Link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/45589
To start, here is my best translation of the poem (since it was written in the 16th century, it may be a bit hard to decipher!) What is fleeing from me is what I once sought Barefoot in my bedroom. What was once gentle, tame, and meek, Is now wild and does not remember That they sometimes risk danger To take bread from my hand. Now the wander, Busily seeking something new. I’m thankful that I once had Twenty visitors. But one night especially, In a thin, pleasant dress, A woman let her dress fall from her shoulders, And held me with her long, small arms; And sweetly kissed me And softly said, “Dear heart, how like you this?” It wasn’t a dream. I was wide awake. But she changed her tone because of my gentleness Into a strange habit of abandoning; And I’m allowed to leave because of her goodness And so is she, because she is fond of new things. But since she is treating me like I’ve treated her/she is treating me so well/she is treating me like females tend to do I’d gladly like to know what she deserves. Stanza 1: The entire first stanza seems to be a metaphor. Wyatt speaks about an animal (most likely birds), but within the context of the poem as a whole, it is likely that he is actually referring to young women who visited him at night (prostitutes?). In the final two lines, “...and now they range/ Busily seeking with a continual change” (Lines 6-7), Wyatt introduces a major problem: the women that once came to him now constantly change their minds about who they wish to see, and seem to seek out new people/things. Stanza 2: This stanza introduces a shift in subject. In Lines 8 and 9, Wyatt appears to console himself. It is as if he is thankful that, even though he no longer receives visitors now, he at least had visitors. He goes on to reminisce about a particularly special lady; a pretty woman, who stripped naked in front of him and gave him a kiss. Stanza 3: *MY FAVORITE STANZA!* In this stanza, he continues talking about his woman, but his tone seems to shift at around line 16. In Line 15, he assures the reader that he wasn’t dreaming, and that the events in the previous stanza actually happened (which is a bit strange...I’m unsure why he felt the need to make such a statement; I suppose he was a braggart…?). The following two lines indicate that the woman began either playing hard to get, or started to abandon him, just like the other women. Lines 18 and 19 imply that he and the woman had agreed upon an open relationship, in which both of them are able to see other people. Wyatt states that this is “...because of her goodness” (Line 18), but his attitude seems a bit snarky, or perhaps sarcastic; this is supported by part of the following line, “...to use newfangleness” (Line 19). He seems to suggest that the woman is fickle, that she is capricious and likes new things all the time. The word “kindly” in line 20 may have multiple meanings, which is why I interpreted the line in three different ways.
Going off of this interpretation, Wyatt wonders that since the woman has treated him like women tend to treat people (a statement that is both stereotypical and misogynistic), what does she deserve from him? Literary/Poetry Techniques
Underlying messages “They Flee From Me” delves into the thoughts of a man who--after several sexual conquests--wonders why women who were previously so eager to be with him no longer want to be with him. The speaker of the poem (which I’ve assumed to be Sir Thomas Wyatt himself) comes off as the victim, who is hurt and upset that he no longer has affairs with these married women [as noted, they sometimes “...put [themselves] in danger/ To take bread at my hand” (Line 5-6), which implies that they may get into trouble by sleeping with him→ the women are most likely married or in a relationship already]. Considering that Wyatt wrote this poem in the 1500s, it is a rare turn that he is presented as the victim, when the consequences for cheating as a woman was often much more egregious than the punishment for being an unfaithful man. To close off, check out the brief bio section I added for Sir Thomas Wyatt! It contains a bit of background info about this English poet!
