Orchids Essay by Kristian Espinal

Orchids is a poem written by Hazel Simmons Mcdonald. The poem is about a bouquet of orchids
who were in the care of someone who did not appreciate them. In the poem, the persona received
a bouquet of orchids from someone. The persona made it very clear that they did not appreciate
the orchids as much and when they moved houses they forgot them. The persona would starve
them and was shocked to find out they had survived after sustaining so much neglect. The theme
for this poem is “Man’s response to nature”
One device in Orchids that is used very effectively is personification. In line seventeen, “They
were stubborn” We know this is an example of personification as a plant can’t be quote on quote
stubborn. This device was used to convey the feeling of bewilderment that the author had at the
moment as they were referring to the fact that the plants had survived against all odds. We know
the persona was really confused and expected the orchids to die.
Another device used in Orchids is irony. In line twenty-three to twenty-four, “Perhaps in their
thin dried transparency/I’ll discover their peculiar poetry”. The irony used is situational irony.
After the author constantly starving and neglecting the orchids, they finally learn to appreciate it
at the very end. These lines are used to represent the change of heart that the author had for the
Orchids.
One last device used in Orchids is in line thirteen to fourteen, “When the blossoms were full
blown/like polished poems”. It’s used to represent that the orchids were at it’s prime, as they
were blossoms. This device used visual imagery as we can imagine the beautiful sight that the
orchids had given. This also showed how little the persona cared for the orchids, feeding them
once, only when they were at it’s prime. This shows that they had no emotional attachment what
so ever.