/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.2461650]

Hey /lit/, this is an essay I wrote on a poem involved with the griffin poetry prize. Not asking you to do my homework, since I already did it, but tell me what you think of my essay.
This is the poem- it's pretty fantastic

http://www.griffinpoetryprize.com/see-and-hear-poetry/a-g/elaine-equi/

(pic unrelated)

[Anonymous No.2461651]

When we look at some of the most interesting writers throughout history, we find a pattern of chaos in their lives: Milton wrote paradise lost blind and starving near his death, Burroughs accidentally shot his wife in the head, De Sade tied up a prostitute and whipped her until her wounds needed ointment, Dylan Thomas drank himself to death and Kafka drew sketches of hardcore porn involving mythological beasts. In the life of the writer, the search for meaning often manifests itself in absurd ways - in turn creating pieces of cathartic literature. In Elaine Equi’s poem “Ultra-Confessional,” she attempts to explore the absurdities in her life by revealing her background.
The title of this poem, “Ultra-Confessional,” suggests that the poem will not only contain details of some event, but deep or shocking secrets yet to be told to the public. Ultra, as defined by Dictionary.com, is a descriptive word applied to something done to excess, going beyond what is ordinary to the extreme. This leads the reader to believe that the narrator’s poem will be an avowal or acknowledgement of excessive guilt from extraordinary events. The word confession, to many, conjures up images of admitting ones’ sins to a priest in a church booth for purposes of seeking atonement. This poem then goes on to establish the sins of the narrator’s life in humorous, extreme way.

[Anonymous No.2461653]

poem then goes on to establish the sins of the narrator’s life in humorous, extreme way.
Opening the poem, the narrator calls herself “a bit of a masochist, not much of a singer,” instantly revealing important details of her character. These details, however, seem relatively common for an ‘ultra-confession’. In lines two and three she begins to find the faults of her life, stating, “My father did not think enough of me to molest me,” pretending she suffered because of this. From this experience she claims to have “lived with the shame of it and did not have the energy to create multiple personalities or develop an eating disorder,” further infusing the poem with an ironic tone. We instantly learn of the sense of humour she is implying in this piece by making ridiculous claims about suffering in her adolescence when the denotative message of her words is that she did not, in fact, suffer at all. She romanticizes the concept of an eating disorder, calling it “a pleasant way to while away the day,” again using humour to establish that she is an unreliable narrator with her share of delusions.
Discussing her smoking indulgence, the narrator admits she smoked so much in her teenage years she had a permanent headrush, where she was wrapped in an “opalescent carapace of fog,” and “on the verge of swooning,” at all times. This is an interesting metaphor for a smoking headrush, as it describes an abstract feeling in a concrete, visual way. From here the poem transitions from the ironic tone which shone through in the first stanza to an ordinary narrative. Using metaphor to discuss the role shoplifting played in her adolescence, she names it the “sex glue” of these young years.

[Anonymous No.2461654]

This nomenclature is appropriate as it summarizes how shoplifting is alluring using the concept of sex, which is also alluring for young people, and glue, because it was a very important part of these years, and glue has connotations of holding things together. Describing her insatiate shoplifting cravings, she uses a personification for her purse, referring to it “gobbling perfume [and] candy,” as if to justify her position as a thief since her purse was the real culprit.
As someone seeking adventure and recklessness in life by smoking excessively and shoplifting, the narrator is soon wholly disillusioned by the fact that “Going out with boys,” is a remedy for her cheap thrills, and to top it off, this is something socially conventional. This epiphany does not upset nor bring her joy; she is merely “surprised” by the fact all her whims can now be satisfied by dating. What once was the wellspring of excitement in her life now seems petty in contrast to her newfound socially acceptable form of entertainment, boys.
By the final stanza of the poem, the narrator submits herself to fate; her life is not as thrilling as she had hoped. “It is so typical of me to have gone and become addicted… to aspirin,” tells the reader she understands reality, that by becoming addicted to aspirin of all things, she is just a regular person leading a regular life.

