Rhetorical Figure in “Fond Memories of Home” Poem Essay

Fond memories of home

At the moment of loneliness,

With the torment of sadness,

Memories boil in brain neigh madness,

Patient like a princess with calmness,

I await the hour home is near,

Am caught contemplating curiously of time to bear,

I can’t wait any longer, nostalgia claims my tear,

What seems like centuries is barely a year,

I miss the hooting of the owl,

That reminds me of a place without a foul,

Home is a serenity to the soul,

Family is love like a cocktail bowl,

Tick tock I am coming home,

It beckons me, comes to the quiet storm,

Summary

This is a poem that describes feelings of loneliness and sadness by a student who has gone abroad or a far place to seek education. The student fondly recalls the peace that was at home and how that is different from the place he is currently in. There are moments of tears and nostalgia as the time to go home is what appears to be an eternity away. As the poem proceeds, there is glimmer hope by the student that he will one day return home upon successful completion of his education.

Figures of speech

Personification is evident in the poem where home beckons the student. This shows that the home of the student is calling him from a far place to return. The aim of personification in this line of the poem is to give life to the poem. This activates the mood of the poem to give it an interesting twist. Personification is also used to show that nostalgia, which is a feeling of longing for good gone times, claims the tears of the student. The student is crying because he misses home fondly and seems lost in his current place of learning. Thoughts of the home seem to take over the life of this student to the extent of interfering with his life.

This is a didactic poem; the moral of the story behind this poem is that home is a place where there is family and family is love. This goes hand in hand with the old adage that either east or west, home is still the best. This poem calls on people to value their homes as plenty of love is found there.

Onomatopoeia is present in the poem where the line “tick-tock” is used to symbolize the actual sound made by a chiming clock. This gives the poem a sense of slow-moving time which is counting down. In this line of the poem, readers can clearly see that time is the constant factor separating the student and his home.

Paradox is also used in the poem. The poem depicts that home is a quiet storm. A storm is considered as havoc or something serious with uncontrollable happenings. However, as we come to understand, the statement “a quiet storm” makes sense that despite what difficulties take place around home, it still remains a good place to settle and be at peace.

Home is serenity, is a metaphor used in the poem. Home is used to symbolize calmness, peace and love. These three attributes are combined to come up with serenity. In this case our homes and that of the student are likened to such a situation.

A simile in the line: “patient like a princess with calmness” is used to compare the situation that the student is facing with that of a princess. In many old stories princesses had to be patient especially with suitors until they find the perfect one.

Alliteration is used; ‘caught contemplating curiously’ to give the poem a musical tone.