Formula Poem: If I were Poem

There are many kinds of poem. One of them is formula poem. The formula poem itself has many types like If I were poem and color pom. The following is the example of analysis of a formula poem: If I were poem.

If I Were the Principal

If I were the Principal, boy, things would change.

Our school would be fun, if not a little bit strange.

We'd keep kangaroos in the classrooms as pets.

We'd travel to Tonga and learn to fly jets.

We'd get to make movies, and all become stars.

For field trips we'd blast off on rockets to mars.

We'd learn to raise monsters and build time machines.

We'd surf on tsunamis in sleek submarines.

We'd learn to make robots with nuclear brains,

and dig up a dinosaur's fossil remains.

We'd battle with pirates and plunder their gold.

We'd duel with dragons for treasures untold.

We'd practice some potions and magical spells

to stink up the schoolyard with sickening smells,

to make us invisible, eighty feet tall,

or turn into liquid or walk through a wall.

Yes, if I were Principal, that's what we'd do.

We'd lock evil scientists up in the zoo,

while vanquishing villains and capturing crooks.

In other words, we would read many more books.

--Kenn Nesbitt

1.   This poem belongs to formula poem

2.   Paraphrase: the poem tells about a boy who imagine himself to be the principal. If he were the principal, he would change many things. The students would do something fun and learn more practical and challenging lessons. The students would also be provided by more fun books.

3.   Poetic Devices

      The poem has five four –line stanzas (quatrain). The stanzaic rhyme scheme of this poem is a a b b. and all the rhymes are perfect rhymes because the stressed vowel sounds of the first and second lines; the third and fourth lines in each stanza are identical and the following consonant sounds are the same.

4.   Poetic Diction

     This poem uses allegory since there is a series of action which are in fact symbolic of other actions. Example: We’d surf on tsunamies in sleek submarines; we’d battle with pirates and plunder their gold; we’d duel with dragons for treasures untold. Those lines refer to challenging lessons. It means that so far, he only learns the less challenging lessons and wants to learn more challenging lessons.

      In this poem, the writer also uses satire. The satire is directed to the school institution. Through the poem, the writer tends to show his dissatisfaction on the school’s rules, curriculum, and facilities.

      a.  We can see first stanza line 2 and 3 (our school would be fun, if a little strange; we’d keep kangaroos in the classroom as pets); fourth stanza line 1 and 2 (we’d practice some potions and magical spells; to stink up the schoolyard with sickening smells). They show that the writer wants to be free from the school’s rules. He wants to do something fun that might be forbidden in the school. From those lyrics, we know that the rules in the school are too strict and restrain. As the consequence, the writer feels that the school rules limit his creativity.

      b.  From stanza 2 and 3, we can see that the writer likes to learn something more practical and challenging better than boring theoretical lessons. Moreover, from the last stanza line 2 (we’d lock the evil scientists up in the zoo), it is obviously seen that the writer want to hint at the school which emphasis too much to the theory. As we know that scientists are those who create the theories.

     c.   The last line of the last stanza (in other words, we would read many more books) shows that the school lack of facilities.

           The writer’s personal dissatisfaction is expressed through the poem in humorous treatment which aims to reform the school’s policy.

      Atmosphere: Dissatisfied

5.   Content

      Theme: dissatisfaction

      Message: the school should be fun so the students will be enthusiastic in studying.

6.   Point of View

      From a psychological point of view, “If I Were the Principle” poem can be read as a study in human aspiration. This poem describes how someone dissatisfied of the school institution and he hopes that bad condition will change,

7.   Comments: This poem is interesting and simple so that it is suitable for students of Junior High School level. It also can be a good example of the use of “if conditional type 2”.

Analyzed by Asri Atikah W., Nasih Iwan Susanto, and Yulia Shopiaty