Poetry

208. If thou must love me

By: Elizabeth Barret Browning

Analysis:
This poem takes on the format of the Italian Sonnet, being split into an octave with a rhyme scheme of abbaabba, followed by a sestet with a rhyme scheme of cdcdcd. In being an Italian Sonnet, the octave presents a situation: an individual loving his lover for her smile, looks or gentle speech; the sestet comments on the situation: she comments by telling her lover to love her for love, not for some ephemeral aspect of her.

Browning conveys this message through the use of caesuras, or natural pauses/breaks, in the poem. Love is a sensational, relatable human experience, and to further establish that personal connection to the poem, Browning incorporates these caesuras. "'I love her smile - her look - her way/ Of speaking gently - for a trick of thought...on such a day'-/For these things in themselves, Beloved, may/ Be changed, or change for thee - and love..." and "Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry - / A creature might forget to weep..." These pauses enhance this poem's real life experience. These caesuras are placed ever so perfectly to create pauses in dialogue and thoughts where they might occur in real life; pauses for thought, providing space to think of  reasons why one might love another; pauses of hesitations; or pauses for perhaps gasps of realizations. Furthermore, in creating hesitations, gaps, or thoughts, Browning depicts the narrator's want for her Beloved to love her for love and only love.

This desire to love someone for the sake of true love, for everlasting love, is also communicated via Browning's implement of an epithet, a characterizing word that names a person. Although the epithet, "Beloved," is only used once in the poem, it names the narrator's true love. In recognizing the narrator's lover as Beloved, Browning establishes the signficance of this individual to the narrator, but also recognizes who the narrator is referring to when saying "'I love her for her smile - for her look...'" In depicting such a significant person, Browning also enhances the experience of the poem. In using this epithet, Beloved, the personal, intimacy of love shines through. The narrator, in referring to this individual as her Beloved, clearly adores, and is passionately in love with this man; this is purely seen in the connotation of the word. And this overwhelming love matches the narrator's overwhelming desire to have her Beloved love her back in such way. In a form of love that is not based on solely on her appearance or her, but rather on true love, love itself. "But love me for love's sake, that evermore/ Thou mayst love one, through love's eternity." Love that will last all of eternity.

Reflection:
In reading Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem, If thou must love me, and being the romantic that I am, I found myself subconciously nodding in agreement. When you think about finding that someone, your soulmate, you hope that they will love you for you and for well, love. Not simply because of your smile or your beauty, but for you, and for the love you have for one another. For that true, everlasting love. People inevitably change and therefore to love someone solely for their looks, their beliefs, or their soft spokenness is just foolish. Love one for love. "If thou must love me... love me for love's sake."

229. Nikki-Rosa

By: Nikki Giovanni

Analysis:

In Nikki-Rosa, Giovanni shares the story of a Black individual's childhood. She establishes the significance of the narrator's race by keeping the first letter of every word lower case with the exception of "Black." In doing so, Giovanni emphasizes the importance of being Black, and how being of that race dramatically impacted the narrator's childhood. How this individual has memories of "living in Woodlawn / with no inside toilet" and taking a "...bath from one of those / big tubs that folk in chicago barbecue in..." In simply being of a different race, in being Black, there is a lack of life's simplest luxuries, such as a bathtub and a toilet; a severe contrast in the lifestyles of the Whites and the Blacks is depicted. Furthermore, this contrast between the races adds to, and in a way, explains the Whites' misperception and ignorance of a Black individual's life, childhood. In other words, how could a White man understand? "...they [white individuals] never understand Black love is Black wealth...and never understand that all the while [I endured this difficult hard childhood] I was quite happy." Emphasis of being Black is further seen in the contrast provided by select, lower cased words, such as "white person," "happy birthdays," and "christmasses." Keeping these words lower cased makes them seem quite insignificant. And in keeping a national, religous holiday such as Christmas lower cased, Giovanni practically screams her emphasis on "Black."

Giovanni also incorporates some allusions into her poem. These allusions include: chicago, Woodlawn, and Hollydale. Yet again, Giovanni purposely lower cases and capitalizes particular allusions. The allusion of chicago, for instance, was left lower cased, insignificant; simply giving a location or general vicinity of the poem's setting. In contrast however, both Woodlawn and Hollydale are capitalized; underlining their evident significance to the narrator, a Black individual. Woodlawn is an area of Chicago that was originally a white neighborhood, but then in the 1950s and 1960s became dominated by Blacks. And in wanting to depict the childhood of a Black individual, this allusion is crucial, stating a specific location with historical roots of the Black community. However, there is also a Woodlawn in Ohio, which happens to be where Giovanni and her family resided, while she was a girl. Hollydale is also a significant allusion, an all Black development that Giovanni and her family had planned on moving into, but were unable to. In alluding to Woodlawn and Hollydale, Nikki Giovanni subtlely discloses that the narrator is herself. The "childhood remembrances" described are her own, this is her childhood, yet she "...was quite happy."