4 Comments
Link: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/weekly-poem-root/
Brief Summary: Published in Hayes’ Wind in a Box collection (2006), “Root” is a narrative on the dichotomy of race, particularly detailing how he (presumably as a child) and his family toiled to clean their house—which was formerly owned by white people--whilst their white neighbors relaxed as onlookers. When Hayes compares his life to his white neighbors’ lives, he starts to question what is really means to be black. Primary Theme--Race: At the start of the poem, Hayes states that his “parents would have me believe there was not such thing as race” (Lines 1-2), but his experience working in his backyard tells him something quite different. From the get-go, nearly every single image in the poem describes something in nature. In general, every thing has a negative connotation, and suggests a struggle, as though the natural elements are a hindrance. In the final 15 lines of the poem, Hayes shifts the tone from blackness to light, and turns to focus on Hayes’ internal thoughts. In contrast to the “colonies of crab-weed” (Line 14) and the “wild bouquets withered in bag by the road”(Lines 19-20), he describes the white neighbors’ houses as “clean as fence posts in porch light” (Line 33), “burning with wonder” (Line 34). He fails to understand why other people in the neighborhood “knew our name before we knew theirs” (Line 31), but it is clear that his family’s presence in the neighborhood is perceived as anomalous—they do not belong, and their presence is widely known. It is in this portion of the poem where the main question arises: What does it mean to be black? Hayes states that he often dreams of his white neighbors’ lives, and he “believed we [he and his family] were made of dirt or shadows” (Line 38). From his language, being black could be interpreted to mean being considered by whites as “irredeemable, inexact” (Line 39). Being black means to dream about the luxuries his neighbors have that his family does not have—“a grill and folding chairs, a new yard boxed in light” (Lines 41-43). However, Hayes definitely states that he does not want this other life, but that “the story of pursuit” (Lines 43-44) is all too familiar to him. Literary Devices Hayes, like a lot of his other poems, utilizes an extensive amount of enjambment in “Root.” Because the perspective of the poem is that of a young boy, the enjambment here definitely creates a casual, conversational flow. The small bits of anaphora in the poem: “we” at the beginning of lines 21, 22, and 23, & “and believed” at the beginning of lines 37 and 38 are used to create a sonic effect, emphasizing the struggle Hayes and his family had clearing his unkempt backyard, relative to the “new yard(s) boxed in light” of his neighbors’. I can connect the simile “…the mute duty that tightened my parents’ backs as if they meant to work the devil from his den” (Lines 16-18) to my own life; I recall many times in my life where working in the yard or garden was a back-breaking experience. I could really empathize with Hayes and his family in that regard. Quick Opinions: Hayes' style and language of “Root” was a very creative means of portraying how racial tensions weaved their way into the simplest facets of life. Especially in the late 20th century, microaggressions (a term coined by psychiatrist and Harvard University professor Chester M. Pierce in 1970) and other slights became a casual, complacent way to degrade socially marginalized groups, including African Americans and even women. Overall, I enjoyed the poem, and I can relate to this experience on a personal level (having lived in an “affluent” golf community as a child—and being one of the only African American families living there—I definitely remember the stares and dismissals from some neighbors). Of course, there are many other poems I have yet to read and discuss! I've decided to format this analysis a bit differently. It was a tough to get my thoughts down in paragraph form this time, so I apologize if it seems a bit disjointed. Enjoy!
Link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/50788 Quick Summary of the Poem: The statement that Hayes’ “Stick Elegy”, published in Nature magazine’s March 2008 issue, is a simple requiem for a lost one is an understatement! The setting of the poem is under Yellow Bridge, where a vigil is being held for a young man named Stick (as evident by the fact that the title of the poem is “Stick Elegy”—a lamentation of Stick’s life/experiences). The poem is told from the perspective of a basketball player; it is assumed that Stick is a fellow teammate. For the past three seasons, MVPs of the winning State Championship basketball team have jumped off the Yellow Bridge into the deep water as a form of celebration. However, Stick’s jubilee is cut short when he breaks his ankle after jumping off the bridge. Although he survives the ordeal, Stick’s life is plagued by harsh calamities and tough luck. After his death (I presume, referencing the title), people still come to Yellow Bridge and honor Stick. Interpretations and Analyses: Overall: In line 1, Hayes observes that after many years, the “dead” are still singing Turn the lights down low, which I have found may reference the 18th line in Raymond Richard Patterson’s poem “The Poet and His People”, published in Negro Digest’s 1967 issue after the death of Langston Hughes**. From what I can tell, the “dead