1. Refrain- refrain is used when a line is repeated in a stanza or a poem. In the poem, the first two lines of five stanzas are repeated in the poem. The lines “Put it on record./ I am an Arab” are repeated to show the resilience of the poet.
2. Repetition- Repetition is a literary device in which a word, phrase, or line is repeated for emphasis or effect. The phrases “I have eight children” and “Beware” are repeated twice in the poem.
3. Anaphora- anaphora is when a phrase is repeated in the beginning of the lines. In the poem, the first words are repeated in the lines: “I am an Arab./ I am a name without a title”, “Before the burgeoning of the ages,/ Before cypress and olive trees,/ Before the proliferation of weeds.” “Colour of hair: jet black./ Colour of eyes: brown” and “I don’t hate people,/ I trespass on no one’s property.”
4. Metaphor- metaphor is used when the poet makes an undercut comparison between two things without using the words “like” or “as”. In the, the poet compares earning money and providing food, clothes and books to his children to wrestling in the lines “For them I wrest the loaf of bread,/ The clothes and exercise books/ From the rocks”.
5. Rhetorical question- a rhetorical question is a question asked by the poet without the intention of getting an answer but to put stress on an idea. Each stanza in the poem ends with the poet asking the listener “What’s there to be angry about?” This question is asked to emphasize how there is no reason or rational logic behind the government’s anger towards the Palestinians.

Identity Card Summary