Summary Of Surprise By Jane Kenyon

Jane Kenyon, the author of “Otherwise”, once said, “The poet's job is to put into words those feelings we all have that are so deep, so important, and yet so difficult to name, to tell the truth in such a beautiful way, that people cannot live without it.” Jane died a few years later after writing this poem, and it was published after her death. “Otherwise” is a meaningful poem that describes the tender truth about death in a definite but beautiful way; it also emphasizes the pleasant normalcy in life, and how everything will change.

A literary device used in Jane Kenyon’s poem is selective perception .The first instance of selective perception is in the first two lines of the poem when the narrator says, “He suggests pancakes at the local diner, followed by a walk in search of mayflowers….” This is selective perception because the wife is only seeing what she wants to see, which is a husband who tells her exactly what he wants. The husband can be conceived as demanding because of the line, “He suggest…” Though the wife at least knows exactly what he wants. Thats why when she starts seeing another side of her husband it is so scary for her. She is starting to see a husband who is not direct or honest with her. In lines 4 and 5 the narrator says, “their cars pulled close along the sandy road…” This line could represent the selective perception beginning to crumble, like the road. The lie the husband created is starting to reveal itself. By the end of the poem the wife’s selective perception is gone. This is evident from the line, “The gather itself is not what astounds her, but the casual accomplishment with which he lied.” The fog has been lifted and she is starting to see the person she married.

Psychoanalytic criticism is a type of literary criticism that analyzes and classifies many of the forms of psychoanalysis in the interpretation of literature. As the Concise Oxford Dictionary defines psychoanalysis, as a form of therapy that is concluced ‘by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind' (Barry 96). One of the most popularized

Reading a narrative from a psychoanalytic perspective can prove to be a sometimes frustrating experience. Psychoanalysis often disregards the actual texts and verbal context of a piece of literature in favor of the Freudian and Lacanian ideas, which seek to find encrypted motifs in the depths of every creation in order to reveal the author’s unconscious mind. Nevertheless, the critiques of psychoanalytic interpretation of literature claim that such interpretations focus on the content of the text at the expense of the literary form and temporal dimension, which can reduce the literary plots to lifeless machinations. Furthermore, psychoanalytic interpretation of a text may tell us less about the author’s unconscious mind and more about the

The poet uses many metaphors, repetition and morbid diction to illicit the response I had to this poem. Firstly, Butson compared the emotions and internal struggles of a

Television psychologists and pop culture self-help gurus tell us that marriage is hard work; marriage is compromise; marriage is a choice between being right, and being happy. All of these statements are true. What these experts don’t tell us, however, is that marriage is also about putting on blinders, or looking on the bright side, or one of a hundred other trite phrases to explain the art of self-deception. In marriage, there are times when we may find it necessary to look the other way from our spouse’s faults or indiscretions, in the interest of self-preservation. For if we examine these problems too closely, our darkest, most secret fears may come true. Therefore, it can seem easier to focus on the positive. In her poem “Surprise,” Jane Kenyon uses denial, selective perception, and fear of betrayal to illustrate the self-deception that can occur in marriage.

In the world today many people undergo personal challenges that impact their lives negatively. Two short stories exhibit how personal challenges affects our relationships with others. Initiation, a short story by Slyvia Plath demonstrates a stereotypical high school life and how it influences a teenagers life. As well as, Reaction-Interaction, a personal essay by Diane Kenyon, explains the struggles of a deaf person. By analysing the similarities and differences between the stories, you can gain crucial life lessons.

Relationships can be like a pack of wolves. There is an alpha and an omega, always a type of power structure. Jane Kenyon explores about this in her poem with the different roles the male and female take within in their relationship. She reveals how a power shift come about and the way in which each person in the relationship acts to accommodate it. “Surprise” In her poem “Surprise”, Jane Kenyon uses yonic and phallic symbols, regression, and the double to reveal the power dynamics within the relationship.

Does anyone like surprises? Whenever media portrays a surprise party, it is typically in a manner that has the recipient insisting on not having any surprise party. Something usually goes wrong to prove them right. If it is not something at the gathering, it is the guest of honor turning into a horrible metaphorical monster because of being forced into the situation. It is a mistrust in surprises that create this kind of reaction, and it is also mistrust that is left behind when someone decides to throw the party anyway. In Jane Kenyon’s poem “Surprise,” she uses female imagery, regression, and active reversal to relay the theme of mistrust.

A deeper level is achieved in the mind of the narrator when she acknowledges her own mental state and that she is eager to leave her sad mood. While the man is described as animal-like and savage, she stands “In moody sadness, on the giddy brink” (9) full of contemplation and reflection on her own worldview. The poet is quite self-aware while the lunatic is not, and through her intelligent banter, the reader can see the extreme difference in personality. The poet’s own self-conception, however, is ironic in that she is wishing for ignorance that can only be achieved by lack of a self-concept. The catch-22 she experiences is perplexing, both to her and the reader.

Readers are aware of this ambiguity. Here the heaviest flashback thoughts and the short-lasting issue set up a continuing contrast throughout the poem, which enchants its effect.

Poetry. A seemingly simple word to the eye, but is one of the most fundamental and interesting concepts of English. The beauty of poetry is that each one of us in this room could have a different perception on any poem. It can make you angry, sad or happy, It depends on how you interpret the words. Today I’ll be breaking down the elements included in Gwen Harwood’s ‘In the Park’ and how women are viewed. Generally, women can be depicted as poor or wealthy, nasty and aggressive or compassionate and affectionate, intelligent or dumbfounded, loyal or unfaithful. Roles of women include Mothers, daughters, Aunties or housewives just to name a few.

“He that has eyes to see and ears to hear may convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore” (Freud 215). Sigmund Freud demonstrates through the theory of psychoanalysis that, regardless of suppression, the mind's unconscious desires will always surge to the surface. Furthermore explaining that like a verbal mistake, it reveals an unconscious emotion or thought. The psychoanalytic approach deals with the characters in the book like real people and attempts to find the reasoning through the point of view of unconsciousness and consciousness. Although the

Freud’s theories have launched what is now known as the psychoanalytic approach to literature. Freud was interested in writers, especially those who depended largely on symbols. Such writers tend to tinge their ideas and figures with mystery or ambiguity that only make sense once interpreted, just as the analyst tries to figure out the dreams and bizarre actions that the unconscious mind of a neurotic releases out of repression. A work of literature is thus treated as a fantasy or a dream that Freudian analysis comes to explain the nature of the mind that produced it. The purpose of a work of art is what psychoanalysis has found to be the purpose of the dream: the secret gratification of an infantile and forbidden wish that has been repressed into the unconscious (Wright 765).

In Karan Mahajan’s The Association of Small Bombs as well as Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Frost at Midnight”, Sigmund Freud’s tripartite mind functions as an aid to achieve understanding of their characters. It allows the reader to see into their minds, how they interact with the world and how it differs under the influence of their subconscious mind. The id and superego, both elements mostly present in the subconscious, contrast each other to create one’s ego. Id presents itself as a human’s most primal urges and desires, a complete contrast to one’s superego, which recognizes the limits and standards commonly followed in society. In both the novel and the poem, the part that dominate the characters’ ego, whether id or superego, provides a