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Ayaka Nishimura
English12 P.8
Nov 14, 2010
My Precious Rabbit
by Ayaka Nishimura
My mother bought me
A milky white fluffy little rabbit
For my birthday present.
It was as cute as a teddy bear.
Her eyes are red like cherries
And her pink ears hang down to the floor
Like she is always sad.
I loved her at first sight.
She shivered at the corner of her bed,
A red little bed for her red little eyes
Which my mom bought for her.
I touched her gently
As I touch a baby’s cheek,
Soft like cotton and smooth like silk,
White as snow or milk.
So I named her ‘Milk’.
We have one problem,
Because Milk does not know
That she is a rabbit.
She thinks she is a people, no,
A Princess.
And we are her servants.
‘I’m hungry!’
‘Clean my cage!’
‘Let me out to play!’
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We run to take care of our
Sweet fluffy white Princess,
Because I love my red-eyed Milk,
My spoiled Milk,
Because she’s mine,
My lovely little treasure.
Critical analysis
Structure:
This poem uses a free verse and has six stanzas with an irregular number of lines. There
is no rhyme scheme and regular rhythm. Every line begins with capital letters. Many
lines are run on to make it easy to read. There are exclamation points, “I’m hungry!”
(23), “Clean my cage!” (24) and “Let me out to play!” ( 25) to show how demanding
the rabbit is. “A Princess” (21) on one line by itself gives a pause on these words for
emphasizes that she alone is a princess.
Imagery:
The poem has sight imagery and touch imagery to illustrate the pet, rabbit. The rabbit
has “milky white” (2) fur which shows that it she so clean and pure. Also, she has “red”
(10) eyes and “pink” (6) ears which make a contrast with her white fur. There is a touch
imagery which shows that the rabbit is “fluffy” (2), “soft” (13) and “smooth” (13) so
she is nice to touch. From this imagery, readers can imagine the rabbit clearly. Also,
there is kinestethic imagery when “we run to take care of” (26) the rabbit. This
illustrates how the speaker’s family are like “servants” (22) who hurry to make the
rabbit feel happy or satisfied.
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Tone:
The poem has exciting, careful/cherishing, demanding and loving tone. The speaker
shows the exciting tone when her mother bought her a rabbit and she “loved her [rabbit]
at first sight”(8). There is careful/cherishing tone when the reader touches the rabbit
“gently as I [she] touch a baby’s cheek” (12). She treats her rabbit like a treasure. The
poem also has a demanding tone where the rabbit tries to tell her “servants” (22), the
owners to give her foods or clean her cage. The poem uses positive sight and touch
imagery, so the readers can know the speaker loves her rabbit very much and gets much
happiness from her. Even though the speaker says that she is like “her servant” (22), she
is happy to serve her because she loves her rabbit.
Other Stylistic Devices:
The poem uses simile, alliteration, and metaphor and personification to describe the
rabbit. The rabbit is “as cute as a teddy bear” (4) and “soft like cotton and smooth like
silk” (14) which shows that she is not big and nice to hold because feeling is good. Her
eyes are “red like cherries” (5) so they are sweet and bright eyes. Her color is “white as
snow or milk” (14) which shows that she is pure and soft. There is a metaphor of the
rabbit is “a princess” (21) to show that she has high opinion of herself. The rabbits
cannot speak, but her behavior shows that she has body language like people talking,
such as ‘I’m hungry!’(23), ‘Clean my cage!’(24) and ‘Let me out to play!’(25). These
poetic devices vividly describe the rabbit’s colors, texture and character.
Theme:
The theme of this poem is pets bring happiness to their owners. The pets become
important family member. By saying “we are [her] servants”(22) I show how important
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the pet is to the family and the family to the pet. All the positive images and the
speaker’s love for the rabbit show that the rabbit equals happiness.
Personal Reflection:
My precious pet, Milk, has been the treasure of my life since the day she came to my
house. Whenever I feel stressed, sad, or angry, I touch her and play with her. She has a
magical power which can turn all the negative feelings to happy ones. Even though she
is a spoiled princess who always wants food, care, and love, I give everything to make
her satisfied since she always provides me with great happiness. I love my little white
cutie rabbit.
Critical Analysis:
Structure:
The poem is a sonnet, so there are 14 lines of iambic pentameter. There is a rhyme
scheme that follows a pattern of ABABCDCDEFEFGG. There are three quatrains
ABAB, CDCD and EFEF followed by rhyming couplet, GG.
Imagery:
The sonnet has sight and smell imagery to illustrate how the mistress is not beautiful.
The mistress has no “red” (2) lip, “dun” (3) breasts, and no “red” (2) cheeks. Her breath
reeks and her voice has no “pleasing sound” (10). All the images the speaker uses to
describe the compares mistress to a beauty, but the woman is the completely opposite
which is not beautiful and attractive.
Tone:
The tone of the sonnet switches from mocking to romantic. The first ten stanzas have a
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mocking tone since they all explaining her negative and ugly appearances which is the
opposite of love poets usually do. He implies other people are comparing to “goddess”
(10), but in reality no one knows what the goddess looks like. So he is teasing them
about idealisms. At this point, the mocking tone changes to a tone of romance in the
last four lines. Even though the mistress is not a physically beautiful person, in the
speaker’s eyes, the unique woman is beautiful and he shows a strong love toward her.
