Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Here Lies Love Critique


The form lies in the style with its vivid imagery and unexpected juxtapositions. There is also the unusual lack of a proper pronoun for the first half of a page. The title is reminiscent of an epitaph. The first section is one line, making it very jarring and placing emphasis on it. The second section is sensual imagery, with effective alliteration and repetition. There is the interesting juxtaposition of “Lake Geneva blue and nondescript purple something-other.” There is a foreboding mention of “evil inside her”. There are also recurring images of triangles. The speaker seems robotic while the girl has no distinct image to cling to. The third begins to hint at the relationship between the two with recurring shape images. The fourth names what the reader is lead to believe is the girl from the first three sections, Katherine, as indicated by yet another shape images. There is a mention of “her lake” which brings the reader back to the second section. The fourth section ties together all the shape imagery, reconciling it with geometry. It is at this point that I feel satisfied I have “understood” the piece and sit back and let the rest wash over me without reaching out to grab anything. The fourth mentions more of Katherine and the fifth brings back the seasonal imagery planted (pardon the pun) in the first line. Overall, I think there needs to be more tying this piece together, more lines weaved through.

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