How to Triumph Like a Girl

“How to Triumph Like a Girl” is a compact poem that almost mimics a sonnet. The word sonnet comes from the Italian term meaning “little song”, and they are traditionally between 14 and 16 lines. They use rhyme and regular meter to create a strong, predictable rhythm. However, American sonnets and modern sonnets tend to be more informal, abandoning strict schemes of rhyme and meter while still adhering to the principle of brevity. “How to Triumph Like a Girl” is 18 lines long. Most lines are between 8 – 10 syllables, creating a compact image on the page and a strong if not totally predictable rhythm. This conciseness enhances the major theme of the poem, which is displaying the confidence and strength of women. The short lines present the speaker as confident that what she says will be taken as true without the need to labor the explanation.

Metaphor comes from the Latin “metaphora,” meaning “carrying over” and the Greek “metaphora” meaning “transference”. Using a metaphor allows a poet to point out the similarities between two things, carrying over similar attributes or meaning between them.