“Repulsive Theory” by Kay Ryan, published in the November 2003 issue of Poetry, captured my attention immediately with its opening phrase, “little has been made.” Much has been made of the phrase “Much has been made of,” and this opening plays off of my familiarity with that phrase. However, the opening line by itself makes a bold declaration “little has been made” This seems false on the face of it, and I expect the poem to support it or subvert it. While the line belies the syntax (or vice versa), both are integral to the understanding of the poem. Looking to the next non-prepositional line, we see that “nothing has been made” is juxtaposed with “while much has been,” an interesting juxtaposition, that makes a certain amount of sense.
I particularly enjoy poetry that makes use of tropes traditionally belonging to the realm of the scientific, a realm that has on occasion (through the branch of linguistics) attempted to subvert or at least control the critical response to poetry. I am fascinated with both mathematics and speech, with both physics and rhetoric, with both science and soul, and this poem satisfies both cravings. We have the hard facts of “magnets reversed” and the “principle of repulsion” followed by the art of “doily edges” and the abstract “arabesques of thought.” The imagery of the poem is obviously reflective of repelling magnetic fields, yet it transforms it to a criticism if you will of traditional thinking with regard to mankind’s need for connection, offering alternatively the truth of mankind’s need for separation, all of this of course, without resorting to such mundane exposition.
In fact her imagery is enchanting, especially in the combination of the concrete with the abstract. Things like “oiled motions” and “pearly convolutions” produce specific images in my mind, but they are attached, in the text, to abstractions like avoidance. Anyone who has watched the rapids of a stream understands the concept of an eddying vacancy. Something normally abstract is made concrete by placing it within a context that defines it by what it is not.
The end of the poem, gives me a little pause because it seems to me to attempt to over extend the metaphor, or rather, it defies the metaphor by taking it out of the personal, where it has worked so well, and attempting to apply it to the cosmological in a way that doesn’t really add anything to the meaning of the poem, at least to my mind. On the other hand, the final three or four lines seem to bring it back to the personal and tie it together, I’m just not sure the jaunt to the cosmos was necessary for them to work.
Finally, to address the question posed in the opening with regard to the making vs. being of much, it seems that the poem bounces between these two tropes, in its own form, and its position on its subject, negative and then positive. In the end, is their any reason that we must make and not simply be?
Liked the poem very much—I have a few of Kay Ryan’s books. She is so brief, so hit-and-miss, that sometimes I find it hard to read her. I think the selected poem is very good, an example of how poised and controlled she can be.
I didn’t have quite the same reaction that you did to the point where the poem pulls away from the Earth. Early in the poem, she is already contrasting the “self” with the “not-self.” For instance, the principles of attraction and repulsion both to the ocean and to thought. To extend that into space, into “cosmological sense” doesn’t seem such a great leap. That the principles of repulsion extend “FAR” beyond the personal is important…and how far can you get from the personal than space, in all its enormity?
Plus, down there is where you get the great “set up by fending off,” which I think is what prompted your own note about “the truth of mankind
Thanks Hannah, I’ve responded in a new post at Make or Be? Celstial or Simple
Juxtaposition is placing two elements side by side and letting the reader make connections between them. Juxtaposition examples help to show the concept.
We can see juxtaposition examples in poems , too. “Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Speech. Juxtaposition in literary terms is the showing contrast by concepts placed side by side. An example of juxtaposition are the quotes
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Define unadulterated . unadulterated synonyms, unadulterated pronunciation, unadulterated translation, English dictionary definition of unadulterated . adj. 1. Not mingled or diluted with extraneous matter; pure: unadulterated coffee.
Define repulsive. repulsive synonyms, repulsive pronunciation, repulsive translation, English … Write what you mean clearly and correctly. Mentioned in? abhorrent; abominable; … you or me, but to Tibo she was mamma, the personification of that one great love which knows no selfishness and which does not consume itself in its own fires …
A narrative technique (also known more narrowly for literary fictional narratives as a literary technique, literary device , or fictional device ) is any of several specific methods the creator of a narrative uses to convey what they want —in other words, a strategy used in the making of a narrative to relay information to the audience and …
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Personification Examples Personification is a figurative language technique where an object or idea is given human characteristics or qualities. In other words, using our language, we make an object or idea do something that usually is only done by people. An Essay on the Personification of …
Juxtaposition Examples Juxtaposition in Literature. Juxtaposition is a basic tool of storytelling, as writers choose how to place their characters, settings, arguments, and images in relation to one another to achieve their aims. In this section you’ll find examples of juxtaposition …
Personification Poems. Examples of Personifications and a list of poems in the correct poetic form and technique. Share and read Personification poetry while accessing rules, topics, ideas, and a comprehensive literary definition of a Personification.
06.11.2019
Summary: Imagery Definition Literature. Imagery English Definition: To re-cap, imagery is descriptive language that appeals to one or more of our senses. Imagery allows the writer to use words to paint an image for readers as they enter the worlds created through words on a page.
Welcome to the website dedicated to literary devices (literary terms). Here you will find a list literary devices with definitions and examples.
Sentences for you to name which type of figurative language is being used. Learn with flashcards, games, and more — for free.
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Does vitamin C help people recover from sickness? In music, what is a Diamond certification? Why don’t we end daylight savings time? What are the strangest things to happen during the MLB World Series? Where is the safest place to go during a tornado? … What is the meaning of the word repulsive?
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prose poem definition : 1. a piece of writing that is written on the page like prose , but has rhythm, images, and patterns…. Learn more.
What Does Juxtaposition Mean . Juxtaposition is a figure of speech in which two contrasting concepts, objects, places, characters or their qualities are placed side …
Imagery draws on the five senses, namely the details of taste, touch, sight, smell, and sound. Imagery can also pertain to details about movement or a sense of a body in motion (kinesthetic imagery ) or the emotions or sensations of a person, such as fear or hunger (organic imagery or subjective imagery ).
Personification Poems . You might be wondering: just what are Personification Poems ? First we have to define
personification definition : 1. a person who is a perfect example of something: 2. the act of giving a human quality or…. Learn more.
Definition of Imagery . As a literary device, imagery consists of descriptive language that can function as a way for the reader to better imagine the world of the piece of literature and also add symbolism to the work. Imagery draws on the five senses, namely the details of taste, touch, sight, smell, and sound.
The use of words that sound like what they mean. Example: It SHUSHES It hushes The loudness in the road. It flitter-twitters, From
He had become so repulsive, that passing his hand over his face, he felt his own hideousness. It had grown to be repulsive, and he knew not how to fill the void in his life. This elasticity arises from the repulsive force of its particles, and is always equal to the compressive force which it balances.
A tree is just a tree unless a writer utilizes poetic devices such as metaphor, simile and imagery. The tree may be a green umbrella or the lungs of the planet; its branches may be gnarled like the hands of an old crone or smooth and white as bone. It may whisper, rattle or …
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