“For Desire” by Kim Addonizio is an, rather obviously, ambiguous
piece where throughout the poem the speaker is presumably a woman who is
speaking to someone else about, more or less, what she wants. First reading the
piece, it is unclear as to what she wants exactly; she speaks of characteristics,
scenarios, and feelings/emotions. Since she seems to never ask for anything
specific or realistic at the same time, it’s difficult to interpret what it is
the speaker is after or who she is speaking to. The speaker is both submitting
to a more risqué lifestyle and wanting to remain more pure at the same time.
The speaker uses language like “Give me the lover who yanks
open the door/ of his house and presses me to the wall”. In reading these two
lines the reader may initially assume the speaker is asking for a rough lover
or some exciting sex. When you read the
lines separately you get a full feel for the ambiguous tone expressed
throughout the poem. The first line emphasizes the speaker desires some more aggressive
“action” on her partner’s behalf.(Also a possible double entendre) The second
line has an effect to show the speakers desire for privacy and security,
attributes of her “good girl” side showing through the overall aggressive(sexual
in nature) situation she is asking for.
I think this form of
irony is repeated time and time again through the piece, ultimately resolved in
the end where she states “for you, yes you, to come over here/ and get on your
knees and tell me/ just how fucking good I look” In so many words the speaker
is saying what she really wants.
You dont state wether you are doing new criticsm or reader reponse but wither way I think that you are misunderstanding the true meaning of this poem. Personally, i dont think the speaker is talking to anyone but read it more like a journal entry that outlines her darkest desires which are ultimatley surpressed by her religious affiliation that she introduces in line twleve stating "to hell with the saints" which is an illusion to Catholiscm. My interpretation found multiple biblical referances and to me it screams that the paradox is the tension between what she wants to do but cant becuase of its sinful nature. including glutony (line one), debauchery (lines 2-5), and lust ofcourse...
ReplyDeleteI'm doing new criticism, I guess that's not a good sign if you couldn't tell. I'm not very familiar with Catholicism, so the allusion (I'm assuming this is what you meant, not illusion) you're referring to is lost on me. As for all the religious connotation you're analyzing, feel free to interpret the poem however you'd like. However I feel there's no "misunderstanding" on my part.
ReplyDeleteChris, i chose this poem as well and i really liked what you had to say both in the post and the comment. i really liked when you said she's describing all that she wants but in so many words. the poem to me is also all about what she wants but i guess where i go in a different path is i see alot of symbolism for freedom. i get a sense that the speaker wants to shed the shackles of a pervious reality and accept her wordly wants and desires. i feel like she has repressed her lust for the objects and emotions described in the poem long enough and has now bagan to desire them.
ReplyDeleteThanks Christian, I too noticed underlying symbolism of freedom/ desire, and I think you've got plenty to work with in that area in terms of writing your paper. I read into the particular ambiguity of reckless & moderate sexual behavior because, for me, it seemed like there would be the most excess of examples to draw on. Anyone think my analysis method is unclear or does it seem like I'm right on track for a new criticism paper?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteChris,
You write, ‘“For Desire” by Kim Addonizio is an, rather obviously, ambiguous piece where throughout the poem the speaker is presumably a woman who is speaking to someone else about, more or less, what she wants.” Not sure who “she” is here – the speaker is woman speaking about what she herself wants – or the woman/girl wants? You definitely want to make the relationship between speaker and character clear.
“First reading the piece, it is unclear as to what she wants exactly; she speaks of characteristics, scenarios, and feelings/emotions.” What is it that suggests she “wants” something? A textual clue or signal that suggests the speaker herself desires something? In the paper, be sure to provide a brief summary of the plot and its protagonist/main character.
“Since she seems to never ask for anything specific or realistic at the same time, it’s difficult to interpret what it is the speaker is after or who she is speaking to . . .” This may be, but you need to provide textual examples for support. Why/how is it significant that she doesn’t ask for something “specific or realistic”? Can you expand here?
“The speaker is both submitting to a more risqué lifestyle and wanting to remain more pure at the same time.” This suggests the speaker and the character are one and the same. Are they? You can certainly suggest so, but you’ll want to deal with this clearly early on. Doing so will provide a lot of clarity.
“When you read the lines separately you get . . .” No 2nd person. Avoid any and all “yous”.
“The first line emphasizes the speaker desires some more aggressive “action” on her partner’s behalf.(Also a possible double entendre) The second line has an effect to show the speakers desire for privacy and security, attributes of her “good girl” side showing through the overall aggressive(sexual in nature) situation she is asking for.” How do we know she’s literally talking about another person (a particular lover, say) rather than implying a more general
“this is what I like and want generally, but I’m not talking to or about anyone in particular”? Here, you’re getting at paradox and irony but aren’t yet making specific, explicit claims about either (The first line emphasizes the speaker desires some more aggressive “action” on her partner’s behalf.(Also a possible double entendre) The second line has an effect to show the speakers desire for privacy and security, attributes of her “good girl” side showing through the overall aggressive(sexual in nature) situation she is asking for” . . . is she both desiring and fearing aggressive sexual scenarios? Can you develop the “double entendre” comment?)
You say the tone is “ambiguous” throughout – in what sense? Is she alternately confident and insecure, for example? Need details and textual evidence here.
The second line has an effect to show the speakers desire for privacy and security, attributes of her “good girl” side showing through the overall aggressive(sexual in nature) situation she is asking for.
“I think this form of irony is repeated time and time again through the piece, ultimately resolved in the end where she states “for you, yes you, to come over here/ and get on your knees and tell me/ just how fucking good I look” In so many words the speaker is saying what she really wants.” To resolve the paradox, you’ll need to state it really specifically (in the thesis). You’ve got the right idea; you’re just talking around it rather than nailing it down so to speak. You’re definitely moving in the right direction -- will be interesting to see how you develop this.
A
Just a note on the conversation here. Chris, I did assume you're doing New Criticism based on the analysis but a few things aren't yet clear or analyzed explicitly. In terms of who analyzes the poem how - yes, everyone is free to analyze as they see fit, and we do operate -- in general -- in the course according to the dictum that there's no "correct" interpretation of anything (excepting New Criticism's major tenet, which I'd clarified as one that we'd ignore to a large degree).
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the poem itself, I do see some religious allusion that Marisa has identified but also don't see her struggling with it, per se; it appears she's beat back those demons and is relatively confident about having renounced the faith in which she was raised. I analyze it slightly differently than both of you, and therein lies the beauty of this kind of work.