“Circe’s Torment”, “Siren” “Circe’s Torment” and “Siren” by Louise Gluck are two poems that were before there time. Women poets did not write about failed relationships or being in a “love triangle”. Gluck was one of the best contemporary poets and open a new world of topics for women poets to write about. In both poems, the narrators are in love with men who are currently married. Both narrators express their frustration with these men and talk about the love they have for them. These women have been in a romantic relationship with these men who are living a “double life”, but as you can tell both of these women get left high and dry and usually women are to blame for the man cheating. Why is this the case? Is it because these women have control over who they fall in love with? Or maybe because women should just know better? Both of these statements are ridiculous and because we live in a male-dominated society, the woman is always to blame. Maybe we need to take a deeper look into our culture and consider who is to truly blame for the cause of this. In “Circe’s Torment”, the narrator is mainly looking back at the relationship and embracing the love they had for each other. She is mainly focused on having this man in her life, unlike in "Siren" where you can see the emotional outrage she is experiencing. For example, the narrator states "You loved my body, as you found there, Passion we held above, All other gifts, in that single moments" ("Circe's Torment"). It was clear that these two had great chemistry and the relationship was full of passion. Unfortunately, the man picks his wife over the narrator and the narrator is fully committed to getting him back. The woman is questioning why her ex man left and is in a sense of desperation to get him back. She believes that their relationship was strong and no one could come in between them. Unfortunately, she is wrong in the end. In "Siren", as I stated earlier she is expressing more outrage than heartbreak (or maybe a combination of both). This woman tends to focus on herself, consistently using I or talking about what she has done for this man. For example, she states “I was a good waitress, I could carry eight drinks” (“Siren”). Making it seem like she had a good life before this man had come in it. She also talks about how his wife is a bad person and how she used to do all these things for him. Which led to me assuming that she was outraged. Unlike in "Circe's Torment", she tends to focus on other factors outside of the relationship, blaming these factors for her ex leaving. Her outrage could tend to make the reader think that she does not want to be with the man anymore after he did this to her. She is disgusted with him and does not want to see him again. I know what it is like to try to walk away from someone and they know what to do to pull you right back in. It sucks. But as a society, we must not victim blame and truly look into the true issue. We cannot just assume that a woman/man is a "homewrecker or is horny" because she/he was led on by someone else, who is not happy in their original situation. We must hold people accountable for their wrong actions and not blame the other party because it is the easier thing to do. We must change our ways.
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“My Papa’s Waltz” “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is a short poem in the postmodern era that shows the theme is very uncertain. Some believe that the poem talks about the controversial issue of parental abuse. The narrator is telling the story from his point of view, which in the first stanza seems to describe an alcoholic father and the narrator scared for his life. Other interpretations may see this poem in a positive light, where there is a hard-working father, who is dancing with his son and shows his love towards his son. The uncertainty of this poem leaves it up to the reader to decide if the poem was positive or negative. The ABAB lyrical rhyme scheme and descriptive verb usage makes this poem stand out and the views of modern life that Roethke shares with the reader adds to it as well. Throughout the poem, the narrator describes abusive behavior from his father and the father shows signs of alcoholism. In the first and last stanzas, the narrator brings in the element of the father having whiskey on his breath and him having to hold on "like death". "The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy, But I hung on like death, such waltzing was not easy" (Roethke, "My Papa's Waltz"). In this stanza, you can sense the tension and conflict with the father and son at the time. The son is in a hopeless situation while his father is drunk and is taking his anger out on his son. Notice throughout the poem, the author uses verbs like beat, scraped, romped, clinging. As these are words of hopelessness, violence, and desperation, it gives the reader a sense of imagery as you can imagen the boy being abused by his father. Even though this poem may give off an abusive tone to some, others see it differently. In the last stanza, it can also give a sense of love and caring. "Then you waltzed me off to bed, still clinging to your shirt" (Roethke, "My Papa's Waltz"). After the father and son dance, the narrator is clinging to his father's shirt because of the love and admiration that he has