Yusef komunyakaa's poem "Facing It"
Introduction
Yusef Komunyakaa born on 29. April 1947 in Bogalusa, Louis IANA, a US-American writer is currently at that University of New York shows. Grant is a member with that southern writers and owners of major literary awards, as of Kingsley Tufts Poetry Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (both 1994) and Award of the Ruth Lilly Poetry (2001). In his work addresses issues, those of the sense of life on the problem of rural life in the southern states before the civil rights movement to their own experiences as a soldier in the Vietnam War are enough.
Yosef Komunyakaa tries to explain his experience of Vietnam war, which he had experienced as a soldier. Vietnam War which took place between 1954 and 1975 , is the second stage and is the most intense phase
the war in Indochina (1945 - 1979). This is a war between two sides, one side of the Republic of Vietnam in South Vietnam with the U.S. and some allies such as Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Thailand and the Philippines direct battle, on one hand the Democratic Republic of Vietnam northern Vietnam Workers' Party of Vietnam (the name of the Communist Party of Viet Nam February 11, 1951 and before December 20, 1976) led the National Liberation Front of South Viet in South Vietnam, with the support of weapons of socialists (communists), especially the Soviet Union and China. This battle is still known as "Vietnam War", but the fighting spread throughout Indochina, appealing to the next battle is both Laos and Cambodia neighboring countries at different levels. Therefore, the war is also known as the First Indochina War 2 (Liberty, 1992,pp. 176-179).
Yusef Komunyakaa poem, "Facing It" describes the painful experience is a veteran of Vietnam War to visit the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC Based on interviews and biographical data, we can assume that the speaker of the poem is itself Komunyakaa . Komunyakaa served in Vietnam from 1965 to 1967, and his memories of those years haunt him when visiting the memorial, which makes him question his own identity as a black, Vietnam veteran and the type of surviving has become (Ethnic News Watch, 2010, proquest.com).
Discussion
Yusef Komunyakaa in "Facing It" is the composition about the author's appointment to the Monument to Vietnam Veterans and their claimed adventures in the Vietnam War. The a lot of acclaimed of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, which is the focal point of "The Front". The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bank is amid in Washington DC The bank with the names of added than 58,000 men and women who accept absent their lives or who abide missing, due to the war in Vietnam. "Facing it" presents able affections a adept of the Vietnam War if he sees added than 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bank and bethink their accomplished experiences.
The composition is an author's biking adviser to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. The columnist describes what he sees, literally, if you attending at the wall, in accession to anecdotic things figuratively apparent as a Vietnam veteran. The composition begins: "My atramentous face fades, ambuscade central the atramentous granite" (1-2). These curve accompaniment that the columnist is African American, seeing his absorption in the atramentous granite Memorial Wall. As the columnist continues to beam the appointment a specific name. "I blow the name Andrew Johnson, see the white beam trap" (17-18). The columnist believes that this name, conceivably a man who could accept accepted and has a anamnesis of the horrors he had experienced. Then the columnist considers that "the names flash in a woman's blouse but if she walks abroad the names break on the wall" (19-21). Here, the columnist sees the absorption in the change of the wall, and the names accepted to disappear. However, as the woman goes, the names will consistently be there. In the endure curve of the poem, the columnist reiterates the achievement of seeing the names of disappearing. "In the atramentous mirror a woman aggravating to abolish names: No, she's abrasion a boy's hair "(29-31). The columnist would like already afresh the names disappear, but already afresh apprehend that no (Ethnic NewsWatch. 2010, proquest.com).
“Facing It” is a poem of intense emotion. Throughout the poem, the author has flashbacks and wishes all those names were not there. The poem's emotional impact comes through immediately in the first 5 lines. “I said I wouldn't, dammit: No tears. I'm stone. I'm flesh.” (3-5). The author sees the wall and his reflection, and is unable to hold back tears. He sees himself in the wall through his reflection and knows that it was possible that his name could have been one of the 58,000 names engraved on the wall.
In “Facing It”, Komunyakaa writes a powerful poem describing his intense emotional visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. Being a Vietnam veteran, he is able to express his passionate feelings through his flashbacks and his past experiences.
In poetry, Yusef Komunyakaa weaves elements possess life lines vernacular emanate formidable images life local Yusef Komunyakaa Criticism Essays Yusef Komunyakaa 1947-American producer author essays, interviews, commentaries. Here video Yusef Komunyakaa reciting poem, Facing It, Vietnam Memorial. absolute poem. Yusef-Komunyakaa-Facing-It - What tinge character poem Facing It Yusef Komunyakaa? : For poem post . Facing It Yusef Komunyaka (LSC, 1999, galegroup.com).
In his poem, “Facing It”, Yusef Komunyakaa describes his ambivalent emotions towards the Vietnam War of which he was a veteran. Reflecting on his experiences, Yusef expresses his conflicting feelings about the Vietnam War and his feelings about how racism has played a part in America's history. By using visual imagery and metaphoric language throughout the poem, Yusef is able to reflect the sad and confused emotions he felt while visiting the Vietnam memorial.
Yusef begins the poem by using visual imagery to describe his face reflecting in the memorial wall. He uses the specific words “black face fades” to tell us a few things (line 1). One thing it tells us is that the speaker is African American. But the other, more important, thing it tells us is that he understands that, as his face faces into the dark granite, he wasn't the only person affected by the war. The poet also has some anger and ambivalence about surviving the war. His emotions are seemingly hard for him to bottle up as we see from more visual imagery “Dammit: Not tears” (line 4). He then uses some metaphors to help describe his struggle to compose himself. The metaphors “I'm stone. I'm flesh”, show how the speaker is split on how he feels (line 5). The speaker says he is stone, almost as if the he is talking to himself and coaxing himself along not to cry. But, then admits he is flesh by stating that he is human. He is vulnerable to feelings of sadness.
Conclusion
After reading the poem we can finally understand some of the different meanings of its title. "Facing it" literally refers to the speaker looking at the face. However, "against" rather than the means to deal with the conscience and the word "front" of course, is a verbal form of the noun "face" (Marvin, Thomas, 2003).
Work Cited
"Conversations with Yusef Komunyakaa." Jackson Advocate: 10A. Ethnic NewsWatch. 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2011
Liberty (1992). “American Poets since World War II, Third Series”, Gale, 1992, pp. 176-179
LSC. (1999)." Poetry for Students”. Vol. 5. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Retrieved on 27 November 2011 from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1430005826&v=2.1&u=uphoenix&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w
Marvin, Thomas. "Komunyakaa's Facing it." The Explicator 61.4 (2003): 242-5. ProQuest Central. Web. 28 Nov. 2011