Growing up, everyone has a best friend. This could be someone that’s always there to listen, one that’s there for play, and everything in between. One’s best friend is most often irreplaceable—especially at a young age. No one forgets their first best friend. The poem, “Best Friends” is about the how the speaker’s daughter reminds her of her childhood best friend that passed away in 1951. The poem is dedicated to her: Elizabeth Ewer. Sharon Olds exemplifies this ideology in her poem, “Best Friends” through the usage of alliteration, repetition, and simile.
Olds uses alliteration in the poem to give a sense of rhythm and emphasize certain aspects in the writing. The speaker begins the poem with “The day my daughter turned ten, I thought of the / lank, glittering, greenish cap of your / gold hair” (1-3). The use of …show more content…
The use of the ‘d’ sounds adds a rhythm to the poem right away. Similarly, the ‘g’ sounds do this as well; however, they also draw the reader to the characteristics of the speaker’s best friend. Additionally, Olds uses alliteration near the end of the poem when the speaker is talking to her friend that passed when she says, “I named her for you, as if pulling you back / through a crack between the bricks” (17-18). The repetition of the ‘k’ sounds at the ends of the words back, crack, and bricks also adds to the rhythm of the poem. This emphasizes how important Elizabeth was to the speaker as the speaker named her daughter after Elizabeth. Alliteration can also be found when the speaker says, “The last day—there
Olds uses alliteration in the poem to give a sense of rhythm and emphasize certain aspects in the writing. The speaker begins the poem with “The day my daughter turned ten, I thought of the / lank, glittering, greenish cap of your / gold hair” (1-3). The use of …show more content…
The use of the ‘d’ sounds adds a rhythm to the poem right away. Similarly, the ‘g’ sounds do this as well; however, they also draw the reader to the characteristics of the speaker’s best friend. Additionally, Olds uses alliteration near the end of the poem when the speaker is talking to her friend that passed when she says, “I named her for you, as if pulling you back / through a crack between the bricks” (17-18). The repetition of the ‘k’ sounds at the ends of the words back, crack, and bricks also adds to the rhythm of the poem. This emphasizes how important Elizabeth was to the speaker as the speaker named her daughter after Elizabeth. Alliteration can also be found when the speaker says, “The last day—there