Other literary devices:
There is simile, metaphor and irony to illustrate how the mistress is not beautiful. Her
eyes are “nothing like the sun” (1) which is shining and beautiful, her hairs are “black wires” (3)
which are stiff and coarse that does not feel good. There is no “roses see in her cheek” (5) means her
cheeks do not have red color which make her look healthy and beautiful. Ironically, the speaker
descries his mistress in the way opposite what the reader expects. The reader expects him to say she
is beautiful, but he describes her as ugly. The reader is again surprised in the end because the speaker
shows his love toward his mistress.
Theme
The theme of the sonnet is that what is important is inside the person, not what they
look like. There is too much emphasis on beauty. Even though the mistress is not physically a
beautiful person, the speaker thinks her attractive since she is unique and has a good heart.
Personal reflection:
The reason why I chose this sonnet is because exactly the same thing as the sonnet
often happens to me too when I like someone. I always like someone who others think
him as not attractive. I like this poem because I think the theme is very important for
me and also for everybody in the world. It is always wrong to judge people only by their
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appearance.
Critical Analysis
Structure：
Since the poem is from a song, there is a refrain (chorus) which is repeated 3 times.
There is and end rhyme, “feed” and “read” in the first verse and “warm” and “form” in
the second verse. The speaker repeats putting rhetorical questions and answers them
immediately after words three times.
Imagery:
There is imagery that illustrates how the family cares about the speaker. The reader
can see that her family “gives me [her] my [her] food” (1), takes time “to sit to hear me
[her]”, and “buys me [her] my [her] clothes” (2). Also the reader can hear her parent
“reads my [her] school newsletters” (8) to her. All of these actions show that the
speaker’s family helps and cares about her.
Tone:
Throughout the poem, the speaker shows an appreciative tone. By telling what her
family does for her and saying they are the people who are “important” (4) and “special”
(6) to her, the speaker illustrates her thankfulness for all the care that her family gives
to her. Additionally, there is a tone of insecurity which is like an inquisitive child
asking for reassurance. The speaker knows the answer to the questions, but she wants
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to have confidence that her “special” and “important” family will take of her.
Other Stylistic Devices:
In the poem, the speaker uses chorus and rhetorical questions. In the chorus, speaker
repeats her feeling towards her family which conveys the idea that they are
“important” and “special” to her. Also, there are many rhetorical questions throughout
the poem which verify to her that there is no one else who “cares” (13) more about her,
and is as “special” to her “than anyone else” (14).
Theme:
The theme of this poem is the importance of family. By questioning herself about the
ones who do all the things for her, the speaker realizes that they are her family. Also
she realizes how “special” and “important” they are and shows an appreciation toward
her family. Additionally, the poem shows that the needs of the child changes. The
speaker needs to receive “food” (1) in childhood; She needs her parents to “read school
newsletters” at the time to go school; and now she needs “care[s]” for preparing for her
future when she will leave home.
Personal Reflection:
The reason why I chose this poem is because my family is the most special and
important people to me. Even though they do not “buy me my clothes” (7) or “read my
school newsletters” (8) for me anymore, they still “give me food” and in their “spares
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time sitting to hear me” (2). Most importantly, they treat me very special “more than
anyone else” (14). Every time I have problems, they always help and support me. When
I am thinking about my future, they think about it with me and provide me with the
best advice. Therefore, they are my special people who are always there for me.
Critical Analysis
Structure:
The poem has two stanzas and there is a rhyme scheme that is following a pattern of
(AABBCC). There are six lines and two sentences in the first stanza, and four lines and
two sentences in the second stanza. The first stanza is longer because speaker wants to
emphasize how she and her friend were always together. Since the poem has no capital
letters, the speaker is may be a child, not an adult.
Imagery:
There is sight imagery when the speaker “was in tears”(5), the speaker and friend are
“stuck together when we [they] were in fear”(6). This shows that they are always
“supported” (5) by each other when they have negative feelings.
Tone:
In this poem, the tone shifts from thankful to confident. The first stanza shows a caring
tone because speaker mentions about the friend’s “support [ing]”(5) her when she was
sad and when she was in “fear”(6). However, tone shifts to confident in the second
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stanza when the speaker says that “miles away can’t keep us apart”(9). Because it shows
that speaker has confidence on the strong bond between her and friend.
Other Stylistic Devices:
In the poem, the speaker uses metaphor, personification and repetition. The word “gift”
(2) in the second line is used to represent the friendship. Also, the speaker’s use of
personification, “miles away can’t keep us apart” (9), shows the strong bond of
friendship between her and friend. Additionally, she repeats contrasting speaker’s
feelings, “good and bad”(3) and “happy and sad”(4) to show that she and friend were
always together, through good times and bad times.
Theme:
The theme for this poem is the strong bond of friendship. The speaker emphasizes this
at the end of the poem when she says “miles away can’t keep us apart”(9). There is a
strong connection between the best friends who helped each other every time and shared
every moment even they were happy or sad. Friendship is a treasure that lasts forever
and ever.
Personal Reflection:
This poem reminds me of my best friend who used to live in Thailand but is living in
Japan now. When she was living here, I spent most of my time with her. We were
always together and supported each other even when we were sad, happy, angry or
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worried. Now she is not living here, but still she is always there for me as she was doing
when she was living here. Every time I have a problem, I call her and tell her everything
about it since she is my best friend who I can trust more than anyone else. She always
help me and make me feel relieved by listening kindly and giving me the best advice.
Even though we do not live close anymore, there is no way to “keep us apart”(9). So I
can confidently say that our friendship will last forever.
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