In recalling her own childhood memories, Giovanni utilizes flashback as well as imagery. Her memories are not too descriptive, but simply little details, which is just enough to provide a setting, and scene; little images; just enough to depict a Black individual's childhood, because the essence of the poem is not to describe a horrible childhood, but to illustrate differences among races and the lack of understanding and between them.

Reflection:

When I first read this poem I had a hunch that it pertained to Nikki Giovanni's own life, her own childhood, being that the half of the poem's title, Nikki-Rosa, contained her first name. And after researching about Woodlawn and Hollydale, my hunch was confirmed. Indeed her childhood was difficult, but she brings it up to emphasize the fact that yes she is Black, but nonetheless still human. Her family struggled as did many families, her family had dreams and ambitions for life as did every other family. She cared for her family members, understood them, and loved them; that she was quite content with her childhood. Yet others do not see that, do not comprehend it, because of her race. "...they never understand Black love is Black wealth..." Maybe they are afraid to understand, or simply stubborn and refuse to see the world through someone else's eyes, which is why racism and prejudice is still prevalent today. But why? When it all comes down to it, regardless of who our parents are, regardless of what our childhood was like, regardless of our appearance or beliefs, we are all people, we are all human.

Nikki Giovanni's childhood and the struggles of many other Black families reminded me of this:

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Analysis of a Theme

In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, one of the prevailing themes is the concept of women being unequal, subservient to men. Only good for one purpose, to procreate, the rest of the women's physical and mental well being is insignificant. Women of all rankings are forced into some sort of position, some positions being more powerful than others, but nonetheless all miserable. These women, whether a wife, a daughter, an aunt, a handmaid, a martha, or an unwomen, are all suffering captives of this perverted, Christian extremist society as seen via their submissiveness to men.

Mistreatment and subservience is seen through the experiences of the handmaids, being that Offred, the narrator is one of them. Handmaids have no free will and must not only be submissive to the Commanders, but to the Wives. "We are containers, it's only the insides fo our bodies that are important. The outside (such as the face and hands) can become hard and wrinkled, for all they care care..."(96). As long as the Handmaids are competent to produce offspring, nothing else matters. These women are not even provided with the modest of luxuries such as lotion and razors to shave. Compassion for these women even lacks in fufillment of their one purpose. There is no love, no passion, no kissing, no care, absolutely nothing. This act that once was a symbol and expression of true love is now an act of adultery and has been degraded down to a mandated duty, that could even be classified as rape.

Women's subservience is also evident at Offred's doctor visit. The doctor mentions that the Commanders may be the sterile ones, yet "There is no such thing as a sterile man anymore, no officially. There are only women who are fruitful and women who are barren, that's the law" (61).  How dare the doctor assume that the Commander is the source of infertility. It is a known fact that men cannot possibly be sterile, for only the women can be barren, it can only be the women's fault. This perception of women continues throughout the course of the novel and is seen with the death of Angela, the baby Janine gives birth to. Janine automatically takes it upon herself, blames herself, that she must have done something wrong; that the baby was seen unfit to live because of her. Still this idea that it is always the women's fault, that men are always right and good, is seen in the marriages of the daughters. "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. All. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression" (221). Basically, women are never to rule over men, and must learn in silent; be silent, never voice your opinion; let the man rule the woman, for the woman sinned and the man was made first. A final instance of submissiveness is seen in the Commander's conversation with Offred. "Nature demands variety, for men. It stands to reason, it's part of the procreational strategy. It's Nature's plan" explains the Commander (237). Apparently men want variety in their women and are never content with just one woman; only men can desire multiple partners, different individuals. Furthermore, men expect the women to change to satisfy these desires of wanting new partners. In the Commander's short little explanation, he not only portrayed men to be pigs, and superior to women, but also made women seem incompetent to have multiple desires, to want a variety such as men do.

Atwood fully establishes this subservience of women to men to further depict the patriarchal Gileaden Society she has created. This subservience highlights the lack of rights and enslavement of the women, and parallels the suppression of individuals under an extreme ruler.

