Hurt Locker

The poem does not utilize rhyme. The poem uses alliteration, which is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words and stressed syllables. Combined with the speaker’s repetition of words like “Nothing” (Lines 1, 2), the alliteration of /n/ sounds creates an initial sense of force and a refusal. The alliteration also works to create a sense of denial. The speaker also utilizes the repetition of /b/ sounds in words like “but” (Line 2) and “bullets” (Line 2). These /b/ sounds combine with the /b/ sound in “bled-out” (Line 3) and “but” (Line 6) to mimic the sound of “bullets” (Line 2) and create the sound of gunshots. The alliteration continues in the second stanza, where the speaker repeats the phrase “Believe it when” (Lines 7, 8). Again, the repetition of the /b/ sounds creates the sound of gunshots. The repetition of /s/ sounds in words like “sniper” (Line 10) and “someone’s skull” (Line 11) creates a hissing sound that mimics a bullet traveling through air.

The poem also utilizes assonance, the repetition of vowel sounds. This technique is most evident in the second stanza, with the repetition of long /e/ sounds in words like “Believe” (Lines 7, 8) and “see” (Line 7). It also occurs later in the stanza when the speaker twice states “Open the hurt locker” (Lines 15, 17). Assonance is also evident in the word “Open” (Lines 15, 17) because of the long /o/ sound. The long /o/ sound creates a sense of giving way, of loosening, which breaks the poem’s previous rigidity.