for his father and how he does not want the dancing to stop. The father dancing with the son and taking him to bed shows that the father loves his son. The narrator could be positively talking about his father and his childhood growing up. The memories of his father are still present with him and have strong love for him. The short poem does not have a clear message and it is very hard to tell what kind of theme Theodore Roethke was aiming for. Overall, the poem is an all-time great and its special qualities are a reason why it still stands out today. “A Street Car named Desire” “A Street Car named Desire” written by Tennessee Williams is an iconic play that debuted on Broadway in 1947. This play took the world by storm because of its controversial topics and intriguing storyline. When the play first released, it was a shifting point in American society. In the 1950s, American citizens had more wealth than ever before. The middle class had become large rapidly due to the increase in the manufacture, advances in technology, and the baby boom. Even though the 1950s were good times from a financial standpoint, there were still many issues in America that this play examines. There were gender conflicts between men and women at the time. Women were fighting for independent rights and protesting against certain policies that discriminated against women. Some men did not like that and backlashed against those women. That was a common theme in this play while it was Stanley vs Blanche for the majority of the play. Stanley was the husband to Blanche's sister Stella. Stanley was considered middle class and was very controlling of Stella. He could get violent and did not like the presence of Blanche. Stanley could be considered a “typical 1950’s man” who wanted control of the household and control over women. On the other hand, Blanche is a southern girl, who is both fragile and courageous, has been seen as a beauty, and can be delusional. Blanche has gone through some times in her life and wants to believe that all men are good, but fails to realize that is not the case. These two polar opposite characters have conflicted the whole play and it brings out this narrative of Realism vs Illusion. Stanley represents realism by wanting people to be themselves and living life by just how it is. Blanche brings a different perspective by her making things up in her mind and living in a fantasy world. These two different perspectives lead to many controversies in the play and cause Stella to be in the middle of both Stanley and Blanche. One example of a conflict is when Stanley founds out that Blanche has been lying about her life this whole time and confronts her. Stanley is upset because he can not see who the real Blanche is and does not like how she is fake. This goes back to the realism that Stanley brings to the play. He can not stand that he was being lied too. Also, I believe that he could not stand the fact that he could not control Blanche. With his controlling nature, it upset him that he could not get to Blanche until after he rapes her. Which, he controlling Blanche and damaging her spirit. Another example would be when Blanche is shocked that Stella would go back to Stanley after he hits Stella. The next morning, Blanche tells Stella how Stanley is an “animal" and tries to save Stella from Stanley. Blanche shows how courageous she is by telling Stella how she feels about Stanley. In the 1950s, women did not stand up and try to encourage women to leave their husbands. Unfortunately, Stanley is in the next room and hears what Blanche has to say and it just makes him even dislike Blanche more. Stanley believes that Blanche is getting into Stella's head, and is encouraging a change in Stella’s behavior. This leads to Stanley exposing Blanche for her lies and ends up ruining Blanche's only a chance at a romantic relationship and her mental health as well. Which causes Stella to believe Stanley over Blanche at the end of the play. “For My People”
“For My People” by Margaret Walker is an inspirational poem that was written during the Harlem Renaissance. The poem is known for its repetition and present verb tense. The present verb tense plays an important role in the poem by showing that these actions are presently happening at the time. These verbs like cooking, digging, scrubbing, etc. emphasize the labor that African Americans had to encounter during slavery and also after. Also, Walker is dedicating this poem to African Americans and shows the reader how much they have overcome and how they handled adversity. This poem was a testament to the strength of African Americans. The two stanzas that had stood out to me were the first and last stanza. In the first stanza, Walker recalls slaves singing and the forced labor they had to do. These were times of grief, confusion, and utter sadness. These people were kidnapped from their homeland and forced to do labor if they refused, they were beaten, sold, or even killed. There was rarely any joy for the slaves, but they were joyous when worshipping Christianity. In the last line, Walker describes slaves worshipping Christ and submitting to God. This shows how strong of a relationship the slaves had with Christ. Even in their horrendous conditions, they still believed that God would get them through slavery and lead them to freedom. In