Natasha Trethewey Poem Analysis

Natasha Trethewey was born on April 26, 1966, in Gulfport Mississippi. She received her MA, Master of Arts, in poetry at Hollins University. Later she received her MFA, Master of Fine Arts, in poetry at the University of Massachusetts. Rita Dove, a fellow poet and English professor, said “ ‘Trethewey eschews the Polaroid instant, choosing to render the unsuspecting yearnings and tremulous hopes that accompany our most private thoughts—reclaiming for us that interior life where the true self flourishes and to which we return, in solitary reverie, for strength.’ ” Trethewey has received many prizes for her poetry such as the 2001 Lillian Smith Award for Poetry. Today Trethewey is the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia (Poets.org).

“not to let go. You'll be dead again tomorrow,” (Myth 5). Not only does internal rhyme add some flare to the line, it gives it a distinct flow. In line five, the internal rhyming words are go and tomorrow. The “O” sound of both resemble each word's sound. The two words sounding similar and have the same ending sound within the same continuous line gives line five a sample of internal rhyme. Go and tomorrow could also be examples of an off rhyme. Off rhyme appears frequently in “Myth”. Most of the lines in each stanza end in off rhyme with the “ing” sound. Line seven includes both internal and off rhyme like line five. “you back into morning. Sleep-heavy, turning,” (Myth 7).
“Myth” by Natasha Trethewey can be a powerful release and connector for poeple who has lost loved ones. Her writing styles of off rhyme and internal rhyme ve the poem a read that flows smoothly. Trethewey's use of caesura in the middle of the poem allows the reader to have a reaction period before continuing on the final parts of the poem. The tying point of “Myth” is the repetition of lines from the being to the end to give emphasis of the