Variation on the Word Sleep by Margaret Atwood
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"Variation on the Word Sleep" by Margaret Atwood
The poem is comprised of four stanzas in Free Verse, each of varying length. The diction is that of Plain Style in which the greater majority of words are monosyllabic, which as Kinzie explains, slows the pace of the poem by forcing the reader to enunciate each syllable and to briefly pause between words. Functioning as a syllabic limit, diction contributes to the actual structure of the poem, altering the way in which it is read. Atwood does this intentionally to imitate the experience of falling asleep. Mimicking the rise and fall of slowed respiration as the body passes into slumber, the lines and rhythm of the poem fluctuate hypnotically. Word choice also contributes to this theme through juxtapositioning such as, "descending" vs. "up the long stairway" and "sun & three moons" vs. "the cave". Descriptions such as these create a natural build up and release of syntactical tension which is maintained throughout the poem.
In this particular poem, both the vocabulary and syntax are relatively simplistic...