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Poetic Analysis- Big Brother is Watching

As discussed in the Poetry Society of America Conference, “Poetry affects politics by affecting people; by affecting the way they see the world, the way they live and their tolerance for the different types of lifestyles and ways of being in the world.” This idea is evident in Erica Hunt’s “Surplus Future Imperfect.” This poem discusses the complex ideas of representative democracies, societal roles, and the overall power and government of one united people. Hunt portrays the disturbing reality of an authoritarian government that blurs the line of democracy and dictatorship. The tone is grim and eerie which elicits a worrisome mood for people in any society. Since government is a universal topic, the audience stems to anyone who is educated enough to understand the underlying meanings of Hunt’s diction.  Her word choice, and especially the repetition of that word choice, creates a more artistic representation of the critical issues she is arguing against. The repetition of the word “No,” when she lists freedoms that have been omitted due to tyrannical governments, accents how large and important the issue is. Additionally, it shows the potential possibility of it happening in the future. This kind of prosody creates stress on the limitation of people in a society along with an intonation of negativity and oppression. The free verse structure makes a more impactful conversation, since the audience is able to relate more to a casual poetic structure rather than a traditional one. The poetics of Erica Hunt’s poem relates back to the idea that was discussed in the conference, that poetry will affect the people who read it, which in turn will affect politics.

I greatly connect with this text because I agree with all of the points Hunt is making. We, as a society, must question our role in a time of great political, economic, and social turbulence. With the current political climate not just in the United States, but in the entire world, it is absolutely necessary to stand against unjust and tyrannical power, for those who can and cannot fight against it. I believe Hunt is making it clear that this could potentially be America’s future, since her title includes, “future imperfect.” This means that something may happen in the future. She excellently references 1984, a futuristic novel about the government taking complete control of its citizens, in the last line, “No thought police, we all became deputies, we never let a line blur.” She distinguishes between the oppression of a society’s thoughts, and fighting against said oppression through diction and structure. I believe this is a timeless poem because these issues will continue to persist regardless of what era it is. It is a reminder for what people in any society need to accomplish in order to sustain just government and most importantly, freedom.