Literary Analysis of the Poem "Kidnap" by Nikki Giovanni's
In the lyric poem “Kidnap' Nikki Giovanni's message is to grasp love or to seduce an adored individual. She is an African-American poet writer, activist and teacher. Throughout Giovanni's poem 'Kidnap', she uses a unique technique to compare poetic terms to her feelings. In her poem, she uses a lack of punctuation and capitalization to highlight the main points. Her free verse consists lines of varying length with just one stanza of 19 lines; she uses sound devices like alliteration and repetition to create a distinct rhythm, which forms the theme and tone of the declaration of love.
By using the lack of punctuation, Giovanni makes the poem flow and makes it informal. Lack of punctuation can represent the symbol of love like love is continuous. There are only three capitalized letters 'Ever/You/Play', and each of them outlines an important moment such as 'Ever been kidnapped by a poet' it outlines the main idea of the poet, kidnapping a specific person whom she loves. I think that using the lack of punctuation and capitalization is the main reason that makes it unique because it makes it easier for the audience to understand the organization and the scheme.
The poem consists of lines of varying length and just one stanza to emphasizes on main points, and usually, poets have a certain, but she doesn't. For example, “blend into the beach' is shorter verse, but the next line 'to complement my see' is longer. “put you in my phrases and meter..or maybe to Coney island..” here she illustrates how excited she is to take him on an adventure Her verse has 19 lines which are stretched out to one stanza since it is free verse the poem's structure designed uniquely. Plus, it shows her excitement, she complements him to make a perfect pair of love.
Giovanni adds sound devices, alliteration and repetition to create a distinct rhythm. She woven(s) out those devices throughout the poem to make a steady rhythm. By using alliteration, she expresses her emotions of love more in-depth, like 'Lyric you in lilacs'; where the lyric is a narrative poem and lilacs are flowers which compares love and innocence. 'kidnap/you' are repeated in the poem which gives a discrete rhythm. “kidnap' criminal behavior shows that she is in love with the person unconditionally.
In conclusion, Nikki Giovanni's free verse contains soothing words that emphasize when love forms towards someone is uncontrollable. I think she tried to make her poem different from other poets by adding unique elements which makes it attractive to the audience to read and listen. Adding to that, she shows her love and warmth to an individual with specific phrases. Overall, this poem is an extended metaphor, and it’s about affection.
