212. Money by Victor Contoski (p. 280)

     The fist literary device used in this poem is personification. Money is given the human characteristics of, “nest[ing] in your pocket” and “shak[ing] hands with men.” Nesting in your pocket means that at first you will have it in your possession and it will be used to manipulate business deals with other men and also “lick the legs of women,” or make people want to be with you for your money. Finally when it says it will, “turn its head as if for a kiss and bite you gently in the hand,” it is expressing that eventually the money will leave you and you will be left with nothing and in “thirty seconds the poison will reach your heart.” By using this personification, the poet creates money as a character of sorts. It makes the money into the villain that leads you on and brings good fortune while its there, but inevitably leaves you with nothing. 

The second literary device used in this poem is hyperbole or an exaggeration. In the end of the poem it states, “there will be no pain but in thirty seconds the poison will reach your heart.” While Contoski is not suggesting that money can physically kill a person, he is expressing that money is relied upon so heavily that when misfortune inevitably comes and leads to the loss of money, it can feel like death. The hyperbole that money can actually kill a person helps to contribute to the meaning of the poem because it gives the poem a serious tone that money is too important in society. Money cannot literally kill somebody, however, it is seen as the foundation of society, and when someone loses all of their money it is seen as a loss of life. All of this contributes to Cantoski’s overall message that money is made too crucial in society and that it should not be the fundamental value of society.

I enjoyed this poem because of its use of personification of twisting money into a monster. I liked that it turned money into a character that had motives to make the societal commentary rather than telling a tale of someones misfortune. I thought that the meaning of the poem was that while money is initially a blessing that helps you to get ahead in society and brings comfort, it ultimately leaves you with nothing in the end, just like the curse of the lottery where when someone wins a lot of money but ultimately hits bad luck and loses it all ending up worse off then they started out.