Commentary Outline (aka paper 1)

"I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!!!!!!!!" How many times have each of us thought that this week? The girl in this poem may have thought the same thing at some point within the piece too. In her poem, Adolesence- II, Rita Dove uses diction, simile, imagery and metaphor to discribe the story of a girl who cuts as a way out of the life she's experiencing.

I) The idea of the story of a teen who is cutting begins to be conveyed through the use of diction.
i) "slice" "sharpened tines" "strips"
a) idea of blades conveyed
ii) "licorice"
a) idea of blood (red stream compared to a red vine)
iii) "bathroom"
a) cutting generally takes place in the bathroom behind closed doors where it can easily be
cleaned up
iv) "'Can you feel it yet?'"
a) can you feel the weight and reality of life
b) does the pain help you know life is real
c) both common reasons cutters say the do it

II) The feeling and imagery of blood and scars are conveyed through metaphor.
i) "pools of ink under moonlight"
a) blood on the bathroom floor
ii) "the ragged holes"
a) hoels ripped in the skin by the blades or what ever object she used to cut
iii) "at the edge of darkness"
a) at the edge of the unfeeling, but unlifted pain of life
iv) "venetian blinds slice up the moon"
a) the pale skin of the girl being slit by the element used to cut

III) The interpretation of the similes within the poem are the last leg of the story of the
girl cutting.
i) "eyes as round as dinner plates"
a) the shocking feeling felt by the cutter
ii) "eyelashes like sharpened tines"
a) the blades of a razor
b) the number three also helps with this image because of the common use of three
bladded razors

IV) conclusion