Gretel
Andrea Hollander Budy
A woman is born to this: sift, measure, mix, roll thin.
She learns the dough until it folds into her skin and there is
no difference. Much later she tries to lose it. Makes bets
with herself and wins enough to keep trying. One day she begins
that long walk in unfamiliar woods. She means to lose everything
she is. She empties her dark pockets, dropping enough crumbs
to feed all the men who have ever touched her or wished.
When she reaches the clearing she is almost transparent—
so thin the old woman in the house seizes
only the brother. You know the rest: She won’t escape that oven. She’ll eat
the crumbs meant for him, remember something of his touch, reach
for the sifter and the cup.
T(itle)- Reminds me of the story of Hansel and Gretel. Maybe about the sister?
P(araphrase)-The paraphrase is pretty self explanatory. It is about a woman who has a weight problem and how she struggles throughout life an how she tries and tries to be thin until she becomes so skinny that she is almost transparent.
C(onnotations)- The cooking register is very prominent throughout the entire poem. Also, there is the fairy tale that can be seen through the poem.
A(ttitude)-I find the attitude to be very sincere. However, I find it to also be a little bitter, as in a way to stick it to society and their values.
S(hift)-There are only a few shifts. The beginning is talking about the cycle of women and their weight and then it goes into the fairy tale.
T(heme)- The poem talks about the stereotypical view of women nowadays. That women try to fit into society's opinions of a perfect body and will go to the extremes to look good to the point where they almost look "transparent".
T(itle)- Gretel is the allusion to the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale, however it has little to do with the poem besides the fact that it ties in with the whole idea of the witch fattening Hansel up in order to eat him.
Andrea Hollander Budy
A woman is born to this: sift, measure, mix, roll thin.
She learns the dough until it folds into her skin and there is
no difference. Much later she tries to lose it. Makes bets
with herself and wins enough to keep trying. One day she begins
that long walk in unfamiliar woods. She means to lose everything
she is. She empties her dark pockets, dropping enough crumbs
to feed all the men who have ever touched her or wished.
When she reaches the clearing she is almost transparent—
so thin the old woman in the house seizes
only the brother. You know the rest: She won’t escape that oven. She’ll eat
the crumbs meant for him, remember something of his touch, reach
for the sifter and the cup.
T(itle)- Reminds me of the story of Hansel and Gretel. Maybe about the sister?
P(araphrase)-The paraphrase is pretty self explanatory. It is about a woman who has a weight problem and how she struggles throughout life an how she tries and tries to be thin until she becomes so skinny that she is almost transparent.
C(onnotations)- The cooking register is very prominent throughout the entire poem. Also, there is the fairy tale that can be seen through the poem.
A(ttitude)-I find the attitude to be very sincere. However, I find it to also be a little bitter, as in a way to stick it to society and their values.
S(hift)-There are only a few shifts. The beginning is talking about the cycle of women and their weight and then it goes into the fairy tale.
T(heme)- The poem talks about the stereotypical view of women nowadays. That women try to fit into society's opinions of a perfect body and will go to the extremes to look good to the point where they almost look "transparent".
T(itle)- Gretel is the allusion to the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale, however it has little to do with the poem besides the fact that it ties in with the whole idea of the witch fattening Hansel up in order to eat him.
