The poem that I connected to the most, in a weird kind of way is Lady Lazarus by: Sylvia Plath. The first time I read this poem, I found it a bit repulsive but interesting. So I read it again and again and after the fifth or sixth time of reading it, I saw certain lines that pulled at me strongly and was wondering why. I think the only way I can explain this is by first pointing out the lines that got to me in the first place.
“Them unwrap me hand and foot——
The big strip tease.
Gentlemen, ladies” (lines 28-30).
Now this stanza can be interpreted in many different ways. I certainly took it in many different ways at first, but then I saw that it connected with an emotion that I feel strongly about. I am in general a very shy person and I don’t liked to be put on the spot that often or at all really. So when a teacher would praise me for doing something right and they did it….in front of the whole class, I would shrink away and curse at the teacher under my breath. It made me feel like all eyes were on me, making me the “big strip tease” as the line says and it became embarrassing. The poem itself has a different meaning for this stanza and I think that it means that this woman would be put on in a show for all to see, like in a circus act. This next set of stanza’s explains it quite well;
“For the eyeing of my scars, there is a charge
For the hearing of my heart——
It really goes.
And there is a charge, a very large charge
For a word or a touch
Or a bit of blood” (lines 58-63).
It creates more of the circus act atmosphere, even if it is a macabre form of it. This may be why I like it. It seems like a poem that would be used in a Stephen King novel. I tend to go towards the unusual and not normally liked by people. But I think this why people like me as well, because I go for the weird and unusual. I like things that go into heavy description and create an image into my mind and make me see something that I have no prior knowledge of but know that somewhere, it exists. In this case, a woman that has nine lives and eats men.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178961
I really like the way that you interpreted this poem. The idea of the meaning of the poem being circus like is intriguing, and very plausible. I can see how the poem could be interpreted that way now. The first time that I read it, it confused me. I read it a few more times and got the interpretation that the poem was about a scorned woman, that was about all I could get from the poem. I have to say interpretation is stronger and contains a sense of truth.
ReplyDeleteI love your post! I wrote about Goblin Market but was very struck by this poem too, I just couldn't formulate an adequate expression of the effect it had. I like the way you have done it, pointing out the circus atmosphere and the feeling of being unwillingly the center of attention. Being gawked at as if you were some sort of circus freak there for the amusement of others. I also like the way you say it sounds like something out of a Stephen King novel, it really does.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your response to this poem. You helped me view the poem in a different light. As you also mentioned, I found myself confused when I first read the poem. It wasn't until I read the poem over and over that I started to grasp the meaning. Your response also helped shed some light on a different perspective of this poem. Good Job!
ReplyDelete~ Carissa
You did a great job at analyzing the poem. I didn't fully get the meaning of it either, so it would have been hard for me to break it down. I appreciate the fact that you didn't like or understand it the first time around, so you kept at it. You helped me to understand it better. Nice work :)
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