I Want To Be A Writer? By Charles Bukowski Analysis

Everyone has a destiny, something they are meant to do with their lives. Charles Bukowski, author of “so you want to be a writer?” believes that if you have got it, you got it. We should look for our natural talent instead of doing something we do not have a passion for. In his lyric poem, which is a lyric not because of its sound but because of its emotion, Bukowski expresses the themes of natural talent and that if it is right, you won’t have to try. We should not do something we do not enjoy, but something that comes natural that comes from the heart. In conveying this point, Bukowski uses imagery, connotation, perspective, and repetition. In the seventy line poem Bukowski states what it is to be a writer and that if you do not possess those qualities it is not for you. He also gives horrible reasons to become a writer. Among these reasons, “if you’re doing it because you want / women in your bed, / don’t do it” (17-19). After all the reasons why one should not pursue his career, he gives us the one way one can be a writer. Bukowski expresses that one is chosen to write, not just a fleeting decision that can be made. On the surface, the meaning appears to be laziness in not trying. This meaning is very literal since he says do not do it a total of ten times throughout the poem. …show more content…
Since it is classified as free verse, it is classified as an open form poem. However it does contain traditional rule influences, including sound devices. It does not have the same syllables per line, alliteration, or meter, but that does not mean Bukowski does not know how to add rhythm to this poem. There is rhythm in the repetition of one set of three words, which are “don’t do it,” which is said multiple times to add emphasis (3). The emphasis helps drive the poem forward to the point and help the reader hear the emphasis when they read