Lorde, Cavitch, Hacker

In order to begin deconstructing the two poems: Need: Choral of Black Women’s Voices by Audre Lorde and Embittered Elegy by Marilyn Hacker as elegies, it is necessary to establish the framework. The framework can be understood through Max Cavitch’s essay on “The Elegy”. In Cavitch’s essay he establishes three essential points to understanding elegies. He states that the elegy is  “one of the most popular and flexible forms of mourning art in U.S. culture…”(Cavitch 225). A few pages later he states that “the elegists contributes to the preservation of ideals with which the deceased has  been strongly associated with”(227). This idea goes along with elegies as playing an equal role for the living and the deceased. Lastly, the “work of elegy  to activate subjective identifications among mourners that affirm, shift or revise social alliances…”(234). This last point is perhaps the most important as it pertains to both authors’ poems. The two former points are included as they make up the third point. As such, the analysis will focus more on the affect of the third point while still dappling in the first two points.

In Lorde’s poem, Need: A choral of Black Women’s Voices, she argues about the hypocrisy of American ideals by exposing the treatment of  Black women by “the people”. The people in this case are white, heterosexual males. This idea of “we the people is prevalent in Cavtch’s essay. In his essay he discusses the idea of constitutional elegies. Lorde’s poem is just this. She emphasizes the word Black by capitalizing it. The capitalization of the word is especially emphasized because her writing is so fluid and for the most part without punctuation. The use of words like silence, blood, need, and rain stand out. Silence for the crimes committed against black women while at the same time there are marches for other minorities highlights the hypocrisy of the whole system. The murders and rape of these women is acknowledged and is “ washed away with silence”(Lorde 349). These crimes are forgotten, any trace washed away. However in writing about these crimes, it forces society to remember and be a part of the past. The word “need” keeps coming up and may be interpreted in many ways but concerning the elegy it is the need to remember. Lorde talks about how the “white policeman bends,” which only shows the corruptness and unwillingness of society to acknowledge the crime”(351).

Looking at Hacker’s poem, Embittered Elegy,there is also the idea of the elegy. The phrase “sheltered by womanhood and middle age” comes up twice in the passage when talking about the poems the teacher had her students write. The teacher let her students write what they wanted, but what she found was that rage came from them and that the poems were racist, and inappropriate. Although it seems she should have expected this.   Hacker writes about the “pile grows on my desk, page upon page”(Hacker 27). Piles can be seen as piles of bodies of victims of societies hate crimes. An exposing these issues through writing is society forced to face the facts and remember the dead. The dead have given the living lessons which they must now enact.

Cixous/Poe

Zandy Springs

Professor Gerard O’Donoghue

Writing50-Death

30September2011

The Oval Portrait and Cixous: An Analysis of the Two
Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, The Oval Portrait, tells the tale of a

man and his wife. The man becomes so enthralled as his works as

a painter that he slowly begins to pay more attention to the painting

than to his actual wife. The painting has become so life like that it

ends up replacing the wife to a point where the wife is dead and

the painting is life. It is interesting to note that during this time the

narrator has disappeared by the end of the poem.

In Hélene Cixous lecture, “The School of the Dead”, she

discusses death and its relationship to writing. She talks about the

way that “the narrator makes such a disappearing disappearance

that [the reader] disinvest[s]”(30). Her point is relevant to Poe’s

poem because it seems as the narrator starts to disappear so does

the life of the wife whom the reader is no longer paying attention to

because they are enthralled by the painting. Cixous goes on to say

that the narrator “is mortally wounded,” yet it is necessary for the

narrator to be wounded so that the reader can “tolerate seeing

death ineluctably inscribed in the scene”(32). In being involved with

death from the beginning, the reader can tolerate the death of the

wife because the reader has already seen and become familiar

with death.

