His Speed and Strength Summary & Study Guide

This Study Guide consists of approximately 37 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of His Speed and Strength.

His Speed and Strength Summary & Study Guide

This Study Guide consists of approximately 37 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of His Speed and Strength.
This section contains 1,855 words
(approx. 5 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy the His Speed and Strength Study Guide

Lines 1-2

In these lines, the speaker introduces a boy's physical speed and strength, repeating the word "strength" twice for emphasis. The poet reinforces the sense of speed by using alliteration, beginning nearby words with the same "s" sound. The traits of speed and strength signal other masculine traits about which the speaker is both proud and concerned. With the first line, Ostriker invokes the expression "the strength of ten men," but she uses enjambment, wrapping the sentence onto the next line, to create two meanings at once. First, the poet causes readers to complete the phrase "the strength of ten" in their heads with "men." She thereby introduces themes of manhood and great strength without stating them directly. Next, by beginning the second line with "years," the poet deflates the heroic phrase and reveals that "he" is only a boy of ten. Though the word "years" holds...

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This section contains 1,855 words
(approx. 5 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy the His Speed and Strength Study Guide
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His Speed and Strength from Gale. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.