Thursday, April 15, 2010
The Day Lady Died
Some poems are timeless. In Facing It Yusef Komunyakaa uses imagery and references to his a specific time and place, regarding specific people. Yet, years later, I can relate as a civilian. On the other hand, Frank O'Hara's poem is so personal, I feel like an outsider, if not an intruder. He begins with a precise loctaion and time, and proceeds to report in great detail seemingly mundane (yet to him meaningful because of what happened that day) activities. Yet I am lost. What is the significance of his Friday afternoon routine? Who is Lady? How do I relate to all that went through his mind as he saw the everyday things he did through a new light when I don't even know what happened!?
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You're right about the personal dimension of the poem--check my comments on other blogs, study sheets, etc.,. to get the global, historical dimension...how the poem brings a global history of struggle against oppression to bear on the closing image....
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