Maternity

What is the author's style in Maternity by Anna Swir?

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Some poems, like prose, have a story, a setting of time and place, a specific point of view, and characters dramatizing the message. The main character, perhaps the only one, will be the "I" in the poem. The speaker may be the poet or a fictional character and may be speaking to another character, perhaps in a dialogue. Usually, however, the speaker in a narrative poem is a lone character speaking about a deep and personal concern. In "Maternity," Swir gives the reader the story of a new mother greeting her baby. The time is soon after the birth ("a little while ago was still in me"), but the place is not mentioned. One can imagine the place to be in a hospital. Swir opens with "I," thus immediately establishing the point of view. The speaker is the poet, but presented as if she were any new mother. The other character to whom she speaks is the baby. Undoubtedly, the speaker is talking about a deep and personal concern at a moment like this one between mother and child. Consequently, "Maternity" fits all the characteristics of a narrative poem.

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Maternity