The Power of Words
'Tis a strange mystery, the power of words!
Life is in them, and death. A word can send
The crimson colour hurrying to the cheek.
Hurrying with many meanings; or can turn
The current cold and deadly to the heart.
Anger and fear are in them; grief and joy
Are on their sound; yet slight, impalpable:--
A word is but a breath of passing air.
-Letitia Elizabeth Landon
Life is in them, and death. A word can send
The crimson colour hurrying to the cheek.
Hurrying with many meanings; or can turn
The current cold and deadly to the heart.
Anger and fear are in them; grief and joy
Are on their sound; yet slight, impalpable:--
A word is but a breath of passing air.
-Letitia Elizabeth Landon
A Quick Analysis About the Poem
What Landon is trying to tell the reader about her poem, "The Power of Words," is whatever words are used and come out of a person's mouth can have different kinds of effects depending on the person it is being told to. Landon uses imagery and symbolism skillfully to make the reader understand what strange letters are combined into making a creation that will be almighty to the speaker to use and what the outcome of such rawness will shadow the listener. At the very beginning of the poem, she is explaining that the power of words is but still a mystery to others and even herself. Words aren't actually objects moving in motion, but it's as if they a life of their own, possibly even carry death with the sentences they are used in. Blood can be shed, meaning words can cause such an outbreak of rage or misunderstanding; they can also cause such a wound to the heart that it's as if the person no longer has the will to live for they were to painful to bear to hear. It's also quite possible to hear the feeling of the words delivered just by the tone of the voice it came from. In Landon's opinion, these words that people speak of are only as insignificant as every breath we inhale and exhale.
Connection to the Book
This poem can also represent the way Liesel feels about the words in the books she has both read and stolen. Liesel knows and understands the power that words have on her as well as others. This is one of the reasons she reads to her family and friends in the basement shelter during the bomb warnings. The words from the book seem to have calmed everyone down and soothe them when all were vey panicked and frightened. Liesel also takes into account the power of words when she writes her story at the end of the novel. She hopes that she has written the book well and used the words in the right way for she knows it will have affected the readers it will come across. The poem also talks about how words are also related to feelings; this is also true for Liesel when she read The Grave Digger's Handbook. Her experiences with the book led her to remember her mother and the death of her brother. This experience brought a sad and nostalgic feeling to come over her every time she read the book.