In the Counselor's Waiting Room Literary Elements

In the Counselor's Waiting Room Literary Elements

Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View

The poem is told from the perspective of a third-person objective point of view.

Form and Meter

The poem is written in free form, thus having no form and meter.

Metaphors and Similes

At the end of the poem, the narrator mentions how the main character’s mother laments the lack of grandchildren she will have to deal with. The term used to make reference to fertility is ‘’sturdy hips’’, which is also used as a metaphor for reproduction.

Alliteration and Assonance

We find alliteration in the line "traces furrows in the rug’’.

Irony

N/A

Genre

The poem is a narrative poem in which the narrator tells the story of a lesbian woman and the way in which her family perceives the news.

Setting

The action in the poem takes place in the hall of the building where the main character lives.

Tone

The tone in the poem changes from a neutral one to a disappointed one, the latter being used to transmit the way in which the main character’s mother feels about the girl’s sexuality.

Protagonist and Antagonist

The protagonist is presented as being the young girl while the antagonist is described as being her mother.

Major Conflict

The major conflict is presented as being between strict religious beliefs and a sexual orientation which is not generally accepted by religious people.

Climax

The poem reaches its climax when the narrator reveals the main character’s sexuality.

Foreshadowing

When the narrator describes the main character’s mother as being a religious person it is also foreshadowed the way in which the mother will refuse to accept the daughter’s decisions.

Understatement

The narrator suggests in the poem that the main character accepted the fact she feels attracted to women. This is however an understatement as the narrator later describes the girl as having a hard time accepting her sexual inclination.

Allusions

The girl in the poem is described as being "terra cotta’’. This may be an allusion towards the race of the girl, suggesting she is not a Caucasian.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

The term "soil’’ is used in the poem as a general term to make reference to a person’s origins.

Personification

We find a personification in the line "their home soil has seen’’.

Hyperbole

We find a hyperbole in the lines "the waste of sturdy hips/ ripe for grandchildren.’’

Onomatopoeia

We find an onomatopoeia in the line "the mother who weeps’’.

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