What the motorcycle said

The poem is telling about what a motorcycle is saying, has seen, likes and dislikes. This poem does not express an emotion, describe a mood, this poem is all about attitude. The motorcycle is very opinionated; it knows what it likes and knows that it is better than everybody. The speaker is the motorcycle. This poem told through the fictional persona of the motorcycle. Just like a loud boisterous motorcycle the poem is speaking to everyone close enough to listen. It forces you to hear it whether you want to or not. You can trust the speaker because the speaker is so honest and just tells it like it is. The attitude toward the subject of the poem is very forward and confident. The tone of voice for the poem is slow but powerful like that cadence of a motorcycle engine. The tone also has a strong sense of confidence. Words from the poem that suggest the power and confidence are words like, “phonies in Fords, hate pompousness, hate middle class moneymakers, too fast to hear her moo”.

What the Motorcycle said has an irregular rhyme scheme, because it does not use a consistent rhyme pattern. The poem gives off a couple of mixed messages. One of the effects that can be perceived is the idea satisfaction because the author’s feelings and message of the poem can be interpreted without to much trouble. Mona Van Duyn uses words such as hate and shit to describe her feelings toward society as she rides on the motorcycle. The other effect that could be interpreted is the effect of humor. The author’s use of words to describe the sound effects of the motorcycle as well as her perception of society can be perceived as funny. The poem contains a lot of stressed syllables such as hate and passed. The stressed syllable br-r-r-am-m-m, rackety-am-m gives the poem a feeling of alliteration as well as assonance. The other repetitively uses words that resemble in sound and syllables. All in all “What the Motorcycle Said” gives off a feeling of anger, carefree, and a hippie lifestyle.