The Colonel by Carolyn Forche

The poem “The Colonel” by Carolyn Forche, expresses the feelings this man has towards the author. However, his emotions are directed towards her country, but he feels as though telling her will make a difference. Through allusions, expositions, metaphors and hyperboles, she manages to describe a war between her country and his. These devices give the poem characterization by adding specific moods and atmosphere. This gives the reader more of a sense of how the author wants to get her message across.

The opening sentence of this poem explains that the author is an actual character in her poem and the man she is describing has a particular past in which she tells us is true. The type of tone the author starts out with is allusion. The word “heard” (1) makes reference to the man she is going to be talking about. This lets the reader understand that the man had a past occurrence, in which people questioned. She is letting the reader know that the facts heard about this man are true. The reason she knows this is because the phrase “I was in his house,” (1) lets us as readers know, that she is telling us a piece of her own life.

After we realize that the author is inside this mans house, she begins to describe the actions of what each family member is doing. She does this through exposition. The information gives a brief description of what everyone is doing once she is inside the house. The wife is serving coffee, a common thing done when a guest is present. The daughter is filing her nails, a usual female act; while the son is out for the night. The author presents this image as just an average family.

As average as they can be, the author is looking around the room and noticing ordinary things a person would find in every household: daily newspapers and pet dogs. However, the pistol resting on the cushion beside the man could signify a type of job he holds. Again, the author uses exposition as a way to help the reader understand more of what this man and his way of living are like. The phrase, “daily papers, pet dogs,” (3) proves even more how average this household is. In fact, it models after the families that existed during the fifties. These types of families were the ones were nobody ever raised their voice and all problems were resolved orderly. Aside from his standard way of living, his pistol not only indicates a job description, but it shows a sign of security. This man feels as though he needs his pistol beside him at all times because he fears random attacks from outsiders.

When the author mentions the moon, it sets the scene for the evening, or a room with little lighting. A metaphor best describes the phrase, “moon swung on its black cord,” because it explains the lighting inside the room. The moon is a light bulb hanging from the ceiling and because the moon does not cast a lot of light during the night, the room is not well lit from this light bulb. This man is in a dim lighted room because he is fearful to be seen from whoever might attack him and the lack of light will not give him away so easily.

The pistol mentally reappears when the author mentions that this man has a cop show on television and makes it relevant that it is in English. The exposition that she uses, justifies the phrase “It was in English.” (5) This gives the reader a brief fact that this man, who is playing a key role in the author’s story, does not speak English as a first language. The fact the he is watching a cop show explains that he has some military force and carries a pistol around with him as a safety precaution.

The author continues to describe the room that she is in. She gives off a severe image of this room, using a hyperbole. The appearance of the room has broken bottles implanted into the walls, however, these glass shreds jutting out creates a hazardous environment. She explains that these pieces of glass are sharp enough to rip out someone’s kneecaps or shred a persons hand to threads. This room shows that something dreadful has happened, and the man feels as though it is better to be left at rest then stirred up again.

A further description of the room comes when the author explains the look of the windows. This personification shows how the man is fearful for his life, not only by carrying a pistol and living in a dark room, but also by shielding the windows with grates, “like those in liquor stores.” (8)

The reader finally learns that the author is a visitor to a foreign country. She