Milk And White Analysis

This student’s analysis does a great job of analyzing the piece of poetry as a whole while at the same time taking time to discuss specific details. When first reading the poem, I did not know who Dan White, or Harvey Milk were, and the student’s analysis helped myself understand their importance affect on the LGBTQ+ community. It is important to identify the speakers own queer identity, as this helps highlight the shift in the poems sarcasm and serious tone. These shifts occur specifically when he uses figurative language, especially at the word play. The student does well to identify this word play throughout the poem. The sarcastic word play is used as an understatement to emphasize and be an example of the dismissal of the acts that have occurred. These acts are outrageous and awful, however, they’re affect on the LGBTQ+ community is overlooked and ignored. These examples of understatements can be found in lines 1 and 25. The synecdoche used to describe the people and couples as “levis and leather jackets” is meant to describe the LGBT+
Finally, the student did well to identify the intentional and the coincidental. Like was said, the reference to Milk and White are ironically similar, but it can never be known if this was intentional by the offer or just a coincidence between their last names. The juxtaposition mentioned is intentional, and he uses their last names as a way to put them as equals. He addresses them both as “Supervisor White” and “Supervisor Milk” to show that no man was better than the other. The student never did mention the title, The Mortician in his analysis. A mortician is typically known to make arrangements for the funeral. This sets the precedent to have a very grave and depressing tone to the poem. It can be seen that the writer is the mortician for those assassinated, and he is representing them and enlightening the public about the unlawful