refused burial” (line 12), and overall references to what the “dead” are doing at Yellow Bridge may imply that Stick’s life has had a lasting impact on his community and the people around him, so much so that even those who are dead still mourn and protest the gratuitous misfortunes Stick experienced due to his injury. The resounding sympathy from Stick’s community may provide some insight as to Stick’s life prior to the incident. Maybe Stick had a lot to look forward to in life (he was a star basketball player, after all), or perhaps people simply viewed him as a victim of circumstance. Come to think of it, Stick’s bad luck, “Floods and fractured lightning” (line 11), are probably not meant to be interpreted literally; instead, these natural phenomena are most likely meant to illustrate different obstacles in his life/career (that were out of his control) that may have led to his ruin (perhaps the ankle healed improperly, etc.), as he may no longer have been able to play basketball/work due to the effects of his injury. The final line of the poem: In line 14, the speaker states that he “started hearing birds everywhere” after the “dead” started coming the bridge. I wonder if this could imply mourning doves, whose distinctive call may evoke a feeling of gloom or sorrow over the loss of a loved one… What do you guys think? Leave a comment below! Use of enjambment: Hayes’ use of incomplete syntax makes the poem flow like a casual conversation, as if the speaker and the reader are onlookers; the speaker and the reader are outside, reflecting upon the story of Stick and how it affected many people’s lives. In fact, the only complete syntax (end-stopped line) is the final line. Another rather interesting point I’d like the draw attention to is the word “Free”, located at the very beginning of the second stanza (line 8). Hayes may have chosen to separate the word free from the previous stanza (and the previous sentence) to signify the importance of this ceremonial jump off Yellow Bridge. The celebration of the basketball team’s MVP could imply freedom, in the sense that they had been awarded a major title that could benefit them in the future (it’d definitely pad their resumes, I’m sure.). This point may also allude to the importance of sports in elevating one’s status in the Black community; for a long time (and even now), one of the only methods of “escaping the projects” for many African American youths was to play a sport, or to produce music (rap, R&B, jazz, etc.). If one member of a community left, it brought the community a sense of hope that either a) the successful person with return and help them in the future, or b) that other people will follow in their footsteps. In a sense, the poem overall may represent the tragedy of Stick’s situation—if he is assumed to be an African American male, then the breaking of his ankle may represent the overall lack of progress for many African Americans. American society (in regards to racial and ethnic minorities) always seems to take one step towards progress, followed by two steps backwards, which creates a perpetual cycle of hope and anguish that continues to this day. The fires that fuel our hope for a better, brighter future are extinguished just as quickly as they are lit. Just some food for thought; tell me what you think down in the comments! **A large number of poets wrote elegies in memory of Langston Hughes, which were then published in Negro Digest. If you wish to read the poem “The Poet and His People”, written by Raymond P. Patterson, along with many other elegies for Langston Hughes, here is the link (Google books): https://books.google.com/books?id=EToDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=turn+the+lights+down+low+mourning&source=bl&ots=Q9dhCImMr2&sig=oN1iblTKPjbA-DGEEZ-3c7spjxk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiI_vu52_HRAhUIPCYKHT8lDcoQ6AEIJjAB#v=onepage&q=turn%20the%20lights%20down%20low%20mourning&f=false Link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/50790 Bad word ahead! Watch out! Published in Poetry Magazine’s March 2008 issue, “Mystic that results from the clamor of religious teachings. When one focuses so much on the afterlife, they have no time to reflect on the life they are living now. It is immediately followed by “the sea walled in by buildings” (line 4), perhaps to imply that the mind is like a sea, a liquid with endless capacity, that has been trapped by “buildings,” which I assume could mean the bounds of religion. Hayes personally “misses the quiet” (lines 5-6). The next statement of the poem was admittedly a bit confusing for me to decipher: “When I said, ‘Fuck the deer antlered and hithered in fur,’ it was because I had seen the faces of presidents balled into a fist.” I can only infer that this may be animosity of some sort towards government or even religious officials, who have been compared to “deer”; these deer flaunt their antlers, yet are essentially easy prey, and do not contribute much to their habitat. Or, Hayes is disdainful towards “deer”, being common people, who openly criticize higher authorities whilst contributing nothing to the welfare of society. I think the former supposition is more accurate, though I would be happy to read other deductions on this statement in the comments below! Hayes moves on to describe how he would tackle “fixing” the world; he wishes to provide free health care or physicals to the people of the world, and also a “love