To a Daughter Leaving Home
Simile
'the hair flapping behind you like a handkerchief waving goodbye.' • Pastan compares the girl's flapping hair to a handkerchief
Poetic techniques
1. Enjambement 2. Metaphor 3. Repetition 4. Simile 5. Assonance
Enjambement
= One line runs into another (run-on lines) • Echoes the movement of the bicycle on its journey
Assonance
= Repetition of vowel sounds (o, u) 'you wobbled away on two round wheels,' • This sound effect mirrors the 'uh oh' feeling of uncertainty and surprise the mother experiences as her daughter cycles away by herself
Poet
Linda Pastan
Lines 1-6
When I taught you at eight to ride a bicycle, loping along beside you as you wobbled away on two round wheels,
Lines 7-14
my own mouth rounding in surprise when you pulled ahead down the curved path of the park, I kept waiting for the thud of your crash as I sprinted to catch up,
20-24
the hair flapping behind you like a handkerchief waving goodbye.
Lines 15-20
while you grew smaller, more breakable with distance, pumping, pumping for your life, screaming with laughter,
Extra notes
• Bike is a metaphor for life • Poem represents journey of life • Poet extends the metaphor of the bike as part of life's journey • The poem represents the journey from childhood innocence to adult independence as seem through the eyes of an anxious parent
Literary techniques/devices
• Informal, free verse poem that contains no strict rhyme or meter • One elongated sentence with brief punctuation now and then to produce a stop-start rhythm: Reflects the daughters experience of learning to ride a bike • The brief punctuation, with present participle words- pumping, flapping, screaming makes it appear as if the bicycle lesson is happening at the present moment, despite it being a distant memory
Metaphor
• The bicycle lesson is a metaphor for life's journey and is extended throughout the poem • There will be difficulties and challenges in life, just like there are falls and tears while learning to ride a bike
Repetition
•Helps reinforce an idea 'pumping, pumping,' • Suggests that the daughter is surging ahead with intense energy and enthusiasm, typical of a child