Favorite Quote

Throughout the novel, Offred's hope of escaping this twisted society is seen through her ephemeral moments of power. She finds little instances in which she still has control over her life, some free will, some form of power over others, such as the power to seduce and tease the guards, with a swing of her hips (Atwood 22). Also via her act of narrating this story:

I would like to believe this is a story I'm telling. I need to believe it. I must believe it. Those who can believe that such stories are only stories have a better chance (of surviving, escaping).
If it's a story I'm telling, then I have control over the ending. Then there will be an ending, to the story, and real life will come after it. I can pick up where I left off. (39)

In being the narrator, she still has some power and hope. She can choose what part of the story to disclose and what to remain a secret; she, being the narrator, can decide how her story, how she ends; this storytelling reminds her that she is not fully stripped of everything, she still has this little bit of free will remaining. Furthermore, this story creates this illusion for her, an illusion in which the reality of her life, is simply a horrific nightmare that will eventually come to an end, an end in which she chooses. With believing that one day, things will be back to "normal," where she last left off, gives her the strength and hope and determination to keep resisting this present forced form of existence; to keep fighting for freedom. Memories of her past life, and her power of deciding how the story ends helps to keep an ember of hope burning.

This quote is inspiring and moving. For Offred to be in such a position of enslavement in which suicide is so tempting and desirable, yet to stay determined and keep hoping, is quite uplifting and admirable, making it one of my favorite quotes. However, after having read the novel, it is also one of my least favorite quotes. Even if Offred does escape (which is uncertain), her life will never be "normal" again. She will never be able to erase these memories of being a handmaid in Gileaden. Furthermore, this quote reminds me of how her hope dwindles as the novel progresses, ulitmately leading up to her relinquishing her ending. "...I feel serene, at peace, pervaded with indifference. Don't let the bastards grind you down. I repeat this to myself but it conveys nothing" (291). This monumental moment of the novel is her official resignation of her fate. Although she had little control over her fate to begin with, she reminded herself of "Don't let the bastards grind you down" throughout the novel, to give her determination and hope. However in now being numb and indifferent to this phrase, she no longer cares what happens to her. She abdicates her ending. "Whether this is my end or a new beginning I have no way of knowing: I have given myself over into the hands of strangers, because it can't be helped. And so I step up, into the darkness within; or else the light" (295). Fully given up on any hope of escaping, of having freedom once more, of having her own free will, Offred steps into the van, leaving her destiny and end in "the hands of strangers."

My Thoughts of The Handmaid's Tale

This novel left me speechless, infuriated, and just ... wow. As I read this novel, I was in just pure disbelief. How it amazed me that these women could be stripped of everything, all rights, decisions, freedoms, and forced to live this mandated life...no existence, of simply reproducing the population. And just that. No love, no emotion, nothing at all. This society was based purely on a perverted interpretation of a Biblical story, the story of Jacob, and his wives, Leah and Rachel; focusing mainly on the sisters' use of concubines/ maidservants to produce their children (NIV Student Bible, Genesis 29:31-30:24). This one story was taken to the extreme and used as vindication for the actions of the Gileaden Society. Via this extreme interpretation, this reprehensible society removed all rights of women and made them subservient to men, degrading them down to the value of their womb, to viable or inviable eggs. Just as much as it angers me, it also disappoints me as well. For the Gileaden Society was just another society that in seeking Utopia (or what that believed to be Utopia), once again failed, created pure havoc and Distopia. In other words, an ideal society seems impossible to accomplish; it is impossible to please everyone; accomplishing utopia would be equivalent to accomplishing world peace.


Relevant Images

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Analysis of Symbol

                      Throughout We, Zamyatin uses the mirrors and the eyes as symbols, representing windows to the inside (the truth) and mirrors to the outside  to enhance D-503’s conflict of finding his true self; the one he physically sees in the mirror (the one loyal to OneState) or his true hairy, wild self (the one that craves I-330 and freedom). Zamyatin utilizes these symbols and incorporates them into the text more frequently as D-503’s conflict of deciding who he really is brews, and he sanity diminishes.

