Analysis of \"the lost baby\" poem PDF

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This paper is an analysis of the poem, "the lost baby" and it demonstrates the relationship between the mother and her unborn baby. ...

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Analysis of “the lost baby poem” The poem, “the lost baby poem” by Lucille Clifton, is an example of an apostrophe since it is being addressed to a dead baby. In the poem, the speaker is a woman who feels shame and guilt for ending her pregnancy. For instance, the speaker states, “the time i dropped your almost body down” (Clifton, line 1). The poet’s use of lower case letters, “i”, demonstrates how the speaker lacks confidence and feels ashamed of her own actions. In the first stanza, the speaker also talks about how she didnt know what to do about this situation. This can be seen when she states, “what did i know about waters rushing back what did i know about drowning or being drowned” (Clifton, lines 4-6). Although the speaker feels guilty for she has done, she tries to prove her dead baby that she took this action due to her lack of experience. In the second stanza, the speaker continues to show her baby that she had to have an abortion/abandon her baby because the world was not a good fit for an innocent soul. For example, the speaker’s excuses can be seen when she states, “you would have been born into winter in the year of the disconnected gas and no car would have made the thin” (Clifton, lines 79). The speaker makes these excuses to show her baby that she has saved the unborn from a cruel world. If she gave birth, then the baby would have suffered in a place where people fight to overcome hardships. Finally, in the last stanza, the speaker promises her lost baby that she will be a strong mother for her other children. The speaker’s desire to be a mother can be seen when she states, “if i am ever less than a mountain for your definite brothers and sisters” (Clifton, lines 15-16). The speaker also mentions that if she repeats her mistakes again and fails to be a strong mother, then she accepts the punishment, “let the rivers pour over my head let the sea take me for a spiller of seas

let black men call me stranger” (Clifton, lines 17-19) that would be given to her....