Brooklyn Cop (copy)

“Built like a gorilla”

Cartoon-like description. Imposing figure. Physically strong and muscular.

“but less timid”

Could be a jokey tone: gorillas are known for being fierce. Describes the cop as brutish and brash.

“thick-fleshed, steak-coloured”

Word choice compares him to a piece of meat: raw and uncompromising. Connotations of blood and violence.

“two hieroglyphs in his face”

Metaphor. Compares his eyes to symbols which are difficult to read. Portrays him as emotionless and stone cold.

“he walks the sidewalk and the thin tissue over violence.”

Metaphor. Violence is never far away. Peace is fragile and delicate like tissue paper. Contrast to the “thick flesh”. Importance of the cop in preserving peace.

“that mean

trouble”

Enjambment. Emphasises “trouble”

“he hoped it, he truly hoped it.”

Repetition stresses the danger of his environment. Suggests desperation which contrasts with the usual casual nature of the comment and the emotionless cop.

"to whom ‘Hiya, honey’ is no cliche.”

Genuine loving greeting rather than a casual comment. Grateful to make it home safely each day.

The last 5 side of the stanza show his human side and his vulnerability.

“tissue tear”

Alliteration creates a quick phrase that implies a sudden act.

“Plunge”

Word choice implies that violence can be abrupt and uncontrollable.

“Whamburger”

“Wham” is a comic book slam or punch. Suggests violence.

“Louie’s Place.”

American style name rooting in the poem in New York. Doesn’t sound glamourous. Sounds cheap or even the kinds of places where criminals hang out.

Stanza 2

Long sentence reflects the range of possibilities and challenges that the police may face at any moment.

“gorilla with a nightstick”

Reinforces his vulnerability against the power of clubbings and gunshots in the previous stanza.

“Who would be him, gorilla with a nightstick, whose home is a place he might, this time, never get back to?

Rhetorical question captures the undesirable challenges the policeman faces. Alse challenges the reader if they would be willing to do this job.

“And who would be who have to be his victims?”

Rhetorical question. What kind of people would mess with the policeman and what would that have to do for him to turn to violence.

“his victims?”

Word choice of “victims”. Anyone who gets on the wrong side of him is his victim. Even though he is vulnerable to violence, he too can act violently.