What is the effect of rukeyser's choice to write "poem" in free verse? the poet is able to write from the second person point of
view. the poem takes on a conversational tone as if talking to a friend. the poet only needs to worry about ideas, rather than rhythm and sound. the poem seems unplanned and chaotic, which is the intent of the author?
In "Poem," author Muriel Rukeyser tells us that she "lived in the first century of world wars." The main idea of the poem is how this was an era of madness ("I would be more or less insane," "more or less mad for similar reasons," "a nameless way of living," "unimagined values," "the lights darkened... the lights of night brightened"), and how the people were deeply affected by this madness and by the wars. The fact that the poem is written in free verse contributes to this mood of confusion by making the poem seem unplanned and chaotic.
