Why I will not Get Out of Bed by James Tate - Essay Example

Why I will not Get Out of Bed by James Tate While traditional poetic concerns span the gamut of human emotions, one of the most frequently returned to themes is that of unrequited love and longing. It seems there is something intrinsic to a human spirit afflicted by these emotions that must reach out towards artistic or creative expression. This historical theme reemerges in James Tate’s ‘Why I will not Get Out of Bed’ as he laments on the nature of his love from a bed-ridden state. In a similar theme and tone, Amy Gerstler’s poem ‘Approach’ considers the narrator’s day as she longs for an absent individual. This essay considers the various poetic conventions within these poems and analyzes them for their narrative content. James Tate’s ‘Why I will not Get Out of Bed’ simply investigates the nature of an individual who does not want to get out of bed. While the general narrative construct of the poem is simple, Tate presents it in a way wherein it contains poetic verve and poignancy, withholding insight into the true reason the narrator is bed-ridden until the final lines. Tate begins the poem writing, “My muscles unravel/ like spools of ribbon:/ there is not a shadow” (Tate, 1-3). The clear symbolic imagery utilized here is he comparison of the individual’s muscles to spools of ribbon. It’s a powerful image as one envisions ribbon splayed out on the ground or floor, just as the individual’s tired and powerless body clings to the bed. In the next stanza Tate continues, “of pain./ I will pose/ like this for the rest/ of the afternoon,” (Tate, 4-6). In these regards, the structure and narrative flow is segmented from the first stanza, as the final sentence is continued in the next line. While this has a variety of effects, including aesthetically giving the poem a unique feel, in perhaps the most notable context it functions to emphasize the nature of the term pain. This general rhythm and meter is continued into the next two stanzas when Tate writes, “for the remainder/ of all noons. The rain/ is making a valley/ of my dim features./ I am in Albania/ I am on the Rhine.” (Tate, 7-12). In this instance, Tate develops the symbolic imagery of the rain making a valley of the narrator’s dim features. While this is a complex image, one interpretation is that the rain represents tears the narrator is shedding as a result of the pain that has bed-ridden him. The poem continues stating that the narrator is in Albania, and as on the Rhine. This is indicative of the narrator’s imaginative position. While he is restricted to his bed, his imagination is fully active and has brought him to these areas. The next two stanzas continue, “It is autumn/ I smell the rain,/ I see children running/ through columbine./ I am honey,/ I am several winds.” (Tate, 13-18). Tate continues with the imaginative imagery in these two stanzas, indicating that his is imagining autumn, and later in a more expressionist sense comparing himself to ‘honey’ and ‘several winds’. Outside of providing the reader with further insight into the narrator’s condition, it also continues the theme of rain, further indicative of the underlining despondency inherent in the poem. The poem concludes, “My nerves dissolve,/ my limbs wither -- / I don’t love you./ I don’t love you.” (Tate, 19-22). These two stanzas function as concluding remarks and reveal that the nature of the narrator’s bed-ridden nature is due to his love for an individual. The stanza also echoes an element of imagery that occurred in the first stanza, namely the unraveling of the individual’s limbs. In considering the poem in its entirety a few structural dimensions emerge. Namely, with the exception of the final line, the poem operates through three line stanzas divide into eight groups. While there is no rhyming or alliteration that occurs, the lines generally adhere to five or six syllabic pattern. Ultimately, the poem is an effective portrait of an individual despondent over love. Amy Gerstler’s poem ‘Approach’ continues the thematic concern with love and longing. Differentiating the work from more traditional poems, ‘Approach’ does not follow regular poetic form; instead its presentation style is more in-line with traditional prose stylings. Even as the structure is slightly experimental, the narrative is for the most part traditional. Gerstler begins the poem in a straight-forward way stating, “How could I lose sight of him? I only know that my eyes followed him as far as possible, till my gaze wandered over the horizon’s brink, where insight and blindness alike are insufficient” (Gerstler, 1-3). In these regards, Gerstler adopts a prose structure to advance the narrative concern with longing for a loved one. In terms of poetic form, one could even argue that the text is more aligned with the short story format; it seems the work has been categorized as a poem because of its whimsical nature and short length. These lines also contain powerful poetic imagery referring to something that is being gazed upon as being so powerful that it is insufficient to have insight and blindness (perhaps meaning augmented imagination) to grasp them. While the poem doesn’t implement rhyming or poetic conventions in the traditional sense, it does have a very lyrical flow and structure. The poem also implements a number of sensory elements to engage the reader on a higher level. Gerstler writes, “the bedclothes exhale a whiff of reminiscent of him, though he’s never set foot in this room” (Gerstler, 5-6). While not an overly powerful image, it is effective in demonstrating the individual’s specific condition. Gerstler also implements very powerful imaginative imagery. She writes, “waiting for rabbits and deer to leap over me, or something heavier to puncture my stomach with its hoof” (Gerstler, 7-9). Here, the narrator is speaking about the feeling of longing and love as they relate to the poem’s general theme of desire. Another powerful image is implemented when the narrator is referring to the very nature of writing poetry and thought and its inability to capture the true essence of existence. Gerstler writes, “how sad it is that what I jot down daily, or mull over in the walled chamber behind my eyes, can’t hold a candle to his flickering image” (Gerstler, 12-14). It’s this lyrical nature that gives the poem its greatest effect, and indeed even defines it as poem. As the poem concludes, it ends within similar imagery and concerns as it has throughout offering a poignant account of an individual longing for a lost loved one. In conclusion, it’s clear that both Tate’s ‘Why I will not Get out of Bed’ and Gerstler’s ‘Approach’ explore the theme of longing in different contexts. Tate’s work considers a bed-ridden man lamenting his lost love. In accomplishing this Tate implements a stanza like format, that contains a loose syllabic pattern. Throughout the poem are poignant images of an individual experiencing despondency. Conversely, Gerstler’s work considers the theme of longing throughout the daily occurrences and poetic insights of the narrator. Gestler’s poem eschews traditional poetic form, for a structure based more on short fiction. Similar to Tate’s poem, the theme of lost love and longing are accomplished through symbolic imagery. Both poems also refrain from traditional rhyming patterns, for a more free-form lyrical form. While demonstrating different structural dimensions, both poems accomplish a similar emotional effect in their attempt to achieve these ends. Ultimately, both poems present a subtle yet moving account of this human emotion of love and longing, granting the reader great insight into these poets lives. Read More