Vazakas used imagery throughout the whole poem. This was the main poetic technique he used and it was achieved by using a vast vocabulary. Vazakas also repeated some lines in the poem, which he did because they show the main idea of the poem. Laki used personification as his second most used poetic technique and it gave the poem meaning by describing the battle with phrases such as “scornful swirling sea.”
The imagery in the poem is helpful to the reader since this poem could be about a number of things. The images make the battle come to mind and the meaning that Vazakas wanted readers to see follow. The imagery not only brings out the meaning, but also makes the reader want to read more. The vivid images that pop up are enchanting.
Vazakas used repetition in one major line “not your own.” This line was repeated because being in the battle the soldiers would often be so close together that they would be grabbing stuff that was not theirs. Vazakas also used “finger and toe” before “not your own.” So basically, finger and toe would mean hands and feet, which is the soldiers grabbing other men on accident of doing so to push them deeper into the battle.
The personification in the poem is important for one thing. It changes the mood and atmosphere of the poem. For instance, if Vazakas would have said” swirling sea” instead of “scornful swirling sea” the atmosphere in that part of the poem would have been lost. The atmosphere is important because it is part of the meaning of the poem. So the use of personification helps with the atmosphere which is part of the overall meaning of the poem.
Vazakas's use of those three poetic techniques give the meaning to the poem and help bring it out to the reader. It makes the poem interesting and entices the reader to read more of it