the last stanza, when Walker writes “Let a bloody peace be written in the sky” she wants people to come together and love each other. We as humans should be compassionate to each other and help when one is in need. Not tear a race down, and degrade them for being different. Also, Walker wants Caucasians and African Americans to possibly work together one day and take control. In this case, she predicts the future as of now. Today, most whites and blacks will work together and fight against social inequalities. They work together to create change just like Margaret Walker wanted. Margaret Walker poem is very powerful and can cause readers to create change. It is an inspirational piece and will move readers emotionally. “In Just” In the short poem, “In Just” by e.e. Cummings, the poem represents a unique writing style by Cummings and uses varies amounts of imagery to paint a picture in the readers head. The word-usage makes the poem's tone joyful and represents change. Also, with the unique transitions, it makes the poem stand out by showing a different way to interpret poetry. “In Just” is just not a testament to change, it is a testament to being happy and beautiful sunny days that everyone loves. It brings a sense of uplift to the audience. Throughout the first part of the poem, the author is showing the excitement of spring. After long, cold, and snowy winters, spring is like a "gift from God." The author shows the excitement of spring by showing how children are playing, the balloon man is whistling, and how some are dancing. Like I stated before, Cummings is using spring to show how there is excitement and uplift in the world. When spring comes, it is like a weight is lifted off your shoulders and everything just seems like it is good. This was the first observation of this poem for myself. Secondly, I believe that Cummings also focused on the innocence of children. Throughout the poem, you can see that he is describing children playing and how they are enjoying spring. "From hop-scotch and jump-rope it' spring" (Cummings, "In Just"). These children are innocent and just enjoying their time being kids. This change could represent those children who are playing, becoming into adults in their future. Adults are not as innocent as children and that change in scenery is like the change they will make their future. Which may tie to the sexual theme that some have said that they have interpreted in this poem. Cummings meaning behind this poem can relate to many people in the world, which is why this poem is universal. His language use and imagery make it easy for the reader to picture themselves during springtime and enjoying that time of the year. “In Just” is a delightful read and can connect with the reader. “This just to say”
In the short poem “This Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams, Williams unique layout and choice-words can leave the reader with many different interpretations of the overall message of this poem. With the unique layout, this reading is not set up like a typical poem, but can give the reader more of a sense of someone writing a letter/note. This reading has a very interesting word choice that can make readers interpret the reading in many different ways. In the first stanza, the narrator is admitting to eating plums that were not his. The second and third stanza can cause confusion to the reader because of his tone and word-choice. In the second stanza, the narrator states "and which you were probably saving for breakfast"(Williams, “This Just to Say”), which can give the reader a funny feeling that the narrator knew that this person who he is writing to, wanted those plums and were looking forward to eating them. The stanza can come off as him “teasing” or rubbing it in that he knew that this person wanted the plums, but he decided to eat them anyway. In the third stanza, the narrator asks the person for forgiveness, but it does not seem sincere. “Figure me, they were so delicious, so sweet and so cold” (Williams, “This Just to Say”), saying that the plums were so delicious can be condescending if you are trying to apologize for eating them. If the narrator was truly sorry, he would have not have talked about the plums so highly. The narrator is asking that person for forgiveness, but it is more like a “sorry not sorry.” Like I stated in the first paragraph, there are many different interpretations of this poem. The other unknow character plays a big role in the overall theme of this poem as well. If we know what the relation of that person is to the narrator, it could change the whole meaning of the poem. Another interpretation that this poem could convey, is that the narrator could be writing this note to a significant other and he could be flirting with this person. The last stanza makes that meaning possible with how descriptive it is and those adjectives that are being used could be referring to the significant other. This could be a “friendly tease” by the narrator to just show his feelings for the significant other. The fact that there can be so many different interpretations of this poem is what makes it so great. There is not a right or wrong answer, the overall theme can be whatever you think it is. William Carlos Williams poetry is universal and can connect with many different people throughout the world. |