for the abstract” (line 10). He wishes to open people’s minds and promote tolerance; he wishes to suppress the hold religion has on people’s values and lifestyles, and provide the basic necessity of healthcare to citizens of the world. Again, Hayes makes a clarification of something he said: “When I said ‘All of history is saved for us,’ it was because I scorned the emancipated sky”(line 11-12). He asks if the “anthem,” perhaps the U.S. National Anthem, makes the reader emotional, and concludes the poem with him asking God if anyone born from slaves will die a slave. God confidently says yes, and Hayes bitterly concludes that this is why he is not a Christian. Hayes rejects the Bible’s teachings (the “emancipated sky” implies Heaven) and uses historical context to validate his decision. Overall, I found “Mystic Bounce” to be a very intense poem; I can sense his bitterness towards Christianity, which has indoctrinated and controlled people for centuries, and has been used to justify countless atrocities in recorded history. Hayes’ use of enjambment, questions directed toward the reader, and clarification of things he has said all create a conversational tone, as if he were speaking to the reader directly. Link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/50787 In “Ode to Big Trend”, Hayes speaks about Big Trend, an apparently staggering man who could “tear a Bible in two” (lines 10-11) with his bare hands. The narrator notices that the other black labourers of the community are growing impatient--they want to get paid. The narrator’s friend, Big Trend, is especially avid (In line 4, he compares Trend’s expression to the one “your daddy gets before he whups you”). As noted in the fourth stanza, Big Trend’s “ox-like” appearance, when paired with the he prospect of wages, makes it seem as though he cares only for money. However, the narrator, his partner, knows that this is not the case; he has seen Big Trend browsing a used bookstore, and has heard him recite poems. Nonetheless, the narrator states that at the end of the week, Big Trend is the one others asked to speak to the boss (who had withheld their wages). This implies that although Big Trend has a “soft side,” he is still the dominant “muscle” of the community, and will do what he must to ensure he gets paid. Upon reading the first two stanzas of the poem, I immediately developed a preconceived notion on what the poem was about (which is, of course, problematic…). I imagined that the poem would focus on how Big Trend would perhaps--with brute strength--coerce someone (his boss) to give him the money he and his partner was owed. However, by the fourth and fifth stanzas, I realized that Big Trend fits the “Bruiser with a Soft Center” archetype. His features may be daunting, and he certainly uses these features to get things done, but he indulges in literature and poetry behind closed doors. I wonder why Trend chooses to hide his part of him. To me, he obviously finds solace in poetry and reading, but continues to hide behind the façade of a “tough guy,” who willingly accepts the negative opinions of others (regarding his attention to monetary gains). I think Hayes’ choice of dividing the poem into 2-3 line stanzas (utilizing enjambment/incomplete syntax) serves to slightly stagger the poem’s text. Additionally, Hayes uses a significant amount of consonance in “Ode to Big Trend”: for example, line 1 ends with “paid” and line 2 ends in “said;” line 10 ends with “tear” and line 11 ends with “hear.” In all honesty, I am unsure why he chose to utilize consonance, instead of choosing to write free verse poetry (or choosing to rhyme the poem). Perhaps it was unintentional (though, probably not)? "Ode to Big Trend" is yet another masterpiece, and Hayes' poems continue to blow me away. This time, Hayes creates a made-up world (with real societal implications) that teeters back and forth between one reality and another--one which focuses on Big Trend’s outward appearance, versus one which focuses on Big Trend’s love of poetry. His word choice and syntax (or incomplete use thereof) seem to establish an unsettled mood; if he had used complete syntax, I believe it would have taken away from the bitterness of the poem’s setting, whilst explaining Big Trend’s “double life”. Link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/58404 Watch out! Bad words! AAAAHH! Also, this one's kinda long. In “What it Look Like,” from Hayes’ How to be Drawn collection (2015), Hayes discusses how we are seen compared to how we see others. Hayes states that he cares “less and less about the shapes of shapes because forms change and nothing is more durable than feeling (3-5)” to point out that our emotions, feelings, and internal traits tend to remain stagnant as we change and grow externally. As an example, he describes a situation in which he is at a birthday party; he gives money to his uncle after this party, which is then used to buy crack (or some other drug that “looked like candy (7)”)—at the same time, however, his grandmother is singing in an outfit akin to that a “West African King (10).” This statement provides competing stereotypes about African Americans: one detailing the “druggie” typecast of black Americans, and the other representing African Americans’ connection with African culture/heritage. Hayes presents his motto--“Never mistake what it is for what it looks like (11)” as a means to dissipate labels, expressing that there is