Shevchenko Poems - Book Report/Review Example

Poetry Analysis In his poem “The Testament,” Taras Shevchenko expresses his dying wish, which entails having his body transported to his country, Ukraine, which he really loves (Kovalʹchuk, 23). He desires to be buried by Dnieper, probably by the banks of the big Dnieper River. Further, judging from his title, The Testament, Taras clearly reaffirms this wish to be buried in Ukraine. His approval of Ukraine as the perfect place is shown through his use of personification. In the fourth line, he refers to his land as being fair.

Taras uses rhyme to enhance the rhythm of the poem. End rhyme is used effectively in the tenth and eleventh lines as shown:…racing blood,…hated blood… This rhyme shows that the goodness of his country and river can render the effects of their enemies powerless.He also uses rhetoric questions effectively. In the last and ninth last lines of the poem, such rhetoric questions have been posed. ‘… you will speak of me?’Rhetoric questions help in arousing the audience to reflect on the value of liberty and his need for being recognized as a legacy.

Kovalʹchuk (25) argues that in the poem, ‘The Bewitched Woman’, Taras Shevchenko handles tragedy in such a narrative style which the poem greatly assumes.The poem reveals the story of a girl wandering in the night, looking for her lost lover. She is so much grieved, and an attempt to wait for the lover tragically ends in her death, as her lover arrives only to find a corpse.Personification is employed, and with it the effect of uncertainty is created. The Dnieper River is described as groaning and roaring.

This is further heightened by the alliteration in the fourth last line of the first stanza. The words cock-crow… crowed… have the / k / sound initially alliterating, and a sense of uncertainty is heightened. Taras used a range of symbols, images and the poetic forms in general to pass his hematic concerns through his poetry, such as in ‘The Testament’ and ‘The Bewitched Woman’.Work CitedKovalʹchuk, Marii︠a︡n M. A Brief Analysis of Shevchenkos Nevolia and Its Effect on His Poetry.

Hazelridge, MB: M.M. Kowalchuk, 1998. Print.