Joyce Carol Oates Use Of Metaphors

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and according to Joyce Carol Oates in her poem, “Love of the Parrots,” she perceives the parrots mating season as beautiful. In “Love of the Parrots,” Oates uses physical and illuminating imagery to convey her own meaning of beauty through the mating season of the Yucatan parrots while also illuminating a deeper meaning of the poem with a metaphor that ties to humans finding love.. As an illustration, Oates uses the colors of the Yucatan parrots to describe their flamboyant looks in the sun. With anaphora Oates conveys her image of beauty in her writing. “Perching splendid in the sun” (2). The quote creates an image of the female parrots glowing in the sun waiting to be won by a male parrot. With Oates giving the hint of the mating season arriving in her title “Love” of the Parrots” she creates a hidden metaphor toward how humans see other humans. “Bright arterial red” (4). The different colors of the parrots can be characterized as different skin colors or personalities of different people. Oates says arterial, to show how bright and pure the red: the color of an artery. Oates uses bright imagery to illuminate the beauty of nature and the clarity of the forming metaphor. Frequently Oates uses imagery to transition between ideas and show physical traits of the parrots. Along side the bright …show more content…
“You! Or Here! Or Now! Or Why did you think you could escape me!” (12-13). The personification of the birds adds a startling feel towards the poem, of how the male parrots turn to be demanding and cocky. Closely resembling some of the males in the world, counting myself, males seem to want to impress the girl. The hidden metaphor of humans acting the same way as parrots do, helps the imagery of the poem shine in each of the stanzas of the