suggests that nature goes beyond borders of countries and notions that humans have on enmity and loyalty (Palm, 1998).

Rhyme, Metaphor and Imagery

Henry Reed's poem "Naming Parts" is free-versed. This is because it does not follow any rhyme scheme; there is no rhyme within the lines of the poem. Considering the use of the word "we," the first person's perspective has been used by the speaker. The author has put a metaphor and some similes in the poem. There are a couple of similes in the poem: one is in the fifth line of stanza one while the other is in the second line of stanza five (Magno, 2015).

The metaphor is in the closing line of the fourth stanza where the word "spring" has been used to symbolize the spring season or an amour's spring. Based on this metaphor, I can state that although the character is a soldier who might be rock hard, he is also a lover of nature, which totally contradicts his hard nature (Magno, 2015).

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The second stanza of the poem portrays some imagery. It allows the reader to picture the author's description. This is because each part has been clearly described, thus enabling readers to form a mental image of what they are reading (Magno, 2015).

Reed has divided the poem into five stanzas with six lines each, following the alternating pattern which has already been addressed. The main poetic devices used in the stanzas are wordplay and imagery. These have been calculated to evoke feelings and ideas at odds with the primary meaning of the words and phrases of the instructor. This creates an illustration of what Reed sees as the contrast that exists between nature's world and the world of war (Palm, 1998).

For example, in stanza one, the Japonica's image glistening "like coral in all of the neighboring gardens" is very contrary to the imagery about the riffle in the first three and a half lines. In the second stanza, the image of the missing "piling swivel" contradicts the harmonious, integral and peaceful relationship that exists between the three branches and nature described in the fourth and fifth stanzas (Palm, 1998).

The phrase "silent, eloquent gestures" creates an opposition of themes in the third stanza where the soldiers are advised to use their thumbs to release their riffle's safety catches. This clumsy act goes contrary to serene atmosphere created by "fragile and motionless" blossoms, and the reiteration that corresponds with the phrase "using their finger" creates a sexual idea that was intended by the instructor. In the third stanza, criticism gets personal and specific. Contrary to the anxiety that the instructor creates about the correct operation of the safety catch, the serene atmosphere of the spring blooms around….....

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