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Jennifer Jones
ENGL 414 A
Dr. Burke
February 10, 2016
LSW: Poetry
I really enjoyed A Kick in the Head by Joan Bransfield Graham. I enjoyed this poem
because of the visuals it provided. I have never seen a poem that is constructed the way this one
is. I loved how the words are the outline of a person and how the words that say opens its arms
to me the words are placed to have the persons arms in the poem to be wide open. I also
liked that when the poem continuesjabs me in the heart it then follows, thump, thump. I
like how I was able to read the sound that the heart makes instead of just seeing a picture of a
heart. I like how the legs are words and that when the person in the poem looks as if they are
actually kicks something.
The thing that grabbed my attention the most about this poem was that it was in the shape
of a person. I think that by having the poem in the shape of a person it really allows the reader to
see what is going on and it provides a great visual of the meaning of the poem. The form of this
poem draws my attention, making me pay close attention to what the poem is saying but also
what the poem is doing. To young children they might find this form of poem funny because it is
in the shape of a person. I think this poem is trying to show that poetry can have all kinds of
feelings and interpretations of what is being said during the poem.

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Questions:
1. What made Joan Bransfield Graham having the poem in this form?
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Maybe the poem was written this way to grab the readers attention and focus on
what was being said and see if people are able to notice that the arms are open
wide and that the leg is kicking as it says it does.

2. Why did the author write thump thump in the poem instead of using a picture of a
heart?
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Maybe because the author wanted to show that words can have just as a strong
effect on the poem and its meaning as a picture does.

3. What does the big circle represent that is being kicked?

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Maybe it represents the use of imagination and that everyones imagination is

different. It seems to me that the person in the poem is kicking his or her own
imagination.