“I killed a spider.”
Poetry, in its essence, has many facets to which readers can detect the forces and see things from elevated perspectives. In turn, to deduce meanings and themes as well as significance used by writers-in this case Nikki Giovanni’s poem revolves around the death of a spider as we deter and argue through this essay with illustrations and heavily rely on annotated information. In essence, this poem dwells in illustrating an individual having struck the life out of a living spider but a few moments later reflecting upon the purposeful act. Through such thematic prowess Giovanni’s “Allowables” is stated to be explicit where alliteration that humans never need to be unkind and should care for the lives of living beings.
In a like manner, using symbolism, metaphors, imagery, and personification elements in the poem, the narrator seeks characterization to embrace the spider’s qualities. In its symbolic nature, a spider is perceived as a part of humans fragility and intuition of an evil spirit. However, the narrator reaffirms in more contexts how the spider should not be viewed as a “murderous brown recluse” or “black widow.” The existential phrases on spiders through the narrator’s poem are presented metaphorically through diversification and cohabiting symbiotically. Therefore, how these reflect on humans is that they need to live together harmoniously no matter their diversification.
Again, through the poem embraces the use of imagery and personification where the audience acknowledges “only a small/ sort of paper spider” a type of visualization that explains the creatures’ vulnerability. For instance, this spider is named “papery” etymologically this means a state of being thin, flimsy or vulnerable. How this then impacts on the audience after being informed about the death of the spider is that they generate empathetic tones for the unfortunate demise of the spider. More to it, the narrator declares the spider to be female using pronouns such as “she” or “her” this characterization, in turn, illustrated the spider’s prejudicial weakness. Therefore the creatures’ vulnerability is a demonstration to the audience that the spider is unwilling and undeserving victim propagated by narrators audience.
Similarly, tone, as well as rhythm, play the primary role in creating the overall audience attitude; likewise, there is not any specific meter, form, or rhyme in this particular free-verse poem. At the beginning of the Stanza the narrator begins, “I killed a spider” ending in revelations “And I smashed her” these prevailing violent-feelings in the poem displays narrators external factors while shifting at the eleventh verse to fearful. Rhythm is evident how the narrator summarizes the poem in following stanzas 12-16, three separate lines ensue with breaks after that as if a realization of their actions. After that, the following continues to 13-16 lines that develop the central theme of the narrator’s context, which is the “Allowables”; to it, no one is to harm because of fear. The narrator believeth that solely defended the theme citing specific phrases “I don’t think/I’m allowed/ to kill/ something/ because I am/frightened”(12-16) breaking these lines one is yet to realize that the narrator rebukes conceptualization of the 1-11 lines aforementioned revealing the narrators internal actions of fear. This is because Allowables insist on people acting first and secondly thinking instead of the other.
To sum up, the literary elements devoured in the poem promote the notion that there Is no need for harming other creatures in the wave of fear or emotional conflicts. While spiders, in this case, may evoke fear readers need constant reminders that these creatures, however, do not need to be harmed.
Works cited
Hickok, Kathleen. “Intimate Egoism”: Reading and Evaluating Noncanonical Poetry by Women.” Victorian Poetry 33.1 (1995): 13-30.
Giovanni, Nikki, and Virginia C. Fowler. The collected poetry of Nikki Giovanni, 1968-1998. William Morrow, 2003.