1. Persona and Tone:
* First-person narrative: Ortega uses "I" throughout the poem, establishing an intimate and personal connection with the reader and revealing her own emotional journey.
* Mournful and reflective tone: The poem's tone is steeped in sadness and contemplation, reflecting the speaker's profound grief for the tortoise.
2. Imagery and Symbolism:
* Sensory details: Ortega paints vivid pictures with words, evoking the tortoise's physical presence: "the weight of his shell / its mottled surface / the slow, deliberate pace / of his legs."
* Symbolism of the tortoise: The tortoise is a potent symbol of slowness, resilience, and longevity. The speaker uses it to evoke their own sense of loss and the permanence of death.
* Natural imagery: The poem uses natural imagery like "rain," "sun," and "trees" to create a sense of timelessness and the cyclical nature of life and death.
3. Figurative Language:
* Metaphor: "A slow, green heart" is a powerful metaphor that compares the tortoise's shell to a heart, highlighting its vulnerability and the speaker's emotional connection.
* Personification: Ortega attributes human characteristics to the tortoise, such as "he knew his way," "he carried his house on his back," which emphasizes the creature's intelligence and unique nature.
4. Structure and Form:
* Free verse: The poem doesn't adhere to a strict rhyme scheme or meter, which allows for a more natural flow of thought and emotion.
* Short lines and stanzas: The concise lines and stanzas create a sense of intimacy and reflection, reflecting the speaker's introspective state.
* Repetition: The repetition of phrases like "slow, deliberate pace" reinforces the idea of the tortoise's measured nature and the speaker's sense of longing.
5. Emotional Impact:
* Personalization: The poem avoids sentimental clichés, focusing instead on specific details and memories of the tortoise, making the grief feel real and relatable.
* Cathartic release: The poem offers a space for the speaker to process their grief and find solace in remembering the tortoise.
By using these techniques, Ortega crafts a poignant and moving elegy that captures the complexities of grief, the beauty of nature, and the enduring power of love and loss.