more to him (or anyone, for that matter) than what you can see, or what you expect to see. As the poem continues, Hayes provides examples of how his motto applies to the real world. He states that his generosity is mostly vanity, in which charitable actions serve to flatter himself; he explains that “a bandanna is a useful handkerchief, but a handkerchief is a useless-ass bandanna (13-14)” to illustrate that although one thing/person can serve multiple purposes/do many things, one should not expect the reciprocal to be true. He goes on to explain that “trill” is what truly is, regardless of how obscured the view is. “Milquetoast (24)”, a person who is submissive or timid, is not trill because his or her diffidence hides who they truly are. “Bouillabaisse (25)”, a (delicious) soup/stew composed of several different kinds of fish, is not trill because it is a fusion of spices and fishes—it does not truly express the flavor of the individual fish themselves. “Bakku-shan (25)”—Japanese slang for a woman who looks good from behind, but not from the front— exemplifies the earlier point about stereotypes surrounding African Americans; from one perspective or viewpoint, people appear favorable, but from another, they seem repulsive. Towards the end of the poem, Hayes repeats his motto, but adds on that if one “mistakes what it looks like for what it is (28-29)” (which actually switches its phrasing; he opens this line with “Like I was saying,” as though he was interrupted), one risks ending up like Othello, the tragic Shakespearian figure who is tormented by both Iago and himself. Othello, I suppose, lied about who he was (or was lied about), and eventually realized that the lie was true after wrongful deeds (and killed himself), answering the question Hayes asks in lines 31-32. The last five lines of the poem are the most important, I think. Here, Hayes tells “Brother Bastard” that he is blind to his power, and that he will suffice without seeing it, since no one will acknowledge him anyway. This last portion demonstrates that people sometimes fail to recognize their own significance, and that there will always be those who will leave them ignorant of their importance. Some would rather not see them (or anyone like them) acknowledge this self worth, as it may bring an end to their supremacy. We human beings are constantly searching for someone to lead us, whilst we neglect to recognize that first and foremost, we rule ourselves. I think this segment brings closure to the poem; although our view of the world may be obscured, we must not willfully blind ourselves, nor let others shroud our perspectives. Link: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/lightheads-guide-addiction-audio-only
“Lighthead’s Guide to Addiction,” from Terrance Hayes’ Lighthead collection, features a long list of deadpan advice for alleviating various addictions of various severity. The words “If you are addicted to…” are anaphoric, and introduce almost every line of the poem with the remedy of the previous addiction. The poem begins with a mundane addiction--an addiction to sleep, which is remedied by coffee--and from then on, his words oscillate between comical remedies (for example, teaching yourself to breakdance) and the realm of race, contraception/sex, disease, and money. Every handful of lines, Terrance interjects the iambic-like meter with a statement describing a seemingly unrelated situation; for example, “No one knows where your mother has gone with her tax refund” follows “If you are addicted to railroads, try wearing undersized shoes.” These interjections posed a problem when I heard the poem the first few times, as I could not clearly understand their significance to the work as a whole. I’ve come to realize that these interjections allude to the unfortunate, everyday effects of addictions. In the example above, a son or daughter wonders about where their mother spent their tax refund. In lieu of the title, this implies that the mother is struggling with some sort of addiction. Hayes uses these interruptions to identify situations in which addiction has affected someone’s life--it may be his life, or the life of one of his audience members. Towards the end of the poem, Hayes states, “Obviously, I have an addiction to repetition, which is a form of history.” This line of the poem shifts the attention of the poem to the status quo. Here, he focuses on poverty, and the ever growing importance of money both as a status symbol and as a basic means of functioning in America. I believe that the line “No one is addicted to poverty” highlights certain misconceptions about the impoverished: some people think that the impoverished do not work as hard, or that only a small percentage of people experience poverty, or even that poverty cannot and does not exist in the United States. Those in poverty cannot simply “try wealth,” as any wealth that comes their way is reserved for necessities. Most of those impoverished work hard when they can, but most are too young, too old, or too disabled to keep a stable income. It is easy for those who are fortunate to compare themselves to others, and become dissatisfied when a less fortunate person doesn’t seem to compare, but every situation is different. Perhaps this was Hayes’ motivation behind writing this poem--to offer “advice”, without first considering individual circumstances. |
What is this?
This page will house my literary analyses! Archives
March 2017
|