My Mother Woke a Rooster Analysis
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My Mother Woke a Rooster Analysis
“My Mother Woke a Rooster,’’ a poem by Laurie Ann Guerrero explains how the mother was amazed by her extensive presence in the kitchen which was tiny as well as the extraordinary strength in her thighs with the ease of the strut. The pan was hanging on the stove where she caught the reflection of herself and swooped her rubbery cockscomb back, letting it fall over her brow. She pursed her lips which were red in color and her mouth which was just visible deep inside a sharp beak. She watched in wonder the staccatoed swivel of her neck rubbing what the previous night is revealing the wrinkled throat of an old woman. Her eyes were now looking at the face of a fighting cock. Her tip of the toes which were red can now claw and was rough as rope.
The speaker of the poem “My Mother Woke a Rooster” uses a rooster and not a chicken or hen in that it is used as a symbol because it is vibrant and diverse as the mother in the poem. Rooster signs gist is all about fanning out with brilliance and showing the shimmering facets of personality. A rooster is used as a solar symbol and sign of illumination. Additionally, a rooster is considered as a timekeeper and a sign of time passing in speaker’s life. A rooster is used to reveal symbols such as strength which the speaker gives to the mother used in the poem. In the first line of the first stanza, the speaker reveals that the mother woke up early in the morning which discloses the timekeeping as a rooster is used symbolically. Moreover, a rooster is used as a symbol of strength. In the in the poem, the last line of the second stanza make known the strength the mother had in her thighs as the speaker postulates (Braden, 2008). Furthermore, a rooster is used as a symbol of boldness. In the first line of the first stanza, the speaker reveals that the mother was not surprised that morning by the stove when she cracked open a fresh brick of coffee with hands feathered as the bed from which she rose; revealing that she was bold enough.
Use of rooster in the poem “My Mother Woke a Rooster’’ is metaphorical. A metaphor is a type of figure of speech that is used to describe an object or an action in a way that it is not true, but aids to explain an idea or make a comparison. In the poem, the speaker uses metaphor to refer to another thing to show or suggest that they are similar. In the first line of the first stanza of the poem, the speaker uses a rooster in place of the mother revealing how she woke up early and the actions that followed that morning. Also, the title of the poem has a metaphoric meaning that a rooster is used in place of something else. The metaphor is used by the speaker to make the subject more relatable to the reader. Furthermore, the reader gets the funniest moment of thinking about what it would be like if a rooster were acting like a mother.
The application of metaphor is one of the most significant styles of poetry. The speaker uses excellent metaphor in the poem to impact complex images and feelings to the reader. A metaphor often states the comparisons most poignantly. The metaphor used in this poem makes it more engaging and exciting for the leader. It attempts to ensure the correct balance between finding an exciting connection and still making the poem clearer. In the poem the title ‘’My Mother woke a Rooster’’, the writer uses metaphor in a way that he engages the reader as well as excites the person who reads it (Damon, 2006).
The writer of the poem ‘’My Mother woke a Rooster’’ uses a rooster which is a cork with males characteristics to create boldness and strength. Boldness is portrayed in the poem in the first line of the first stanza where the mother is exposed not to be surprised that morning by the stove where she cracked opened a fresh brick of coffee with hands feathered as the bed from which she rose. Also, the writer portrays strength in the poem in the in the second stanza where the mother was amazed by her large presence of in the kitchen, the incredible strength in her thighs with the ease of strut. In addition to the rooster which has male characteristics, it still vigilance especially during the morning hours in that it must crow at a specific time. Vigilance is as well portrayed by the mother in that she wakes up in the morning. This is clear from the first line of the first stanza where the mother was not surprised that morning revealing that she woke up in the morning.
In the poem ‘’My Mother Woke a Rooster’’, the thesis can be tied to the metaphor in that the metaphor is used as a symbol to reveal the character traits the mother had such as strength which forms the thesis of the poem. With the rooster’s traits, a thesis of the poem can be analyzed supported by the traits which help the reader to understand the poem in a better way.
In the poem, the writer uses intense colors such as blue and black as well as a rose. Color symbolism in poetry imparts a deeper meaning to the words which in turn helps the reader to transform the written content into a more powerful instrument. Black color as used in the poem is used to symbolize power, formality, and elegance. From the poem in the second line of the second stanza, a bouquet of blue and black is revealed to rise hence given the power. On the other hand, the blue color is mainly used to symbolize a positive emotional response and is typically associated with the feeling of calmness, happiness, peace, relaxation, and comfort. The writer of this poem uses it to depict trust, loyalty, faith, confidence, and truth. In the poem, the writer walked to the sink of water and a bouquet of blue and black and rose from the coccyx. Therefore, this statement discloses that the mother was calm and happy as it moved like a waterfall swiping the sugar and cream from the counter. A rose, on the other hand, is used to symbolize love, beauty and something of value (Guerrero, 2013). The writer reveals the beauty of the bouquet by using the word rose in the second line of the second stanza.
Also, the writer uses rose as a flower to create a sense of beauty as well as rose a verb to create alliteration in the poem. This makes the poem more memorable and helps the reader to grasp the words.in the second line of the second stanza in the poem, the writer creates alliteration by using the word rose as a flower as well as rose as a verb. It makes the poem more memorable and more interesting. Also, the writer uses strange words such as coccyx and staccato to enable the reader to think critically hence enabling his understanding of the poem.
The speaker suggests that her mother was gaining strength than she was before. In the third line of the last stanza, the writer reveals that the staccato swivel of the mother’s neck, rubbing what the night before was the wrinkled throat of an old woman. However, in the night before she had wrinkled neck, but now she was not gaining strength (Williamson, 1998). The father of the speaker was away because the mother woke up by herself and did the tasks by herself. The writer reveals that the mother was in the kitchen which was tiny and hence the occurrence of the poem in the kitchen where the father was absent.
As discussed above, it is clear that the writer uses various styles such as metaphor and alliteration which makes the poem enhance reader’s understanding as well as enhancing memorizing. These styles makes the poem more interesting to the reader and facilitates critical thinking.
References
Braden, G. (Ed.). (2008). Sixteenth-century poetry: an annotated anthology. John Wiley & Sons.
Damon, M. (2006). Post-Literary Poetry, Counterperformance, and Micropoetries. In Poetry & Pedagogy (pp. 129-147). Palgrave Macmillan US.
Guerrero, L. A. (2013). A Tongue in the Mouth of the Dying. University of Notre Dame Pess.
Williamson, G. (1998). A reader’s guide to TS Eliot: a poem-by-poem analysis. Syracuse University Press.
