My Yellow Coat

Prompt

Read the poem carefully and analyze how the diction and contrasts convey the speaker's attitude toward her coat.

Write a claim that analyzes how the diction and contrasts convey the speaker's attitude toward her coat.

Response

Lucile Clifton utilizes diction and contrasts to convey the speaker's complex, almost familial relationship with her coat.

The phrases "my old potato" and "my yellow mother", and "my horse with buttons" give a sense of closeness and intimacy - which all are ideas that are typically associated when "you know someone for a long time." In a nutshell, the speaker shows her emotional attachment to the coat.

However, this is contrasted with the phrases such as "my terrible teacher", and the coat's "refusing to excuse my back for being big, for being old", which all convey a sense of resentment, negativity, and maybe even hatred.

Together, the stark contrast between the two ideas can relate to familial relationships, where society generally labels them as them love-hate relationships.