"pretty" Short Commentary

912 Words4 Pages
“Pretty” Commentary ‘Pretty’ by Katie Makkai is a poem written in first person, targeted mainly at female adults, that leaves a meaningful message with great impact. It is a poem about Makkai’s opinion on women that are obsessed with appearance, and about her belief that they should not care so much about being ‘pretty’ and instead on the more meaningful things in life. A lasting impression is left, and this was done by the literary devices Makkai used in her writing; repetition, foreshadowing, imagery, personification, figurative language, and pun, in addition to the diction and other techniques she utilized. The use of these devices consequently evokes sensorial, emotional and intellectual reactions from the readers, giving the text a deeper meaning. A point that stands out in the poem ‘Pretty’ is the connection Makkai made with the famous song by Doris Day called Que Sera Sera. Makkai incorporated the lyrics from the song into her poem where the context of both relate; “Will I be pretty? Will I be rich?” The inclusion of these has an effect on the poem; the readers feel more involved when they figure out the connection using the background information they have, making it more engaging - leaving them eager to read on. Repetition is also one of the main literary devices Makkai used in her poem. The word “pretty” and the phrase “Will I be pretty?” are repeated many times throughout the poem; “You will be pretty intelligent, pretty creative, pretty amazing. But you, will never be merely pretty,” “Will I be wanted? Worthy? Pretty?” and “Mom, will I be pretty? Will I be pretty?” all clearly show this. This device is used to emphasize the meaning, theme and main idea of the poem – the useless obsession with being pretty, - and allows the message to not be forgotten. Another literary device used in ‘Pretty’ is foreshadowing. Makkai has included hints in the
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