Poetry Paper Case

In Olena Kalytiak Davis's second collection of poems "shattered sonnets love cards and other off and back handed importunities," there is a constant manipulation of the limits of literature, especially in Davis's sonnet "six apologies, lord." There is an extensive use of repetition, word play, puns, and uncommon structure and grammatical styles like the utilization of capitalized words and incorrect word spacing. All of these techniques apply to Kalytiak's beliefs of a Lord that guides her through the obscure path of life and shows her deep remorse towards the sins she has committed. Kalytiak makes a request to the Lord, "Feed Me / Hope, Lord. Feed Me," (16-17) in which the word 'feed' expresses her necessity and affection to the Lord, so that she is able to encourage herself to change and become a better person that commits less sinful actions and overcome the obstacles in her life. Therefore, through the sonnet "six apologies, lord," Davis applies the use of capitalization, repetition, word play, and word spacing to express the religious fervor that drives her beliefs and her passionate dependence on it.

Throughout the entire poem there is one constant factor, and that is the beginning of each word; every word starts with a capital letter no matter where it is located in the sentence, whether it is in the beginning, middle or end. This gives an unorthodox overview of the poem because the first thing the reader notices is the structure of the poem and how all the words start with a capitalized letter. Normally, the use of capitalization will portray the author's emotions or tone as yelling, insisting, upsetting or desperate. Davis applies capitalization to show the importance of each word, and as the reader analyzes it, the capitalization helps them understand the author's tone. Davis's tone can be interpreted through "Hold Me, Lord, O, Hold Me / Accountable, Lord," (12-13) which shows the vulnerability and desperation of Davis, who is admitting her own wrongdoings and seeking the forgiveness of God for these actions. Thus, the begins of the words are capitalized because she needs to emphasize her thoughts and her state of mind, so that the "Lord" will provide his wisdom to her.

Moreover, the sonnet is written in a way that words are constantly repeated and these words provoke different reactions to understand the dependence of Davis to her "Lord" and religion. First, the repetition of the word "Lord" demonstrates her passion and her need of him. By repeating it as much as Davis does, the reader can assume that she constantly needs the presence of this superior authority in her life and looks to him for advice. Second, Davis uses the personal pronoun "I," so that the reader knows that this sonnet is about her and she is the one that is confessing her errors. Third, when she uses the technique of repetition, for instance "Clouds. Lord, I Have Loved Clouds! Do not Forgive Me, Do Not / Forgive Me," (9-10) Davis applies the same core of words, 'clouds' and 'forgive me'. This technique is utilized to provide a constant flow between the verses of the sonnet and to intertwine the author's ideas and thoughts. Therefore, Davis applies it, throughout the sonnet, to provoke a feeling that she is remorseful for her actions and, at the same time, get the sense that she is pleading or apologizing to God.

Furthermore, the precise and specific word usage of this sonnet contributes to the understanding of why Davis is remorseful for her actions and why she is seeking God to console her. In the beginning of the sonnet, Davis says "I Have Loved My Horrible Self, Lord. / I Rose, Lord, And I Rose, Lord, And I, / Dropt. Your Requirements, Lord." (1-3) Davis begins by accepting that she has loved her horrible self which leads the reader to understand that something is wrong with her because she describes herself as 'horrible'. It could also mean that she has put herself first before helping others or she has