[Anonymous No.2461656]

By calling this event ‘typical’ it is revealed she understands the nature of things. She calls this addiction“[humiliating],” for the reason that it is boring and commonplace. Unlike in the first stanza where she ironically played up the insignificant events in her life, the final stanza transitions into being submissive about the fact her life was not as reckless as she would’ve hoped. The narrator is dynamic, going through a significant change in tone throughout the poem: at first she is naïve and delusional, and in the end she is accepting, even if she is unhappy with her life. The theme of the poem is revealed through the narrator’s character development: although people, especially artists, spend time trying to find absurdity, singularity and recklessness in their lives, many of them will nonetheless go through life with a common job and encounter widely shared experiences by the time they reach old age.
“Forgive me, for my sins are mediocre,” is a religious allusion in the same vein as the title, conjuring the image of the act of contrition occurring in a church. This is a humorous way to end the poem, where her mock seriousness is taken up in a manner parodying the traditional religious mantra “Forgive me father, for I have sinned,” which leads up to the holy sacrament of contrition. Through revealing her background, the narrator explores the singularities of her life only to conclude that she has lived a plain existence. (fin)

[Anonymous No.2461667]

what I discuss in the essay is relevant to the lives of /lit/izens, by the way. also more tits if you give me comments

[Anonymous No.2461670]

>>2461667
Tits are appreciated but not customary.
Post gore.

[Anonymous No.2461673]

More tits, pl0x

[Anonymous No.2461677]

>>2461651
> Kafka drew sketches of hardcore porn involving mythological beasts
Is this true? Have any proof?

[Anonymous No.2461680]

>>2461677
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2008/aug/15/kafkasguiltypleasures

bestiality is so kafkaesque

[Anonymous No.2461688]

>>2461680
Hahaha nice

[Anonymous No.2461703]

any contributions nao?

[Anonymous No.2461704]

comments on the poem, at least? I said tits if you contribute to the thread

[Anonymous No.2462289]

bump for exposure to morning crowd

[Anonymous No.2462312]

bumping for more kat dennings

[Anonymous No.2462316]

>>2462312
well then why don't you fucking contribute to the thread you cunt

[Anonymous No.2462324]

Thanks for introduction to awesome poem OP. The essay has some excellent points, the intro is about as good as you can get.
>Ultra, as defined by Dictionary.com
Was a bit of a let down, at least use OED or something faggot, not dictionary.com. Some interesting points made (connecting sex and shoplifting etc.), though the main body is perhaps too linear in how it addresses points. Overall, though, you can certainly be proud of this.

[Anonymous No.2462329]

you could copy and paste an essay written by isaiah berlin and /lit/ would still rip it to shreds

anyway as an English graduate that was pretty dull and clinical after the intro about carthatis but I don't know what level you're writing it for, if its "high school" or whatever well done because its very good but if its for a higher level you need to structure it better

[Anonymous No.2462339]

>>2462329
it's for a first year (uni) English course. The intro was just the hook to make the monotony of a poetry explication interesting. What about it needs better structure

[Anonymous No.2462347]

>>2462324

Dear fucking god, DO NOT quote the dictionary. It's so overused and pointless I want to kill everyone who does it and so does your English professor. Just cut it.

Also, this is a first year uni course. Just don't be a dumbass and you'll do fine. You're better off just going to the professor yourself and asking him questions rather than coming here.

[Anonymous No.2462350]

>>2462347

Further, if you want better structure you need to start with a boring ole' outline. If you do it for all your papers early on, it'll become second nature and you won't even have to write it out.

[Anonymous No.2462355]

>>2462350

Also, 'hardcore porn' should be rephrased to 'pornography' since this is a formal uni course.

[Anonymous No.2462361]

>>2462347
I take this back after actually reading the essay. Use OED, and never use a definition as an intro in the future.

[♥ !Rrxa7zePwI No.2462363]

it's meh.

[Anonymous No.2462375]

>>2462361
You should probably understand that this poem is meant to be a little bit humorous as well. Just watch the reading of it.

[Anonymous No.2462380]

>>2462355
I don't see how bestiality is more formal if it's not hardcore.
Also we were given a sample essay for the explication which quoted the dictionary, so that's the only reason I did.

[Anonymous No.2462387]

>>2462316
>he thinks his poems are more interesting than some nudes
>famous actress' nudes
>bitchesbelaughing.jpeg

[Anonymous No.2462401]

>>2462380
Bestiality can never be formal because the actresses in it are always clearly inbred white trash.

[Anonymous No.2462404]

>>2462380
'porn' itself is a slang term. There is no need to be explicit in this instance to differentiate softcore and hardcore pornography. In fact, pornography will imply acts of a 'hardcore' nature. Your professor will probably tell you as much, anyway. At the very least, you'll have to extend porn to pornography.

[Anonymous No.2462520]

>>2462347
>Dear fucking god, DO NOT quote the dictionary. It's so overused and pointless I want to kill everyone who does it and so does your English professor.
As the guy you're replying to, I totally agree, but I advocate babysteps in this case. As a follow up, good ways of saying "A word is defined like this" is often demonstrated in certain Poli-sci books, although I find them mostly trite. Show don't tell is a better paradigm imo.