Barbara Reyes Dear Love Summary

Barbara Jane Reyes, no doubt, has a way with words as an accomplished poet. In her poem, “dear love,” she shows the reader how diction can reveal more than what appears on the surface. She chooses specific words to let the reader get as close as possible to the feelings behind them. This annotation will analyze Reyes’ use of diction in three clear examples, and how the chosen words may affect readers. Additionally, the possible use of alternate words and their probable effects will be explored. It can be easy to use everyday language when writing, but usually poets steer clear and practice using noteworthy diction, word choice, which can both represent denotation and connotation to the advantage of their poems. Denotation can establish the literal meaning of a word and may be useful if a writer is explicitly trying to generate a specific illustration. On the other hand, connotation can highlight a word in different and symbolic ways that can encourage a reader to look beyond the space between the first and last letter, and find the writer’s true intentions. The first example of Reyes’ powerful use of diction is in lines 4-5, “in this home that is not our home, we have mutually …show more content…
This annotation taught me how specific words can shape the world of a poem and break it down to its many forms. To tell the truth, when I first read this poem three years ago, I sent a snippet of it to a lover with the first impression that the speaker wanted her lover back, as I did, but rereading and analyzing it now, I also see how she would want to move on and let it go up in smoke, as I do. At any rate, I intend to explore the etymology of words and look for impressive details in their denotative or connotative meanings as I practice the craft of diction. Who knows, from the ashes of what once was could be