Barbie Doll + Qs — the old fashioned way

Barbie Doll

This girlchild was born as usual

and presented dolls that did pee-pee

and miniature GE stoves and irons

and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.

Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said: 5

You have a great big nose and fat legs.

She was healthy, tested intelligent,

possessed strong arms and back,

abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.

She went to and fro apologizing. 10

Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.

She was advised to play coy,

exhorted to come on hearty,

exercise, diet, smile and wheedle.

Her good nature wore out 15

like a fan belt.

So she cut off her nose and her legs

and offered them up.

In the casket displayed on satin she lay

with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on, 20

a turned-up putty nose,

dressed in a pink and white nightie.

Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said.

Consummation at last.

To every woman a happy ending. 25

—Marge Piercy

Questions:

1. In what ways is the girl described in this poem different from a Barbie doll? Discuss the poem’s contrast of the living girl, a human being with intelligence and healthy appetites, and the doll, an inanimate object.
2. The poem contains a surprising but apt simile: “Her good nature wore out / like a fan belt” (15-16). Why is the image of the fan belt appropriate here?
3. Why does the speaker mention the girl’s “strong arms and back” (8) and her “manual dexterity” (9)? How do these qualities contribute to her fate?
4. Discuss the verbal irony in the phrase “the magic of puberty” (5) and in the last three lines. What is the target of this satire?

Siren Song + Qs

Siren Song

This is the one song everyone

would like to learn: the song

that is irresistible:

the song that forces men

to leap overboard in squadrons 5

even though they see the beached skulls

the song nobody knows

because anyone who has heard it

is dead, and the others can't remember

Shall I tell you the secret 10

and if I do, will you get me

out of this bird suit?

I don't enjoy it here

squatting on this island

looking picturesque and mythical 15

with these two feathery maniacs,

I don't enjoy singing

this trio, fatal and valuable.

I will tell the secret to you,

to you, only to you. 20

Come closer. This song

is a cry for help: Help me!

Only you, only you can,

you are unique

At last. Alas 25

it is a boring song

but it works every time.

— Margaret Atwood, 1976

1. What are the various meanings for the word “siren”? Look for illustrations or descriptions of sirens and record the most significant information. Does a knowledge of how a siren might have appeared (& where dwelt) contribute to your apprehension of some of the language of this poem?

2. What is a “siren song”—does this term also have several meanings? Spell them out.

3. What form does this poem take: is it a dialogue, an apostrophe…or what?

4. What imagery is evoked in the second “paragraph” (lines 4-6)? How does it fit with the import of the poem

5. a) What is the tone of this poem? Where does a shift occur, and how?
b) Is the speaker in control of the import of the poem, or is the poet? How so?a) What is the speaker’s tone? What things do we learn from the speaker?
b) Does the speaker control the meaning of the poem, or does the poet. How so?

Special on Poems by the Pair—Government Approved for Essays!

Dear Mouseketeers,

At the bottom of this post are the thematic pairings from which you can choose for a comparative essay of three or more (full) pages.

To keep everyone equal, requirements are: Times New Roman 12 point double-spaced, with one inch margins all around.

Leaf through the chapter entitled "Writing About Poetry" and scan the sample essays to give yourself a sense of good critical writing.

("Guide to Feet Complete with Helpful Reminder" courtesy of T.R. Hot-sun, Esq., DNA, OBE, Etc.)

And now…the Pairs!—

1. Barbie Doll (Marge Piercy) + Siren Song (Margaret Atwood)
2. Dover Beach (Matthew Arnold) + Church Going (Philip Larkin)
3. Ulysses (Tennyson) + Curiosity (Alastair Reid)
4. To His Coy Mistress (Marvell) + The Flea (Donne)
5. The World is too much with us (Wordsworth) + God’s Grandeur (Hopkins)
6. A Valediction Forbidding Mourning + The Sun Rising (both John
   Donne)
7. The Broken Heart (Donne) + Farewell to Love (Michael Drayton)
8. To Autumn (Keats) + After Apple Picking (Frost)

And don't forget those feet!!

God’s Grandeur + Qs -

"The Waking" + Questions

The Waking + Questions -

The Waking & God's Grandeur

The "music" of each poem is what's at question here. How does it influence tone and meaning? What is the tone, do you think, and what is the essential meaning or message, of each poem?