Analytical Essay of Poetry

Write a detailed analysis of the structure and/or content of Robert DeMaria’s poem “Hello Bones.” The structure is more than just the form (sonnet, villanelle, free verse, etc.). It also includes technical things such as the line length, stanza format, and general organization of the words in the poem. The content refers to the language of the poem. A careful analysis of the content will lead to a discussion about elements such as setting, speaker, theme, metaphor, irony, tone, etc. As explained in the handouts you have been reading and shown in the essay example I have included, just focus on three or four aspects of the poem that you feel conformable discussing. The key is to use the AXES paragraph format to make evidence-based claims. (I centered the poem on this page.)
Hello Bones
Hello Bones!
I hear you rattling down there
Inside my fat flesh.
Just do your job and shut up.
I don’t have to be constantly reminded That you support me,
That your joints ache,
That your marrow is overworked.
Don’t talk to me about early retirement. What the hell do you think I am, anyhow, A federal penitentiary?
I am only human. I need you.
Where would I be without you?
I’d fall apart.
I’d collapse like an empty coat
Dropped in a heap on the floor.
And then what?
Then what?
Source: The College Handbook of Creative Writing, 4th edition by ©Wadsworth Cengage Learning 2014, page 110
Your essay should be about 750 words, argumentative in nature, with a minimum of three textual references, each of which should be preceded by an assertion and followed by an explanation and interpretation or commentary (see AXES paragraph handout). Adhere to MLA 8th edition formatting guidelines. Include a separate “Works Cited” page. Also, be sure that your essay has a well-argued thesis statement in the introduction, body paragraphs that support your thesis statement, and a conclusion that sums up your argument. The essay should be free of grammatical, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling errors. Remember, the title of the poem should be placed inside quotation marks, quoted lines should be separated by a slash, and the parenthetical citation should refer to the line number(s) of the quotation. The first citation only should include the word “line” as in (line 1) but that word should NOT be repeated in subsequent references, which would thus appear simply as (3-4), for example. See relevant handout.