Final Draft

                            Poetry Essay on “Photography”                                             

The main focus of the poem, “Photography” by Nikki Giovani is to remain aware of the world around you. You need to leave your personal comfort zone sometimes and think about the world outside of what affects you.  The poem uses imagery throughout the text in various ways.  The poem uses metaphors and similes with items having to do with photography; like various parts of the camera.

“The eye we are told is a camera”, is a direct quote from the poem “Photography”.  It shows that people can be like a camera’s lens seeing only what the photographer chooses to see. In the summer it is easy to focus on the sun and not the ice. This example suggests that people like to remain oblivious to things they would rather not know about.

Another quote is “The film is the heart”.  This means that our memories define us, making us who we are today because the film is technically like the “memory” of a film camera.  It also shows that people have strong emotions about memories and things that they experience.  The way that this connects to the overall theme of “Photography” is that people may not want to see things that contrast with their personal beliefs about the world, particularly things that distress them.

Another quote from the poem is “It’s easy sitting in the sun to forget that cold exists”.  This quote I interpret to mean that it is easy when you’re happily living your carefree life (this would be the warmth of the sun) that there are people who are suffering. and that terrible things happen (this would be the cold).

In conclusion, an internal theme in the poem “Photography” is the way people act when they are happy with life and ignore the misery that constantly goes on day to day.  The poem does not just focus on peoples obliviousness.  It also emphasizes that you need to be aware of what is happening in the world.