Women and strength The poem I chose to write my essay on is a very strong poem. It provides a lot of information about how certain people feel about certain topics. Poetry is in a sense a voice for those who cannot share it themselves. The poem “A Woman Is Not a Potted Plant,” by Alice Walker is everything I just described and more. The poem uses many literary elements to attract readers. Alice Walker used literary devices such as transitions, metaphors, and repetition to express her thoughts about strong women in this world and the rights they hold. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay "A woman is not a potted plant." The title of the poem itself says a lot about what the poem will be about. From the title the audience can immediately understand that the author, Alice Walker, is in some way a feminist. If you were to interpret the title, you would think that “A woman is not a potted plant” means that women are independent and strong and are capable of doing anything. Over the course of the poem the audience may come to understand that the poem is a giant metaphor. I believe this style of writing is not only intelligent but also thought-provoking in the sense that it forces the reader to think deeply about the topic/topic. The line “a woman/is a limitless desert” (28), is one of the strongest metaphors in the poem. Walker compares a woman to the wild to send the message that a woman cannot be tamed and is capable of much, hence the word "limitless". Alice Walker wanted to make the repetition known throughout the poem. He repeated the same thing throughout much of the poem stating, “A woman is not a potted plant.” For me, this repetition has an effect that pushes me to appreciate women for what they do and who they are. It makes me realize exactly how strong women are. There is a very important literary technique that Alice Walker uses in poetry that very few notice. From the beginning of the poem, Walker uses repetition and says, “A woman is not a potted plant.” The audience becomes familiar with this pattern until a certain point in the poem where Walker returns to simply saying “A woman is.” This is the powerful literary technique of transition. Transition is normally used to send a strong and profound message to the audience reading the poem. In Walker's case, he uses the transition to send the message of not what a woman isn't, but what she is. This is the technique Walker used that I liked the most. It really opened my eyes and had a new understanding of the topic. To be honest, I didn't realize the poem was initially about what women are not until the transition came to life. Once the transition was revealed, I had a better understanding of the poem, more metaphors made sense, and the message spoke to me. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay With After using the three key literary elements that Alice Walker used in her wonderful poem, she sent a message that not only addresses or speaks to women, but speaks to all those who have yet to appreciate women throughout what they do and for everything they are. “A woman is not a potted plant” has very strong potential because of the powerful topic about women, and the poem has achieved this potential. This poem was clearly created to give clarity to those who were blind to everything women do and give pride to those strong women that surround us all. All women are”.