Ross Gay in his collection "catalog of unabashed gratitude" as his title suggests contains twenty-four poems of unashamed appreciation of life's beauty expressed through Gay's eccentric affinity for armpits, sleeping in clothes, and mulberry trees. Gay's poetry begins with a simple image or relatable concept before branching of into a series of images. Gay also displays an extraordinary talent for depicting and choreographing action. This skill set can be analyzed in Gay’s poem “smear the queer” which begins with an accurately detailed depiction of how a session of smear the queer plays, “you could watch/the savannah’s dust bellow/from the chase/the fleet boy’s pronghorn flight/his juke and whirl/his stutter-step spring/or the buffalo boy’s chug/hauling the whole/flailing pride/and one way or another/down we’d be” (23). The simple actions of the “chase” eventually develop more complicated actions displaying the avoidance to be dragged down. The metamorphosis of the narrative from realism to surrealism happens in the poems ending depicting the pile of stacked bodies as “a mountain/within which a cave/where was heard/a stream’s faint murmur/ and seen the mirrored glance/ of an iridescent bird’s/luminous eyes/a cave/across the ridged walls/of which gallops and flickers/a herd of elk/ and on the sandy/floor beneath the feathers of firelight” (24). Gay’s narrative gets lost in the metaphor and presents it as reality to the reader, the transition is smooth and seamless
In the analysis of the language used by the speaker, the nature of the poem is written from a professional standpoint using medical terminology, such as parts of the anatomy. Based on the speaker, it suggests that the poem could be written in support of gay pride due to the lack of shame that he described in the patient. The patient is projected as calm and collected throughout the poem and does not seem
David S. Churchill main argument in the article “The Queer Histories of a Crime: Representations and Narratives of Leopold and Loeb” is that in the murder case of Bobby Frank the murderers Richard Loeb, and Nathan Leopold depiction by the media was twisted to the narrative, and ideals of the time. During the trial of both Loeb, and Leopold the media focused mainly on the relationship that these two young men had with each other, and their sexuality (Churchill, D., 2009 pg.288, 289, 290 & 296). In this case the media sensualized the case in order to push there narrative that the lifestyle of the younger generation was wrong, and could cause harm to society, particularly the lifestyle of homosexual and lesbian people (Churchill, D., 2009 pg.298,
The poem is structured as a sonnet which commonly expresses a theme of love throughout the lines. Also it is paired with the “ABAB” rhyme scheme to give an emotional view to the readers about the conflict he has. Also the sonnet and the rhyme scheme is a common usage of poem making and many people know what it is, so the poet uses this structure to let readers understand more easily and clearly. He also uses the “ABAB” scheme to separate parts that are important within themselves. In the first four lines, it talks about the poet himself and how much he tries to avoid the one she loves by “ hold my louring head so low”(Line 2). In the next four lines, it talks about the mouse and how its problems relates with the poet’s emotional pain. After that, the next four lines talks about the fly and how it relates with the author with his physical pain. Using these methods help the poet communicate with the readers easily.
By doing this, he is succesful in showing that gay men are the same as anyone else. The only difference is who they choose to share a sexual life with. Once again modeling reality, several characters are confident in their sexuality but are hesitant to admit to it.
Everyone has their own take on controversial subjects faced in society, and no matter what age we live in, this particular subject seems to stay just as relevant in the generation before as it does today. The poem written by Richard Blanco titled â Queer Theory: According to My Grandmotherâ (2012), which
“the first 20 ms. of their rout was up Commeâp Creek and through a plain open Country, the hills of the Creek Continued high and broken with Some timber near it 's borders, the ballance of heir rout was through a high broken Mountanious Country. generally well timbered with pine the soil fertile. in this quarter the meet with abundance of deer and Some big-horned Animals. The East fork of Lewis 's river they discribe as one Continued rapid of about 150 yards wide, it 's banks are in most places Solid and perpindicular rocks, which rise to a great hight; it 's hills are mountanious high. on the top of Some of those hills over which they passed, the Snow had not entirely disappeared, and the grass was just springing up.”
“He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he had placed in ambush on the crest of the hill, and wandered far down the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering through the tree trunks and listening through the whistling and skirling of the wind and the restless beating of the
As for the form, there are a number of poetic devices which serve to fill the poems with the necessary diction. As Lovelace’s poem is easier and lighter by tone, there are not so many devices, but still the figurative language is romantic and eloquent. The imagery is delicate and beautiful. The innocence and pureness of the protagonist’s beloved woman is described by the words “the nunnery of thy chaste breast and quiet mind”; the lover’s attitude is shown by the words “Sweet” and “Dear”; the rush and aspiration of the hero is underlined by the metaphors of “flying” and “chasing”. There is no place for regret or fear; on the contrary, it seems that the hero relishes his fortune, his obligation and the
(…) the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory; this most excellent canopy, the air—look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire (…). What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel, in apprehension how like
Queer (pg.27): “There would be no more of the exquisite uncertainty of last night, no queer, tingling awe at the newness of the feeling, and no strange, filling satisfaction out of just being alive.”
Leaves of Grass is Walt Whitman’s life legacy and at the same time the most praised and condemned book of poetry. Although fearful of social scorn, there are several poems in Leaves of Grass that are more explicit in showing the homoerotic imagery, whereas there are several subtle – should I say “implicit” – images woven into the fabric of the book. It is not strange, then, that he created many different identities in order to remain safe. What Whitman faced in writing his poetry was the difficulty in describing and resonating manly and homosexual love. He was to find another voice of his, a rhetoric device, and his effort took two forms: simplified, and subverted word play.
4. “Under the trees to the left of him the ground was misty with bluebells. The air seemed to kiss one’s skin. It was the second
Now I intend to turn my attention to concrete examples from Walt Whitman's poetry to provide some evidence of that sexuality played an important role in his poetry, and there are possible readings to find traces for that. Of course, we cannot only rely on selected
The poem suddenly becomes much darker in the last stanza and a Billy Collins explains how teachers, students or general readers of poetry ‘torture’ a poem by being what he believes is cruelly analytical. He says, “all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it”. Here, the poem is being personified yet again and this brings about an almost human connection between the reader and the poem. This use of personification is effective as it makes the
As being developed by poststructuralism, feminism, lesbian & gay studies and even American pragmatist theory (Parker,2001; Seidman,1997), queer theory has become one of the most important theories, which contributes to the research of sociology, arts and organizations. On the one hand, queer theory has been used to study the relations between the sexuality, gender and workplace. On the other hand, by utilizing denaturalized, deconstructive and performative methods to queer the presumptions of the taken-for-granted norms, queer theorists question and disprove the traditions which people cherish (Seidman,1995).