A Way With Words (revised)

Author’s Note: I wrote this to demonstrate my knowledge of figurative language and tone. I also focused on A-B transitions and making my point clear and detailed.

Imagine surfing, riding a wave with great power and strength.  Reading the poem “Song for a Surf-Rider,” by Sara Van Alstyne Allen is just like riding a wave, you can feel the waves below you and the strength of the current, just by reading her vividly written poem. The figurative language and tone she used puts a clear picture in your head as you read her so beautifully written poem. The poem, “Song for a Surf-Rider,” by Sara Van Alstyne Allen, shows a lot of tone and figurative language throughout the poem.

There is a lot of personification in this poem;  it helps give a clear image of what’s going on. The personification the author used to describe the wave, made it as though the wave was a human. One example of that, is how the author kept referring to the was as him or he. Another example of personification in this poem is, “We race together, the sea and I,” when the author says this it gives the reader a feeling of the wave as an actual person, or even friend and it gives the text a friendly feeling. Lastly when she says “His eyes flash with an emerald fire,” is another example of the personification used in this poem, to create a feeling of life and features only a living thing can possess. The personification in this poem gives a feeling of life behind the waves.

Not only is there a lot of personification, there is some metaphors as well. For example the author is consistently comparing the waves and sea to horse. The quote, “His hoof beats echo on the sand,” is an example of how the author used metaphors to compare the waves to a horse. Another example of how the author used metaphors to make the wave seem more like a companion than a body of water by comparing it to a horse is, His mane of foam flows wild and free. The metaphors in this poem help the reader understand the friendship and companionship between the person and the wave.

Similar to figurative language, tone helps make the writing much more clear and fun to read. Tone helps show the author’s attitude what she wrote and it’s express through word choice and style. An example of how the author used tone is when she says, “We race together, the sea and I.” When the author wrote this, it shows a friendship, like the sea and the person work together and are friends. Another example of tone that the author used is when she said, “Under the watching summer sky. To where the magic islands lie.” The tone the author used in this quote is a relaxing and safe kind of tone like the character in the poem is calm and like she is where she loves to be. Many good writers use tone, and they use tone to show the reader how they are feeling about something or how what they’re writing about makes them feel and the author Sara Van Alstyne Allen does a good job of showing tone in this poem.

Figurative language and tone are the main things shown throughout this poem and the author, Sara Van Alstyne Allen, shows it in a clear-cut way in “Song for a Surf-Rider.” The next time you read a poem or any writing piece at all, look at what figurative language and tone is in there and see how it impacts the way you feel about the poem or story. It could change from how you originally thought about it.