My Goldfish Took Up Tennis
My goldfish took up tennis.
They installed a little net
at the bottom of their fishtank
for their first official set.
They got tennis balls and racquets.
They got tennis shoes and shorts,
for my fish are fond of tennis
more than any other sports.
It's a funny thing to watch them.
When they practice every day,
as the tennis balls they serve each other
always float away.
Kenn Nesbitt
1. Dramatic Situation – The perspective is through the eyes of a goldfish and his desire to pick up the game of tennis. It set in a fish bowl where life for a goldfish is oh so mundane.
2. Structure – the structure of the poem consisted of a rhyming scheme. The first stanza was nontraditional with only a couplet rhyme, while the rest of the poem consisted of a traditional scheme of ABAB.
3. Theme – There really is no theme to this poem, but if there had to be, it was that some things just aren’t meant to be.
4. Grammar/Punctuation – The author used correct grammar through the entire poem and used commas to end a though and periods to end a stanza.
5. Imagery/Figurative Language – The other used descriptive imagery to get us in the mindset of the goldfish’s life. She described what it looked like in great detail.
6. Diction – She used playful words throughout the poem; keeping it light-hearted and funny.
7. Tone – The tone she used was humorous and somewhat ironic. You laugh at the fact that a goldfish of all creatures, is trying to learn tennis. Especially since you know that a goldfish will never have the capacity and skill to actually play tennis unless in a fantasy world.
8. Rhetorical Devices/Literary Terms – She uses symbolism throughout the poem. The goldfish represents anybody with a goal, but unfortunately not being able to complete the task due to your situation (i.e. the goldfish’s tank)
9. Prosidy – The flow of the poem was fluid and smooth. The rhyming scheme helped transition it from one stanza to another.
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