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Analysis Of “The Vietnam Wall” - Term Papers

Analysis Of “The Vietnam Wall”

In the poem “The Vietnam Wall” the reader joins the poet Alberto Rios
(1952) on a visit to the Vietnam War Memorial. Rios portrays first-hand the
powerful emotional effect the wall has on everyone who visits. “The Vietnam
Wall” can be found in Discovering Literature edited by Hans Guth and
Gabriele Rico pages 541-542.
“The Vietnam Wall” is a one stanza poem with no apparent rhyming scheme. “
The Vietnam Wall” is a picture poem, meaning the way in which the lines are
written and spaced, the poems appearance bears resemblance to the shape of
the wall. The lines of the poem are short in the beginning, longest in the
middle and again short at the end. This not only resembles the shape but ...

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the uncontrollable up-welling of emotions
one experiences when visiting the wall. Rios uses this technique frequently
and effectively throughout this poem.
“The Vietnam Wall” tells the story of the poets visit to the Vietnam
War Memorial in Washington D. C.. Rios takes the reader with him on his
journey down the wall explaining each detail as he goes from the shape of
the wall to the physical appearance of it. An example of this is when:

The walk is slow at first,
Easy a little black Marble wall
A smoothness, a shine
The boys in the street want to give.
One Name And then more
Names long lines of names until
They are the shape of the U.N. Building
Taller than I am I have walked
Into a grace. (ll.12-21)

In this quote from “The Vietnam Wall” with just fifty-five words Rios has
given the reader a powerful and vivid description of what it is like to be
standing before the wall. Rios then tells us, the reader, that surprisingly
the wall was not what he had expected when ...

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Analysis Of “The Vietnam Wall”. (2007, November 8). Retrieved January 13, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Analysis-Of-The-Vietnam-Wall/74013

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 11/8/2007 07:04:26 PM
Category: Poetry & Poets
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 522
Pages: 2

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