In the poem “The Foot” by Alice Jones explain the meaning of the poem through close reading. Any literary elements??

Question

Our improbable support, erected 

on the osseus architecture 

of the calcaneous, talus, cuboid, 

navicular, cuneiforms, metatarsals, 

phalanges, a plethora of hinges,

all strung together by gliding 

tendons, covered by the pearly 

plantar fascia, then fat-padded 

to form the sole, humble surface 

of our contact with earth.

Here's the body's broadest tendon 

anchors the heel's fleshy base, 

the finely wrinkled skin stretches 

forward across the capillaried arch, 

to the ball, a balance point.

A wide web of flexor tendons 

And branched veins maps the dorsum, 

Fades into the stub-laden bone 

splay, the stuffed sausage sacks 

of toes, each with a tuft

of proximal hairs to introduce 

the distal nail, whose useless 

curve remembers an ancestor, 

The vanished creature's wild and necessary claw.

Answer 1

I'm not familiar with this poem, but it's got power!

I'd start by noting all the gorgeous alliteration in the poem, both the consonance (eg "wide web", "stuffed sausage sacks", etc) and the assonance (eg "fat-padded", "fades/laden/splay", etc). Examine the pattern and effect of these alliterations.

Consider how she's presenting the human foot. Is it an inviting, admiring representation, or a grotesque, off-putting one? What do you think as you read her description? How do you normally feel about the foot/feet (your own, or others'), and how does the poem challenge you to feel differently? Write down your own personal responses to the many images and sounds in the poem, and you're off to a good start. Let me know if I can help as you work...

Answer 2

My goodness, yes! There are many uses of metaphor and personification which I could point out and discuss in detail in a lesson. I love this, by the way. Thank you for sharing it.