A Beautiful Girl Combs Her Hair Analysis

Words: 468
Pages: 2

The poem A Beautiful Girl Combs Her Hair is told from a young man’s perspective. Li Ho, the author, uses such precise imagery to turn a girl simply brushing her hair into a fairytale story. His admiration for this young girl combing her hair is what helps make the poem so good. He uses several different traits from the girl to make the imagery of the poem come to life. Three of the main traits he illuminates are the comparison of the girl to a lotus blossom, the aroma of sandalwood coming from her hair, and aromatic silk. A lotus blossom is known for is purity and perfectness. In the poem, Li Ho says, “The lotus blossom wakes, refreshed”; although that is such a simple line, it gives an image as to how he views the girl. He sees a beautiful, pure, innocent girl. He uses figurative language and says that she is the lotus blossom. The girl and her beautiful, thick hair are both seen as pure. Li Ho uses such simple imagery, yet he has the ability to paint such complex mental images. …show more content…
It subdues poison. When he watched the girl let down her hair to be combed, he thought of aromatic silk. Everything about her is so pure that he thought she could purify him with her love and beauty. Li Ho watches her so closely and sees such detail from her through the simple act of watching her wake up and comb her hair. He saw such a delicacy about her that moment-by-moment he fell more in love with her as he watched her. This poem is so simple yet so intriguing. Li Ho uses the perfect amount of imagery to give the reader the feeling of being right beside him as he watched this beautiful girl wake up and start to comb her hair. When Ho wrote this poem, he turned a morning routine activity into something magical (NaPoMo). By illuminating the comparison of the girl to a lotus blossom, the aroma of sandalwood coming from her hair, and aromatic silk, he created imagery that is so clear for the reader to see while reading this