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May 11, 2024 · “Exile” by Julia Alvarez was first published in 1984 within her groundbreaking collection of poetry, Homecoming. With simple yet evocative language, the poem explores themes of displacement, cultural identity, and the struggle to reconcile a fractured sense of belonging.
The Poem. PDF Cite. Julia Alvarez’s “Exile” consists of seventeen four-line stanzas that convey a sense of shared recollection between the poem’s persona and her father.
- Summary
- Structure & Form
- Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
- Themes
- Line-By-Line Analysis & Explanation
- Conflicts
- Historical Context
- Similar Poems
- External Resources
Alvarez was merely ten-years-old when they had to leave their country. The adult matters were not comprehensible at this young age. All she knew was that they were heading to the beach for a cozy vacation. However, from the reaction of her parents and other members, it becomes clear that they were filing themselves away from their country. So, the ...
Julia Alvarez’s “Exile” is a narrative poem that records the experiences of the night when the poet had to leave the Dominican Republic. This piece records the emotions of several characters and vividly depicts the setting. Alvarez writes this poem in free-verse. It means there is no specific rhyme scheme or meter. Besides, it is a long lyric poem ...
Readers can find the use of the following literary devices in “Exile.” 1. Enjambment: It occurs throughout the text. Alvarez uses this device to make readers go through the consecutive lines in order to get the hang of her ideas. For instance, it occurs in the first eight lines of the poem. 2. Alliteration: The repetition of similar sounds in neigh...
Alvarez explores the themes of displacement, alienation, loss, and detachment in her poem “Exile.” This poem is about an innocent speaker’s experience of being expelled from her motherland — the country where she was brought up till the age of ten. Her discovery of the fact that she could no longer reside in her home or go to the family beach house...
Lines 1-8
Alvarez wrote the poem “Exile” based on her experience of leaving Ciudad Trujillo and settling in New York City in 1960. Everything happened so quickly that she could not even formulate whether she was drowning or floating awake, taken far away by the tide of banishment. The memory of that night is still vivid in her memory. Her father (Papi) told her they were heading for a vacation to the beach. So, they needed to dress up quickly. In the meantime, his father stood at the window devising wh...
Lines 9-16
No matter what kept sprinting in his head, Alvarez’s father had to alleviate the tension from her mind. So, he eyed her and told her what they would see on the way to the beach. Her uncles followed his lead and put fake smiles on their faces. They told him about the “good time” little Alvarez would have learning to swim. However, she could sense how hard they tried to fake their desperation and apprehension. While in her sisters’ room, Mami was packing hurriedly. She allowed some of their toy...
Lines 17-28
In the fifth stanza of “Exile,” it becomes clear that the speaker (Alvarez) could sense “Something was off.” However, she tried to console her that nothing might have happened. As a child, she was not aware that adult things could go wrong and have harsh consequences. Afterward, they quietly left their house that they would not see again for quite a long time (probably for another decade). In the next stanza, Alvarez uses figurative language in order to describe how she felt on the road. Afte...
Alvarez’s “Exile” is a narrative poem. It contains several conflicts that help readers understand the emotional state of the speaker as well as her family members. The first conflict appears in the fourth stanza. In this stanza, the poet describes the conflict inside her mother’s mind. She was extremely sad, but she could not express her real emoti...
Julia Alvarez was born in New York City in 1950. She lived the next ten years of life in the Dominican Republic. In 1960, she had to flee to the US after her father conspired to overthrow the dictator Rafael Trujillo. Alvarez revisits her experience of leaving the country in her poem “Exile.” This piece was published in her first collection of poet...
Check out Julia Alvarez’s novel How the Garćia Girls Lost Their Accents— This novel portrays a family forced to leave the Dominican Republic in similar circumstances as described in the poem “Exile.”Check out Homecoming: New and Collected Poems— Explore Alavarez’s one of the best-known collections. “Exile” appears in this book.- 1 min
Discussion of themes and motifs in Julia Alvarez's Exile. eNotes critical analyses help you gain a deeper understanding of Exile so you can excel on your essay or test.
A summary of Book I, Lines 27–722 in John Milton's Paradise Lost. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Paradise Lost and what it means. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans.
The two angels bring Satan before Gabriel, who, with God's help, banishes the tempter from Earth. When Eve awakes, she tells Adam of her troubling dream. Adam comforts her, reminding her that they are safe if they obey God.
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Dec 1, 2021 · The protagonist (or antihero) of Milton’s great epic poem is Satan, a fallen angel cast out of Heaven, who vows to bring about the Fall of Man, setting up his capital city, Pandemonium, in Hell (this is incidentally where we get the word ‘pandemonium’ from).
