“The princess saves herself in this one” is a collection of poems divided into four separate parts the princess, the damsel, the queen, and the princess. The divisions of poetry piece together the author’s life based on three distinct stages in the poem. She depicts the exploration of love, grief, loss, empowerment, inspiration, and healing. These ideas and themes develop through the application of various poetic devices as well as figurative languages. Figurative languages define expressions as well as words that are used by authors, including poets, to relay multiple interpretations and meanings from their literal meaning. These stylistic devices are often used in poems to serve as a means of appealing to the readers’ senses through the provision of vivid, expressive, and detailed perceptions. Besides, figurative languages provide a sense of dimension to a poem that allows the poet to state with added color and flair while contributing to the various prevalent themes. Amanda Lovelace applies some of these stylistic devices in her poem, including metaphor, symbolism, hyperbole, simile, among others.
The metaphor applies in most parts of the poem, primarily when Lovelace aims at making implied, the hidden and implicit reference between two unrelated things that share some common characteristics. Lovelace uses metaphor in presenting a feminist critical interpretation when she says “the only thing required to be a woman is to identify as one.-period, end of story” (184). Through the application of this stylistic device, Lovelace depicts the inequality that exists in the treatment of women. Some men and even women believe that women ought to act and present themselves in a particular manner. Thus, to be a female, one is required to conform to some norms. However, Lovelace makes it precise that to be a woman only requires an individual to say that they are one, and that should be final. Even though she goes through difficult times in the course of her life, she collects herself and derives the strength to endure the oppression and overcome it in the end.
The resilience and courage of Lovelace to face her demons reveals through the use of metaphor. Lovelace says that “i am a lioness who is no longer afraid to let the world hear her roar -an ode to me” In this line, the metaphor of ‘lioness’ is applied to compare to the traits and characteristics of a lioness. These creatures are often considered to be brave, fearless, and courageous. The theme of feminism and perseverance comes out through this metaphor, which helps the reader to understand the motivation and current emotions of Lovelace at the particular stage in her life. Also, the metaphor shows the resilience of the character in changing her life for the better. Further, it connects to the theme of perseverance by asserting that beauty does not lie within happy and superficial memories, but in the intrinsic strength or will to persevere and overcome challenges. Individuals are defines by how they rise from problems as opposed to their lowest points.
The same theme of feminism is further enhanced when Lovelace uses another instance of metaphor to highlight the role and strength of an individual in defining their life. She says, “you are your lighthouse,” which proves the argument that to achieve happiness and fulfillment in life, it takes an individual’s effort. The symbol of the lighthouse often provides symbolism to various things, including overcoming adversities or challenges. Also, the lighthouse signifies a way forward and provision of help while dealing with difficult situations in life. Thus, the choice of the lighthouse in this line builds the theme of feminism, hope, and perseverance in the poem. Further, through the lighthouse symbolism, Lovelace asserts the power and importance of self-empowerment enable her to navigate through her challenges.
Further, Lovelace again applies symbolism when she talks about the impact of men in her life. The application of symbolism facilitates the signification of qualities, objects, and ideas by giving them symbolic meanings that are far removed from their literal sense. In the line, “he did not teach me how to love myself, but he was the bridge that helped me get here. – i thank the universe every day for you.” Lovelace argues that her self-love and realization to treat herself with dignity was not as a result on the man. However, she uses the metaphor of a “bridge” to point out that he served as a means of enabling her realization. The bridge signifies significant role of the man. The perceived meaning of the bridge is contextual and understood by how it is applied in the poem. Also, the bridge represents a potent symbol in defining the meaning of the line and its contribution to prevalent themes in the poem. The bridge is a symbolic imperative which enables the reader to link the relationship of Lovelace with the individual described.
Also, Lovelace uses figurative language through the inclusion of personification to build the theme of perseverance in the poem. Personification allows poets to assign human capabilities, emotions, and traits to inanimate things. For example, she states, “my first kiss: tackled, pinned down, a mouth repeating no no no” (26). In this line, Lovelace presents the repetitive action of the mouth as it shouts in opposition from the tackling event. Through this device, Lovelace enhances the meaning and theme of oppression in the poem. She explains about the exploitation of women by providing an example from the experience of her first kiss. Despite her denial to engage in the act, her cries are not heard. The line is followed by another line where she assures that she will never have forgiveness on the action when she says, “I will never forgive you” (26). The motivation to implement changes later in her life is understood through the analysis and understanding of these figurative languages as they depict deep emotion and detailed meaning to the proceedings in the poem.
Section two of the poem (the damsel) highlights numerous analogies of fairy tales that serve to build the themes in the poem. Analogies refer to comparisons to things or ideas which are compared to something different from the particular item or concept. Similes and metaphors are used by Lovelace to draw various instances of analogy in the poem. For example, the tumultuous experiences of the character are manifested and given the symbolism of dragons and the big bad wolf. In this section, Lovelace says, “who would i have been without the inspiration behind my demons? –probably not a poet” Lovelace describes how she finds out the difference between the idea of love, someone loves her, her acts of self-love, as well as her initial encounters with the death of her mother and sister. By using the metaphors of demons and the big bad wolf, Lovelace conveys her experiences, which highlight the power of self-empowerment and rising above challenging situations.
Also, another use of analogy used in the poem lies within the third section (queen), where Lovelace delves more on how she deals with loss. She applies the analogy of a dragon, but as opposed to the dragon overtaking her, she stands up and gathers strength to face it. Lovelace describes these experiences as harsh realities of life, which sometimes occur when we least expect them. While elaborating this event, Lovelace states that “Ah, life- the thing that happens to us while we’re off somewhere else blowing on dandelions & wishing ourselves into the pages of our favorite fairy tales.” Through this line, the act of blowing on dandelions represents a metaphor which signifies a state in life where individuals are happy and unaware of what is about to befall them. Also, the act of “blowing on dandelions” serves as a figurative language that depicts imagery in the senses of the reader. The reader can develop a mental picture of the particular act and consequently generate the poet’s desired feeling and emotion.
While the choice of the poem’s title is a first implication and spoiler alert, Lovelace presents the rest of the poem excitingly. Through various figurative languages and stylistic devices, the piece of poetry enables the reader to get immersed into the journey of the character. Also, through repeated metaphors, personification, hyperboles, and other poetic devices, essential aspects of the character’s memory enable a detailed understanding of her world as well as the various themes highlighted in the poem.