Abuelito Who
Abuelito who throws coins like rain
and asks who loves him
who is dough and feathers
who is a watch and glass of water
whose hair is made of fur
is too sad to come downstairs today
who tells me in Spanish you are my diamond
who tells me in English you are my sky
whose little eyes are string
can’t come out to play
sleeps in his little room all night and day
who used to laugh like the letter k
is sick
is a doorknob tied to a sour stick
is tired shut the door
doesn’t live here anymore
is hiding underneath the bed
who talks to me inside my head
is blankets and spoons and big brown shoes
who snores up and down up and down up and down again
is the rain on the roof that falls like coins
asking who loves him
who loves him who?
Summary of Abuelito Who
- Popularity of “Abuelito Who”: Written by a popular Latino writer, novelist, and short story writer, Sandra Cisneros, this short and beautiful poem first appeared in 1990. It hit the nerves of the community undergoing double consciousness of Spanish as well as American culture. The poem’s simplicity has become proverbial, yet its seductiveness has not lost its taste. The popularity of the poem lies in its simplicity, touched with nostalgia.
- “Abuelito Who” As a Representative of Memories: Sandra Cisneros presents the pen-picture of her grandfather, Abuelito, who used to nominate different children for different tasks by asking them who wants to do what or who is who. This is the old age directory of the grandfather that she presents with his other questions and then answers with a full conversation of the grandfather with the children. The grandfather used to be highly popular among the kids due to his desire to feed them Latino culture. The poet feels nostalgic about the requirements of old age, the illness of the grandfather, and his conversation saying that she now recalls his snoring and how he stays with this lady who used to be a girl at that time. Therefore she leaves it at the question “who loves him who?” to recall the questioning mind of her grandfather.
- Major Themes in “Abuelito Who”: Nostalgic, familial love, memories, and love for the past are some of the interesting themes of this poem. It shows that Sandra Cisneros loves not only her culture but also her old familial heroes that have taught them how to live and how to lead a good life. This familial love stays in the shape of love for the fathers and mothers or grandfathers and so on. This collection of memories makes the person nostalgic about his/her culture, his/her family background, and his/her childhood love for old people. This also shows how a person treasures his/her familial memories and how he/she loves his/her family. It is also the love of the past, as Cisneros stresses upon the point later that she recalls snoring of her grandfather that he used to love them. Now she remembers that snoring out of love and keeps these memories with her.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Abuelito Who
Sandra Cisneros used various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices are analyzed below.
- Anaphora: It means to use the repetition of the words, phrases or clauses in the beginning of successive verses, such as “who is” or “is a” occur here in several verses.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ in “who is a watch and glass of water” and the sound of /o/ in “is blankets and spoons and big brown shoes.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /b/ in “big brown.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /b/ and /s/ in “is blankets and spoons and big brown shoes” and the sound of /l/ in “sleeps in his little room all night and day.”
- Enjambment: It is a device in which the meanings of verse roll over to the next without having any pause or punctuation mark. This poem shows the use of enjambment, such as;
who talks to me inside my head
is blankets and spoons and big brown shoes
who snores up and down up and down up and down again
is the rain on the roof that falls like coins
asking who loves him
who loves him who?
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Sandra Cisneros used imagery in this poem, such as “is tired shut the door”, “is hiding underneath the bed” and “is blankets and spoons and big brown shoes”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. The poet used different implicit metaphors, such as “you are my diamond” or “little eyes are string” or “who is dough and feathers.
- Rhetorical Question: It is a rhetorical device in which questions are asked not to elicit answers but to stress upon the idea. The poet used various rhetorical questions, such as;
asking who loves him
who loves him who?
- Simile: It is a figure of speech for direct comparison to understand the meanings of a thing being compared. For example, the poet used a simile in a question such as “who used to laugh like the letter k.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as feathers, dough, watch, glass, water, or hair to show the recollections of memories.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Abuelito Who
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal and poetic diction with directness and preciseness.
- Free Verse: It means to use free verse has no rhyme scheme, rhythm, or meter. This poem is a free verse poem.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. This is a single-stanza poem having twenty-eight verses.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a nostalgic, quizzical, and tragic tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when talking about the neighbors to tell others about their behavior.
doesn’t live here anymore
is hiding underneath the bed
who talks to me inside my head
is blankets and spoons and big brown shoes
