An Analysis of the Gift Outright

"The Gift Outright" is the poem that was read at the presidential inauguration on January 20, 1961 for John F. Kennedy. Thirty-two years later, on January 20, 1993, Maya Angelou recited her inaugural poem at the inauguration of Bill Clinton. These lyrics signify the beginning of new decisions and a new beginning for our nation. They give a personal touch to the inauguration of a new president and serve as a ray of light that leads our nation to better times. The verses simultaneously depict that the country is at a stage of new beginnings and add hope. They go through the past to form the foundation for the future of the new government. Finally, the poems say that such poetry brings enlightenment as well as hope to a rising nation in these times of transition.

These lyrics were chosen as a way to start a new beginning, to express the improvements we hope to see in our government. "The Gift" and "The Inaugural Poem" tell the story of our country and how we have grown to prepare the ground for the threshold of a new country. In a sense, the Presidential inauguration is the culmination of an old era and the beginning of a new one. We are handing our country over to a new leader who will hopefully realize the mistakes of our forefathers and make our future better. Studying the past will give us a path from which we can move forward and new choices that we can make. The poem says that if we understand the past, we will correct ourselves and move forward in the future. The inaugural period is a time when a nation must reflect on its past and think about the future. It means new leadership and the need to improve old ways.

Maya Angelo's poem, the "Inaugural Poem," was musical thought drawn out in the way it is written on paper. It was very instrumental and distributed proportionally according to the messages that the poem contained. Her poem, the "Inaugural Poem," was cut down into short stanzas and stretched into long lines. This was to portray the length of time from which the world has come to be as we know it. Different points of views were used to give the viewpoints of various parties. First from the view of the rock, then the river, onto the tree, and opinions were diverse and biased to one group. This arrangement allowed everybody to express their own personal opinion. "The Gift Outright", by Robert Frost, was an entirely different thought all together. It was written in a pentameter with several lines of one stanza and forces us to realize how the new nation was quick and meaningful. The layouts of the poems were important and a necessity, to successfully convey this special message to the audience.

Order custom essay An Analysis of the Gift Outright with free plagiarism report

450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery

Get Essay Help

Writers such as Maya Angelou and Robert Frost used all methods of 'instruments of writing' to its fullest. They were used diversely and meaningfully in each of the two inauguration poems. Maya Angelou used imagery and personification excessively in her "Inaugural Poem." Example, Imagery brought out in the rock, river, and tree shows how our world is changing. She brought out personalities of the elements while Frost used minimal personification in his poem. However minute, the imagery used in both poems played prominent roles in both. Imagery in "The Gift Outright" was the raw land that builds up America. Rhymes were not excessively used but patterns of writing were common in both poems, such as the pentameter in "The Gift Outright." Frost used figures of speech to a great extent to convey messages within a meter in the poem. Elements of writing make a poem special and much more than a simple rhyme or limerick. Poetic devices make poetry meaningful and it is dispensed throughout both poems.

In conclusion, the inauguration poems of Maya Angelou and Robert Frost were chosen to be read to give fresh hope for a new nation. In the "Inaugural Poem," many viewpoints of different groups and people that lived before were expressed through personification of a river, rock, and tree. In "The Gift Outright," stressed the necessity of giving and not expecting to receive. Only like this can we move on and build a stronger nation for our descendants to live in. The path of our ancestors is paved and we are there to walk further than they once did. Understanding our past and sacrificing selfish greed is the only way for us to move on. Under a new leader marks the start of better times and new conclusions are found in this newer era. These are the meanings of both inaugural poems.

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Run a free check or have your essay done for you

Check my essay Hire Writer