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Monday, October 17, 2005

Voice, Tone and Sound

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Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Form and Type

"Song" by Adrienne Rich

It seems as though the narrator is alone, yet not lonely; how, the narrator hints that the scenes of waking up before everyone else, doing things by him/herself are liberating but odd at the same time. I also picked up on a sarcastic tone occasional, or could imagine a sarcastic and/or slightly defensive tone whenever the narrator would say, "You're wondering why I'm lonely.", "You want to ask, am I lonely?", "If I'm lonely" at the beginning of each stanza. Also, these were also rhetorical, which brings about a defensive nature to the narrator's account of his or her loneliness. The form or more so the literal structure of the poem, followed a deteriorating structure in terms of the A, B, C, D, rhyming structure. For instance:

[A] You're wondering if I'm lonely

[A] Ok, then, yes, I'm lonely

[B] as a plane rides lonely and level

[A] on it's radio beam, aiming

[B] for the blue - strung aisles

[C] of an airfield on the ocean

But as it progresses, the above A, B, and C rhyme-lines are used less and less. It might by my lack of memory concerning correct use of these letters in each line of a poem, but it could be obvious that there is no real pattern. If anything, the deterioration of the pattern of rhyming lines backs up a more realistic possibility that the poet just came up with this poem rather than planning. However, if it was by planning, I think it could symbolize the effect the poet might've wanted on the reader: drawing a reader in with the line "You're wondering if I'm lonely". Along with the above deterioration, and what I saw as hints of sarcasm and defensive remarks (Sarcastic: "Ok, then, yes, I'm lonely", although mainly in hindsight, and Defensive: the repeated use of "If I'm lonely"), the poem's form comes to symbolize the increasing awareness the reader may have that this person, perhaps, is not lonely at all.

The grouping of the stanza's, at first, seemed normal, but after going back to view Silko's "Prayer To Pacific", it seems to me that if Rich wanted to portray actual and/or potent loneliness, Rich would've spaced out certain words considerably. However, the absence of such a dramatic play on the shape of the poem may actually give the poem its slight ambiguous charm. Sure, while some could infer that the narrator is admitting that he/she is lonely quite in fact, confirms loneliness, others might refer back to a quote "alone but not lonely". On a side note, a Mary Chapin Carpenter poem, which I found to be pretty good, (http://www.filibeto.org/mary_chapin/mcc47.txt), is titled "Alone but not lonely" and also addresses loneliness. Perhaps I go too far in the inferring department, but Carpenter's poem also uses 4 main groupings of words, utilizes repetition, and in the end, twists a possibility that the narrator is lonely by saying, "alone, but not lonely". However, this post is for Rich's poem, not Carpenter's; one must not leave the post alone in a ocean of straying analyzation.

I choose "Song" more or less after I read it, and instantly related to what I thought was the meaning behind the poem: loneliness is simply not loneliness. You can be alone but not lonely, yet not alone and be the loneliness person in the world. I recognize the concept of some people (including myself) being able to go through long period of seclusion (perhaps in one's room, outside somewhere, etc), and yet not be affected by it in a negative way (in this case, loneliness). One can read, play music, draw; any number of activities by themselves, but not feel secluded from the world, and in fact, more integrated to be able to have space to themselves. A reason why I mentioned Carpenter's poem is because I felt it reflected more of a modern take on "alone, but not lonely", as Carpenter writes:

"Everyday on the street I study their faces

The ones who rush on through the crowd

Towards their own quiet worlds, their separate places"

I instantly remembered many times when I was in a crowd, and I felt insignificant and lonely occasionally, because of the whole rushing of the crowd (especially during a busy shopping season). Yet, when I listen to music, and shut a good portion of the world away, calmness came over me that made me feel more integrated. I was integrated without being swallowed whole; this could also be a comment on consumerism, since I did mention shopping, but that would be a bit of a stretch for a response to either poem. I felt Rich's poem was more in the setting of some few decades ago, or perhaps in the wilderness, where groups of people are scarce compared to the vast, empty land. I'm glad I searched a bit on Google and found Carpenter's poem because I felt it reinforced Rich's poem with a different energy and more modern imagery. All in all, I resonated with both poem due to the quote "alone, not lonely" being what a portion of my lifestyle reflects. Yet, just the same as with "Song's" narrator, I do not share a negative interpretation of the type of "loneliness" others may perceive as me having. Rather, I perceive as simply a character trait that helps define who I am. Besides, If I'm lonely, why would've I smiled while reading the poem?