Almost everyone, at some point in their life, faces the heartbreak and loneliness resulting from a broken relationship . In “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” Kevin Young uses literary devices to describe the cruelty of a past relationship. The poem successfully demonstrates the speaker's story of love and loneliness, illustrating the inner turmoil one faces after a relationship deteriorates. Young uses a taxidermy metaphor, cruel tone, and contradictions to emphasize his desire to preserve the joy and vitality of a past love. Young uses the literary device of metaphor to illuminate the speaker's pain and desire to cling to his lover and the love they once shared. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an original essayIn the poem, the speaker puts himself in the shoes of a taxidermist: “I hope/hang your head/on my wall,” (1-3), “the slightest taxidermy/ makes me shudder” (5-6), “and breaks your heart like a horse/ or its leg” (14-16). A taxidermist practices the art of preparing, stuffing and mounting animal skins. By connecting with one of them, the speaker uses a metaphor to symbolize the pain of his fleeting relationship. Furthermore, he metaphorically inflicts this pain on his lover, similar to the practices of a taxidermist. The speaker's loneliness and contempt are clearly established. Additionally, the final lines of the poem describe the speaker's ultimate goal: "trying to avoid losing the skin, the bobcat smile of the living" (Young 33-34). By metaphorically practicing the art of taxidermy and preserving the "bobcat" for display, the speaker demonstrates his desire to maintain the love he had with his lover. Throughout the poem, the taxidermist's victims symbolize the speaker's lover. His identification of the “ bobcat smile ” reveals the joy and vitality of their love. Thus, Young's taxidermy metaphor represents the conflict of a broken relationship and the speaker's goal of retaining that relationship. Young uses contradictions throughout the poem to highlight the speaker's confusion, which ultimately highlights his desire to maintain the vitality of his deteriorating love. The speaker oscillates between wanting to harm his lover and wanting his lover back: “Let me go/I want to call you to yourself” (19-20). “tattoo mercy/ along my knuckles” (20-21), “I hope/ to have forgotten you/ before noon” (24-26). “To know you/ by your knees/ paralyzed by prayer” (26-28). The speaker contradicts himself several times. For example, he tells his lover to let him go, then suddenly changes his mind, wanting to call his lover his. In fact, he wants to show mercy to his lover. Then he states bluntly that he wants to forget his lover, but immediately afterward states that he wants his lover to plead to take him back. The speaker's inconsistent desires reveal his confusion about what he wants. Thus, her underlying aspiration to get her lover back is revealed. Although the anger revealed toward her lover negates her desire to put the pieces of their broken relationship back together, the speaker's sense of loneliness is emphasized. Therefore, the contradictions presented further show the speaker's desire to retain the joy of his former relationship. “I'm trying to break your heart” includes a distinct and cruel tone, which establishes a sense of unity, thus emphasizing the speaker's desire. to preserve the vitality of his past love. The constant reminder of the pain that comes from a deteriorating relationship through the stark metaphor of the taxidermist stylistically ties the piece together as a whole and sets an ominous tone.