The first stanza of the poem introduces the setting of the poem as well as the addressee, the lady bed spacer. The first 2 lines of the poem present a paradoxical statement which shows the size of the apartment. “To stretch out arms and legs in your bed set in your narrow constant corner” is not only paradoxical in the sense that she is stretching out in a narrow and cramp area, but this also establishes the tension between the lady bed spacer and the apartment. Aside from this, the image of the arms and legs is also used as a metonym for the lady bed spacer, yet through the use of metonymy the she is objectified and reduced her entire being into just a body. Meanwhile the third line of the stanza presents the reader with an image of the physical …show more content…
The first line of the stanza brings us back to the bed spacer stretching in the tight apartment; while this is done for comfort, we see that the warning of the persona holds true. “Too many carnal eyes.” This strengthens the idea that the people in the apartment might take it differently. The next four lines emphasize the way she should act in the apartment. The persona cautions her to “tread” instead of simply walking, to be wary of the “tricky latch” and walk like a “trespasser”. These lines also explain the elevated tension between the lady and the apartment now on the sexual level; she cannot be herself or even allow herself the freedom to be comfortable in her own skin not only because of the lack of space, but also for fear of being objectified and sexualized by the other tenants. The use of figures of speech such as simile and metonymy is also evident in these lines. The persona likened the steps that the persona to a trespasser, on one level, this is to emphasize the measures that she must take as she stays in the apartment; but on the other hand, this could also signify that she remains an outsider in spite of living there, that she truly does not belong in the apartment. The use of metonymy in these lines: “lazy Susan” for the dining room, the “toilet” in place of the comfort room was effective because it emphasized the rooms and its purpose without having to explain them thoroughly. Aside from …show more content…
The first line in the stanza: “Chaos, other people. You think of your own” the bed spacer thinks of her own things as compared to the other tenants whose things are causing chaos: scattered everywhere, piling up in the stairs, “boxes of junk nobody wants to burn.” as compared to hers as mentioned in the second line: “ “Things” kept in a suitcase beneath your bed”. The word highlighted in this line is the word “things” which is enclosed in quotation marks, quotation marks suggests that the word is being used in a special way that means something different from the literal meaning. The “things” in the line may imply that the things are not even totally all her property, as will be mentioned later on, there will be things that the tenants share among themselves. The enjambment in these 2 lines allow another reading of “you think of your own” to take place; not only does she think of her own things, but this line also indicates that she may be thinking about herself, and her place in the apartment. Thus the third and fourth line is a possible reason for the lady bed spacer keeping her things in a suitcase under her bed. Her things based on the poem are “as moveable as the knockabouts you share with the others renting the same elbow room”, these lines indicate the temporariness of her stay in the
The essay will consider the poem 'Practising' by the poet Mary Howe. It will explore how this poem generates its meaning and focus by analysing its techniques, metaphorical construct and its treatment of memory. The poem can primarily be seen to be a poem of missed opportunity. In this way is comes to form, alongside other poems of Howe's a study about a certain kind of loss and the recuperative efforts of memory, alongside the certainty of the failure of this recuperation. The paper will begin by giving a context to the poem with regard to Howe's life and work and will then proceed to analyse it directly, drawing attention to how it can be seen to fulfil this thesis about its content and meaning.
This week I read the poem, “Apron Strings” by Beth Gylys, the author of the poetry collection “Close to the Shore”, published by Michigan State University Press. From what I gathered about this poem, it is about a businesswoman that lives life in the fast lane in order to provide a decent life for her young children, but due to her rat race lifestyle that she is caught up in, she is unable to spend quality time with her family, and as a result her child is affected by this. This poem starts off with clear intentions. The lines about burnt dinner, multiple watches that were wound too tight, and forgotten lists left on countertops, all are vivid images that establish a scene of a frantic lifestyle of a busy woman that doesn’t have
She refers to it as having “no purpose” and “no name,” and then says it’s the “perfect place” for her due to that reason (Anderson 26). By comparing herself to it, she’s saying that she has no purpose as well, which is something that those with depression tend to believe. They feel hopeless and useless, and they assume that they aren’t worth anything. This symbolism helps develop an overall theme of depression. Secondly, depression can also cause people to alienate themselves from others, and they prefer not to share their thoughts or feelings out of fear.