                       One of the first real descriptions of eyes is seen when D-503 and I-330 are in the Ancient House:

            At that moment all I could see were her eyes…

            I saw before me two ominously dark windows, and inside there was another life, unknown…a flame – there was some sort of “fireplace” inside (of I-330)…What I saw there was my own reflection. But it was not natural and it did not look like me. I felt absolutely afraid, I felt trapped, shut into the wild cage, I felt myself swept into the wild whirlwind of ancient life. (Zamyatin 28-29)

This is D-503’s first glimpse into the mysterious fire of freedom that burns within I-330; her eyes are windows that allow him to see the truth inside of her. Not only are her eyes windows, but they are mirrors that reflect his own image. This self image is at that moment unrecognizable to him, but soon becomes his “second” self. Zamyatin is able to launch the start of D-503’s drawn out conflict with his two selves, yet also spark his curiosity for I-330 through the use of eyes.

            This conflict and realization of D-503’s two selves is later seen in the novel:

            I became glass. I saw myself, inside.

            There were two of me’s. One me was the Old one, D-503, Number D-503, and the other…The other used to just stick his hairy paws out of his shell, but now all of him came out, the shell burst open, and the pieces were just about to try in all directions…and then what? (56)

At this point, D-503 has been around I-330 for so long that he cannot keep hiding his true inner self; her visions of freedom and individuality have forever changed him and have awakened and freed a version of him that he has suppressed for quite awhile now. In standing before this mirror, he becomes transparent, as if he were looking into his own eyes to see his inside; this is his real self.

             Zamyatin describes another scene with mirrors and eyes:

           

            I’m in front of a mirror. And for the first time in my life, I swear it, for the very first time in my life, I get a clear, distinct, conscious look at myself…I am looking at myself, at him, and I am absolutely certain that he, with his ruler-straight eyebrows, is a stranger, somebody else, I just met him for the first time in my life. And I’m the real one. I AM NOT HIM. (59)

Again standing in front of a mirror, D-503 is faced with who he physically sees in the mirror, his physical self, and his other self, his internal, true self. At this point however, he knows which self he is, the self from the inside. He has just been having difficulty accepting that because he has kept this true self of him submerged deep within him for so long. D-503 is sure of himself and acknowledges the fact that the self who he physically sees in the mirror is not who he is, but once was, just a being, a body, a presence.

            Thus Yevgeny Zamyatin depicts D-503's battle through the symbols of the eyes and mirrors. With several scenes revolving around the eyes and mirrors, Zamyatin heightens the severity of D-503’s conflict with his two selves (his insanity) and in doing so is able to guide D-503 to the point of deciding which self he is going to be and wants to be. Ultimately to the decision of whether or not D-503 will remain loyal to OneState or break free with I-330.

Favorite Quote

“All were saved (from freedom), but there was no saving me, not any longer. I did not want to be saved…” (179).

This quote is one of my favorites because it is decisive, final, but also bittersweet. After 178 pages of confusion, and conflict in choosing from his two selves, D-503 gets to page 179 and finally knows what he wants. He knows that this life of beautiful precision, math, and logical reason, is not the life he wants to live; this is not who he wants to be. He does not want the 100% happiness, he wants his freedom. In this moment in time, he is thinking clearly, is adamant in his choice and declares with conviction that he will not be saved, that he, D-503 will not get the Operation. For D-503 to finally come to such a conclusion after such a mental battle of incomprehensible, overwhelming emotions, it is a very triumphant, glorious moment for him. Then by the end of the novel, after finding out his fate, it is depressing and slightly numbing to know that he endures so much throughout the course of the novel only to get back to the mind set and life that he tries so very hard to escape from.

My Thoughts of the Novel

Overall, I really did enjoy reading this novel. I enjoyed the contrast between the logical, reasonable, mathematical, precise life of OneState that D-503 is so accustomed to, and the unpredictable, asymmetrical, unique life of freedom that I-330 preaches. As the novel progresses, these contrasting lives only intensify as does D-503’s conflict in choosing which life he wants to live, who he wants to be. Is he destined to be an individual like I-330, or just another body in the crowd of we? Such confusion and uncertainty is only enhanced with each of his encounters with I-330, who not only feeds his mind with the concept of “freedom,” but his soul and body with new unknown emotions - passion, love, and sorrow.  With I-330’s use of seduction to get exactly what she needs from the INTEGRAL builder to make freedom a reality, and D-503’s love for her and indecisiveness on whether he wants “happiness” or not, Yevgeny Zamyatin kept me entertained and intrigued throughout his novel, We.

Other Connections:

In We, there are many "Long lives..." which reminded me of some others that I have come across.

"Long live OneState! Long live the Numbers! Long live the Benefactor!" (Zamyatin 4).

"Long live the Builder!" says I-330 (151).

"Long live the Great Operation! Long live OneState! Long live the Benefactor!" (173).