Cixous along these same lines believes that being familiar

with death helps one with writing. She states that “writing is

learning to die,” which in some ways it is(10). Death gives one

something to write about and a way to keep alive those who have

died. Books that talk about death and harm one only serve to

prepare one for death. According to Cixoux though, this type of

book that awakens one and gives artificial light can only be written

by a writer who must dig deep and uncover this light. This

searching in the end will kill the writer. Clarice Lispector actually

died shortly after finishing a book in which the main character

mirrored her. Taking this example it would seem that there is a

“strange connection between writing and dying writers feel a

strange desire for death”(18). One though couldn’t admit this

desire but it appears Clarice had this desire. This type of writing

gives those who read it insight as everything one does, one does in

the dark.

Cixious’s style of using death and writing to explain the effort

that must go into writing is interesting. The way that Cixious turns

death into a good thing by saying that it is necessary for writing and

then providing example is helpful to the reader. The way in which

Cixious connects the ideas to the reader and clearly lays out why

texts that “wound” the reader is a bit controversial, but not so

much that it is unbelievable. The reader thus goes with her

argument and slowly exposes the reader to ideas of death and so

when Cixious begins to talk about death of relatives and other

writers, the reader is prepared.

Zandy Springs

Professor Gerard O’Donoghue

Writing 50

9September2011

Montaigne and Focault: Abstract and Rhetorical Analysis

 

In Montaigne’s essay, To Philosophize is to Learn how to die, Montaigne

discusses the role of philosophy and death. His claim is that unless one is familiar

with death it will take one by surprise. In order to not be surprised by death, one

must always be expecting it. In learning “how to die, [one] has unlearned how to

be a slave” and is thus free from the fear of dying(96). Unfortunately, Montaigne

needs to follow his own advice, as he hints at his fear of death.

In Michael Focault’s essay, Ethics: Subjectivity and Truth, he discusses the

hupomnemata and correspondence. The hupomnemata, he argues is a way to

form the self. The self is formed by memories and from correspondence with other

writers. Correspondence is a “way to ask for advice”. In writing and in particular

writing these letters, one forms the hupomnemata. In receiving advice from others,

the hupomnemata is subjective and the truth obscure. However, this is what forms

the soul and body of a person.

In the essay, To Philososphize is to Learn how to die, Montaigne, advises

one how one should deal with death. Death, according to Montaigne should not be

feared instead it should be welcome. It is welcome because one must always be

aware that death could be moments away. If one is always aware of death it will no

longer have a hold on one and induce fear. Furthermore, Montaigne argues that

there is only one way to live freely and that is by learning how to die. Once one has

“learned how to die has unlearned how to be a slave”(96). Usually when talking

about learning, on thinks about school and books, not about learning to die. The

shifting of the definition of learning in it’s most common sense is overlooked by the

reader because Montaigne is telling one that there is a way to deal with death.

Death generally isn’t discussed often, because people fear it. Readers are given a

way in which they can deal with and so overlook this point. On the other hand,

some discrepancies are not so forgivable and most be explore further.

The essay when discussing the proper way to die has some conflicting

points. If one is free from death then it appears contrary to always be expecting

death. In most cultures and especially during Montaigne’s time, death was ever

present. In the passage, it is discussed how the Egyptians during banquets would

bring “mummified bodies to serve as a warning to guests”(96). In this way the

Egyptians reminded one that death is always there. The issue of death, is common

to all people as they will eventually die. People fear death, and so by suggesting a

way in which the fear of death can be removed, his readers are drawn further into

his argument. He further seduces his reader by appealing to the reader’s pathos.

People have lost friends, or relatives before and know the pain that it causes those

who are left behind. If somehow this pain could be removed, which Montaigne

does point out as possible, then death would no longer have a hold on oneself.

One would be free. In this way, one would have “understood that loss of life is

not an evil” because it brings no pain(96). It brings no pain, because everyone was

expecting it. In this way death can be rationally dealt with and the reader feels at

peace with the concept of death.

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