Extended Learning poem analysis

Clare Hegener

The poem “Isn’t It Right? We Are Equal” is truly an inspirational work of art. The poem

surrounds a concept of equality and all the things that make up basic human rights. In the poem

literary elements like repetition are used to establish a clear message to a reader.

A major key part to conveying such a strong message in this poem is the passion it was

written with. The poet Jennifer Byrne wrote with a very hopeful tone You can see in her piece how

she points out all the things children need and deserve to hopefully make a connection to the

readers heart and create a feeling of empathy. In the first stanza lines one and two read “Isn't it

right that every child should have a bed. To have a roof over their head?” Right away you can see

how the poet uses a question to force a reader to think about what really is right. It helps that her

passion also comes from age. Byre was very young when she wrote this poem and hearing words

of hope come from a child creates a whole new set of feelings for a reader.

This poem had a certain wow factor to it that left a reader really thinking about how society

controls many aspects of our daily lives. The meaning of this poem goes from fundamental

necessities of a child like a house, education and proper health care to much larger topics like

suicide. Overall tis poem brings topics surrounding children and teens to the light. I think the poet

had the intention of reaching an older generation and trying to get across a message of basic

humanity. Most people would agree with the basic structure of the poem. I don’t think many people

in the world would argue that kids should be homeless or that suicide is not a problem that

American teens face today. By openly talking about how society forces comparison on kids and

the other problems she mentioned Jennifer Byrne has created a much larger discussion.
 My favorite line in the poem is “Everyone is valued the same amount of worth”. This line

is something that I think everyone needs to hear. There is such a pressure on teens in America. and

other parts through the world, to look and act a certain way but, this line of the poem equals

everybody out. If there is one message, I would share with Americas youth it would be very close

to that line.

Preforming the poem in class helped me bring the poem alive and hopefully other people

were impacted similarly to the way I was. Jennifer Bryne created a very powerful poem at a young

age, and I think it should be shared.