This describes the condition of her room and her isolation that she is
The room is described by the narrator as “a filthy cocoon” that “took you in and hold you close” (190). The image of a cocoon implies a sense of comfort, a covering that is both snug and protective. Yet, it is also isolating, disconnecting one from the outside world, and is difficult to break free from. Furthermore, this cocoon is “filthy”, filled with “rubbish” and where one loses track of time since there are “no clocks and [watches are] lost and buried” (190). It seems as if this cocoon clutches onto everything not even garbage and time can escape.
The short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a brilliant piece of fictional literature. The tale involves a mentally ill woman who is kept in a hideous, yellow room under the orders of her husband, John, who is a physician. The ill woman is conflicted due to the fact that the horrifying yellow wallpaper in the room is trapping a woman who she must help escape, but the sick woman is aware that she must get better in order to leave the terrifying, yellow room. The setting and personification applied in the short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, allows readers to develop an understanding of the sickness of the main character faces.
In her society, it is the woman that is left to be alone in her own thoughts, shown through her husband’s freedom to leave the house and not come back until he wants to versus her confinement to the house. This is reflected through the various “hedges and walls and gates that lock”, making her stay isolated in the house. Ultimately, the character is overtaken by the imagination and through the
The poem, At Mornington was written by Australian poet, Gwen Harwood. It was published in 1975 under her own name. At Mornington is about a woman reminiscing about her past when she is with her friend. There are many themes explored in this poem including memory, death and time passing.
The final poem of significance is Jazzonia, in which Hughes experiments with literary form to transform the act of listening to jazz into an ahistorical and biblical act. Neglecting form, it is easy to interpret the poem shallowly as a simple depiction of a night-out in a cabaret with jazz whipping people into a jovial frenzy of singing and dancing. But, the poem possesses more depth, when you immerse yourself in the literary form. The first aspect of form to interrogate is the couplet Hughes thrice repeats: “Oh, silver tree!/Oh, shining rivers of the soul!” Here, we see the first transformation.
A loss of physical innocence is shown here, "I can 't see my own arms and legs or know if this is a trap or blessing" She is telling us that she has become physically detached from her body and she is confused as she doesn 't understand if this moment is a "trap of a blessing. " The loss of innocence clearly links up with post-apocalyptic times in The Road to Winter where Finn lost his innocence when he decided whether to kill Ramage or not and him discussing his emotions. The novel has many dangers moments in it and this is shown in the poem as well, "rises up silently like dark bread. " This simile reflects the dangers of the natural world in post-apocalyptic times.
In her poem “ My Husbands Back”, Susan Minot describes how she feels being a mother, and wife on an emotional and bad day. Minot writes this poem as the speaker and the tone is very heartfelt and sorrow at times. From the title of this poem we can gather that the poem is about a husband and wife and their relationship. “My husbands back” was actually very close to home at times in the poem and made me think about my relationship with my husband and even about my relationship growing up with my father. Minot uses line breaks, metaphors, connotation and figurative language in this poem.
I have interpreted these lines in one way, yet there are a million different possibilities. The author puts the words onto the paper, but the reader’s job is to interpret their own emotion, memory or belief and actually apply it to the poet’s words in order to create an
Bedrooms are representative of laziness, they are a place for sleeping and are associated with not wanting to do anything. Not many activities can be done in the kitchen, it’s sole purpose is a place to make and eat food, thus it is representative of gluttony. Yet another human quality that is viewed as unideal. She continues to describe what is on the map, “In the legend are instructions on the language of the land, how it/ was we forgot to acknowledge the gift, as if we were not in it or of it” (8-9).
The problem with the closet’s transformation effect on the young girl is that she is completely taken away from who she really is as a person because the young girl is forced to dress up as a boy to get the attention she desperately wants from her father. The negative effect of the kitchen’s transformation, is that the kitchen forces the young girl to believe that she is worth nothing in this world and that her rest of her life will be spent serving her husband through the kitchen. This poem does an especially good job of highlighting early 20th century cultural
Psychoanalytic reading of The Yellow Wallpaper In Charlotte Gilman's short story The Yellow Wallpaper, the speaker seems to be suffering from postpartum depression or "temporary nervous depression." (648). Accordingly, her husband makes the decision for her and takes her to a country house because he believes that it would be good for her. The narrator is not allowed to take care of her own child as she was imprisoned in her room where she should do nothing but "rest."