BenjaminDoyle

ProfessorDean
EnglishL205
February16,2008
WordsandDictioninAdvicetoaFriendWhoPaints

ConsidershyCezanne,/
Thelayofthelandheloved/
Itsdumbstruckvanity,politeandbrute./
Thebatherinhissketchysuit,/
Theskulluponthemutepullofcloth./
Inyourtaxingandtearing,tuggingatart,/
ConsidershyCezanne/
Hisblushingapples./
Hisloveofman.//

InAdvicetoaFriendWhoPaints,KellyCherrywritestoafriendvoicingherconcernstoa
friendonhowsheshouldpaintbymakingsomesuggestions.Shepersuadesherfriendtoappreciate,
explore,andstudysomeofthesubjectsCezannepainted.InthepoemCherryexplainshowskillfully
hissubjectmatteroflandscapes,nudes,andmanyastilllifearepaintedsobeautifullyitcandeeply
movetheheart.Cherryrelatesheradvicetoafriendthatpaintsinanapproachwiththeuseofher
humblewordswithinthecontextofherdiction.
CherryspoemisanallusiontothelategreatpainterCezanne.Sheuseseuphonythatflowsasit
rollsoffthetonguethroughoutafewdifferentlinesinthepoem.Inthefirstcoupleofversesshe
begins,ConsidershyCezanne,/thelayofthelandheloved(lines12).Sheusesfemininerhymeto
emphasizetheuseofmultisyllabicwordslikeconsider,andCezanne;shetakesonahumbletone
ofvoiceinordertobestinformherreaderofheropinion.Inthefirstsentence,muchlikethegentle
strokesofthepaintersbrush,withthewaytheinternalalliterationishidden,emphasisfallsonthesoft
CsandSsdisarmingthereaderfromanticipatingaharshjudgment.
Likethepainter,shebeginsgingerlyinordertobestpresenttothemhersageadvice.Inthe
secondlinesheusesalliteration tocommunicateasimilarkindofsoundfoundbetweentheword
choice lay, land, and loved. A painter uses these particular relationships concerning the
environmentanditsatmosphere,likeapoet,adverbs,verbs,adjectivesasubjectanditsagreementetc.
toexpressasimilarperspective.Assonanceaddedtotheaffectherelendsitselftoanearfulofinternal
rhyme.
Nextthencomesaninterestinglystarkcontrastinsoundwhensheswitchesfromthesymphonic
euphonytotheharsh,garbledcacophonyinthefollowingsentenceswhenshewrites,itsdumbstruck
vanity,politeandbrute./Thebatherinhissketchysuit(34).Intheprecedinglineneartheendwe

seeuseofsomeabstractdictionaswellasaswellassomeconsonanceinthewordspoliteand
brutesidebysidewithemphasisconflictingonthelatterhalfofeachword.Bothofwhichmakefor
aninterestingcontrast,whereasinthesentencethereafteremploystheonlyuseofconcretedictionin
batherandsuitinthisquote.Andalthoughtheyarewritteninendrime,theseversesinandof
themselvesdonotblendseamlessly,especiallywiththewaythatthethirdlineclashes,saveforthe
final words brute andsuit. Otherthan that,an intentional series ofconsonant sounds ineach
syllableofthethirdlinedisagreewitheachother,onewordafteranothershowinghowthewordchoice
isaschallengingforthispoemtobereadasitistochoosehowtocomposeapainting.
Cherryrelatesherbelieftoherfriendinhowshefeelsthegreatonespaintinherexamplewith
Cezanne.Paintersusethecontrastbetweenlightanddark,foregroundandbackgroundtoquiteliterally
illustrateapoint;similarly,Cherryusesthesoundanddictionofapoemtohighlighttheconcept.In
exampleTheskulluponthemutepullofcloth.(57),asidefrommute,theonlywordsthatseemto
fitareskullandpullfoundonlywithintheirhiddenalliterationandmasculinerime.Inallits
cacophony,linefiveisacontinuationofthepreviouslinesinthreeandfourexceptforitsconcrete
diction.Surely,thisisanexampleofhowapaintingandapoemarecreatedwithaculminationof
concreteobjects,abstractsubjectsand,respectively,allthethingsinbetween.Althoughherpoemis
composedofadjectives,nouns,pronouns,verbs,adverbsetc.,thepictureitpaintscanalsospeaka
thousandwords.
Inherpoem,AdvicetoaFriendWhoPaints,KellyCherrycreates aparagraphpainterly
throughtheuseofherchoiceofwords.ThewayinwhichtheyareallputtogetheringeneralEnglish
representsmorethanjustwhatmeetstheeye.Heruseofcacophonyandeuphonysuggeststhata
painterstroublesandtrialsarenotmuchdifferentthanhersasawriter.Howeverdespitethefact,she

offers a kind word of encouragement to her friend. In your taxing and tearing, tugging at art, /
considershyCezanne/Hisblushingapples./Hisloveofman(69).Thespecificwordsusedandtheir
hardTsoundsmakeforaninterestingcombinationofabstractdictionandalliteration.Herexpress
useofwordsliketaxing,tearing,tugging,andartrepresenthowtryingitistobeapainteras
wellasawriter.Forherfriendswantofpaintingistuggingatart,soundslikeitisaconnotationthat
mightincludehowherfriendfeelsastrongforcetuggingatheart;acreativeemotionsopowerfulthatit
canoftencauseatearingheartbreak whenleftunfulfilled. KellyCherryswritinginAdvicetoa
FriendWhoPaints, demonstrateshowitisoftendifficulttoexpressanideabyherlimitationsin
writingaswellasitisforherfriendtopaintandhowshesympathizeswithher.Athermentionof
blushingapplesandloveofman,Cherryadvisesherfriendnottogetfrustratedwithherstruggleto
beagreatpainterbut,rathertoconsiderthesimplethingslikeCezannepainted,tomakeanappleblush
andaskullratherdullandtopaintthemgreatly.Sheempowersherfriendsdesirebysuggestingshe,
muchlikeCezanne,celebratelifebybringingoutitsvibrancyandlaughinginthefaceofdeathby
tauntingitsterror.

WorksCited:
Cherry,Kelly.AdvicetoaFriendWhoPaintsAnIntroductiontoPoetry.Ed.
X.J.KennedyandDanaGioia.12thed.NewYork:Longman,2007.58.

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