Burning the Old Year Analysis - Literary devices and Poetic devices

Burning the Old Year

By Naomi Shihab Nye

Letters swallow themselves in seconds.
Notes friends tied to the doorknob,
transparent scarlet paper,
sizzle like moth wings,
marry the air.

So much of any year is flammable,
lists of vegetables, partial poems.
Orange swirling flame of days,
so little is a stone.

Where there was something and suddenly isn’t,
an absence shouts, celebrates, leaves a space.
I begin again with the smallest numbers.

Quick dance, shuffle of losses and leaves,
only the things I didn’t do
crackle after the blazing dies.

Summary of Burning the Old Year

Popularity of “Burning the Old Year”: The poem, ‘Burning the Old Year’ was written by Naomi Shihab Nye, a Palestinian-American poet, novelist, and songwriter. The poem is meant to be a symbolic message and stresses the need to remove the old, seemly inconsequential things following the end of the year. This will help us rejoice and embrace the new beginning, having no remorse and guilt. The somber tone of the poem and the projection of various poetic and literary elements have helped the writer connect her audience to her unique ideas.
“Burning the Old Year” As a Representative of Fresh Start: The poem centers around the art of losing and how it brings ease to our life. The speaker compares the burning of papers and letters to the moth’s wings. This strong image helps us visualize how these wings disintegrate when they die. Similarly, the smoke of the burning letters gets vanishes in the air. She adds that any year can be removed from our lives when we focus on the tasks yet to be done. Surprisingly, small everyday engagements in life help us forget even irreparable losses of life. As the poem progresses, she further states that sometimes in life, we feel stuck in time, but gradually we recover, thinking back to things still to be done.
Major Themes in “Burning the Old Year”: The unstoppable time, inevitable change, and acceptance are the major themes of the poem. Throughout the poem, the writer tries to explain how life treats us with every passing day. Therefore, we must prepare ourselves for the unexpected roller coaster of change. She further suggests that one should burn the old and unimportant things of the year that has gone. This burning of past events will give people a sense of refreshment for the following years. Also, it will enable them to accomplish tasks that are still incomplete.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in ‘Burning the Old Year’

literary devices are tools that fill simple poetic pieces with meanings. The various literary devices in the poem are analyzed as follows.

Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “Letters swallow themselves in seconds” and the sound of /o/ in “Notes friends tied to the doorknob.”
Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound /t/ sound in “tied to.”
Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sounds of /s/, the sound of /t, and the sound of /b/ in “an absence shouts, celebrates, leaves a space” and the sounds of /m/ and /n/ in “I begin again with the smallest numbers.”
Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;

“Quick dance, shuffle of losses and leaves,
only the things I didn’t do
crackle after the blazing dies.”

Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning. The writer used this device in the opening lines of the poem while talking about the art of losing.
Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Naomi Shihab Nye has used imagery in this poem, such as “Notes friends tied to the doorknob”, “Quick dance, shuffle of losses and leaves” and “Orange swirling flame of days.”
Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use of extended metaphors of change and acceptance.
Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings different from literal meanings. The poem also shows the use of the symbols of acceptance and change just to show what comfort they bring to us.
Simile: It is a device Used to compare something with something else to make the meanings clear to the readers. Naomi used this device in the first stanza of the poem, such as “sizzle like moth wings.”

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Burning the Old Year”

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

Diction: The poem shows descriptive diction having metaphors, similes, and impressive images.
Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free-verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
Tercet: A tercet is a three-lined stanza borrowed from Biblical Hebrew poetry. Here, the third and fourth stanzas are tercets.
Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are four stanzas in this poem, with each comprising a different number of verses.

Quotes to be Used

The lines stated below are useful while talking about the adaptive nature of mankind. It shows how quickly we accept changes and adapt to new happenings in life.