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HW: "The Hound" by Robert Francis
Posted by: Amplexus (192.168.128.---)
Date: October 19, 2021 11:00PM

Life the hound
Equivocal
Comes at a bound
Either to rend me
Or to befriend me.
I cannot tell
The hound's intent
Till he has sprung
At my bare hand
With teeth or tongue.
Meanwhile I stand
And wait the event.

I would like dramatic situation (what is literally happening), tone, and diction of this poem.

I realize that hound in this poem is a double meaning word and all, but what would i say for tone and diction x_x?

Any help would be appreciated thx


Re: HW: "The Hound" by Robert Francis
Posted by: Hugh Clary (192.168.128.---)
Date: October 20, 2021 12:55PM

Well, double meaning usually means a pun, at least to my mind. A better definition in this case would be 'metaphor', I suspect. Life and hound are said to have certain things in common. Or, since he used the word 'equivocal', have uncertainty in common. Life, like a dog, sometimes comes in a friendly fashion, but sometimes attacks.

Tone is slippery, so you can support lots of answers, whichever appeals to you personally. Same with diction. Make your own case, from the examples below:

<[www.poeticbyway.com] />
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[tinyurl.com]


Re: HW: "The Hound" by Robert Francis
Posted by: Claudia (72.219.218.---)
Date: February 05, 2022 05:50PM

what's the supposed effect of making "equivocal" its own line?


Re: HW: "The Hound" by Robert Francis
Posted by: IanAKB (124.168.71.---)
Date: February 06, 2022 03:21AM

It's four syllables. Most of the lines are four syllables.

It rhymes (sort of) with the 6th line.

And it means anbiguously uncertain, so it fits and underlines the theme of the poem.

Ian




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