Suffocating - All Quiet On The Western Front Poetry

Suffocating
Inside the gas-mask
My head booms and roars--
It is nigh bursting.
My lungs are tight,
They breathe always
The same hot, used-up air,
The veins in my temples are swollen.
I feel I am
Suffocating.
(Remarque 70).

A "Found Poem" takes an excerpt from a novel and forms it into a poem by adding line breaks. This section in All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque was very intriguing as the main character, Paul, was in a life or death situation.

Literary Devices:
Personification: “My head booms and roars--” (Line 2).
This personification allows for the audience to understand how difficult and painful it is to be in war. Paul is becoming so light-headed, so Remarque emphasizes how his head screams at him to get fresh air. It sets the scene for the poem, showing what the poem will be focusing on.

Hyperbole: “My head booms and roars-- / It is nigh bursting.” (Lines 2-3).
The hyperbole of saying that Paul’s head will burst expresses how necessary the fresh oxygen is for survival. The pain showed in these words allows for the audience to picture Paul and what he is going through out in the battlefield.

Imagery: “The veins in my temples are swollen.” (Line 7).
With this imagery, it brings impact to the poem and allows for the audience to see how exasperating and dangerous this seemingly simple situation is. The air is tainted, restricting Paul from doing what is so natural to everyone: to breathe. Not only does it allow for the reader to see his veins popping from his temples, but it’s easy to add to the picture and imagine him with a red face, possibly choking.

Central Idea:
In times of war, soldiers rely on things that can kill them in order to stay alive.

Sorry for not posting in two months! Summer's gotten to me... I highly recommend reading this novel!

• little sprout