The article, Dear Future Generations: Sorry by Prince Ea Analysis intends to magnify the acclaimed work of Richard William, known as his theatrical name Prince Ea. In this poem, Richard addresses the future generations and shows his distress for the harm we are trying to cause them. He thinks that humans have created a lot of mess for the upcoming generations as they are caught up in their business.
He feels sad when he says how the beauty of the earth was corroded by its inhabitants. He talks about the extinction of the natural world; and explains how natural beauty has been superseded in the name of advancement. Technology has weakened man’s connection with his authentic self. To support his ideas, he uses the reference of the Amazon desert, which was once called the Amazon rain forest. There were billions of trees in that forest necessary for a pollution-free environment.
As the poem progresses, he states the benefits of trees with a pinch of gloom. He informs that the trees were burnt down to use that fantastic land for sports. He recalls the valuable culture of Native Americans who used to leave grounds for future generations. Unfortunately, nowadays people are greedy, they do not think about the upcoming generations. He talks about climate change in an engaging way. He laments the way humans have polluted the air ocean and have caused significant damage to the natural order. Unfortunately, people wear pollution masks in many countries to keep themselves healthy.
Toward the end, he again shows his most profound concern for future generations because we are designing a dangerous world for them, a world that lacks mental peace and natural glories. He does not blame any government institutional body for this loss. Instead, he considers everyone who played their role in creating this mess. He suggests that we should globally warm our hearts to make this planet a worth living place. The only possible solution to save this world is to protect nature. He suggests that we should join hands to solve the problems like poverty, inflation, global warming. Otherwise, we will be extinct.
Major Themes in Dear Future Generations: Sorry by Prince Ea
Man versus nature, sorrow, world’s disasters, and collaboration are the major themes layered in the poem. Throughout the text, the writer seems worried about the upcoming generations. He expresses his most profound sorrow when he talks about the brutalities he spots on earth. He reminds us how we have brought unnecessary changes to the face of the planet. We tried every possible way to betray nature by changing its natural process. We cut down trees and did various other experiments with a resultant loss of natural beauty.
Although we live in an advanced world l, have you ever thought about what this advanced world stores for future generations? Does it store filthy environment and problems like hunger, global warming, and inflation? Do they need to pay the price of what their ancestors did?? Through this simple poem, the writer urges us to think about our choices due to our greedy nature. He wants to make us realize that we are going astray; we are leaving our roots behind.
To him, we should restore the lost glories by joining hands. He adds it’s not the responsibility of any government official or political leader. Instead, it’s our responsibility to clean this planet so that our children would live a life full of colors. Thus, this poem highlights the inner worry of the speaker that he feels sorry for the unborn children and wants to make this earth a better place before their arrival.
Techniques Used in Dear Future Generations: Sorry by Prince Ea
While expressing his sorrow for the future generation, Prince has used many literary as well as poetic devices in the poem to grab the reader’s attention. The analysis of the devices used in the poem is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is when the writer/poet repeats vowel sounds in the same line such as; /o/ and /e/ in the following verses, “you probably know” and “let me tell.”
- Consonance: Consonance is when poet repeats consonant sounds in the same verse such as; “but the thing” and “were literally washed.” Here, he has repeated /w/ and /t/ sound.
- Free Verse: It is a type of poem in which no regular rhyme or meter is used. Dear Future Generations: Sorry is a free verse poem.
- Imagery: The writers use this literary device to make readers visualize and feel the things being conveyed in the text. Prince has also used strong images in the poem such as; “ice is melting”, “farmer sees a tree” and “Racism, Poverty, Feminism.”
- Metaphor: Metaphor is used to compare something with something else without using words like as or like. Prince has used worry as an extended metaphor to show the real face of the world.
Repetition: Repetition is inserted in the poem to bring musical quality in the poem. Prince has repeated the words, “I am sorry” throughout the poem.
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