I AM OFFERING THIS POEM
By Jimmy Santiago Baca
Unit Overview
In this unit, you will be reading
"I Am Offering This Poem" by Jimmy Santiago Baca
In this poem by American poet
Jimmy Santiago Baca, the speaker offers the only thing they have: this poem and their love.
This poem is paired
with "Sonnet 43" because it relates to the effect love has on people.
As your read, identify
the themes of Beauty & Happiness, Love, and Power & Greed as they
relate to this text and "Sonnet 43."
Background
Jimmy Santiago Baca (b. 1952) is an
award-winning American poet and writer, of Apache and Chicano descent.
Following his difficult childhood, Baca was incarcerated as a young man. In
prison, he taught himself to read and write.
Literary Terms &
Notes
Below is a flipbook
of important terms and notes that will help you understand the passage. It is important that you go over all the
terms and notes before reading the excerpt.
Let's Practice
Figurative Language
Figurative language
refers to using words in a way that deviates from the conventional
order and meaning to convey a complicated meaning, colorful writing, clarity,
or evocative comparison. It uses an ordinary sentence to refer to something
without directly stating it.
I Am Offering this Poem by Jimmy Santiago Baca is a moving poem that uses figurative language to
depict the poem itself as a place of refuge. Through a series of
short stanzas, Baca's speaker addresses an unknown listener. He tells them that
they should take "this poem" and regard it as a place of safety
and warmth.
Baca makes use of
several poetic techniques in 'I Am Offering this Poem.' There include simile, metaphor, alliteration, and repetition.
They are kinds of figurative language that make comparisons between two, unlike
things. A simile uses "like" or "as," and a metaphor does
not.
Within the poem, Baca
compares the poem he's writing to a scarf, cabin, gift, and warm coat.
I Am Offering This Poem
You can read the passage two ways:
1. Click on Unit Resources and
read the printed version of the text.
2. Sign-up on "COMMONLIT"
and receive an enhanced version of the text.
As you read, take notes on the meaning of the figurative language in the
poem.