Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Crazy Woman

The Crazy Woman

I shall not sing a May song.

A May song should be gay.

I’ll wait until November

And sing a song of gray.

I’ll wait until November

That is the time for me.

I’ll go out in the frosty dark

And sing mostly terribly.

And all the little people

Will stare at me and say,

“This is the Crazy Woman

Who would not sing in May.”

In the poem, The Crazy Woman by Gwendolyn Brooks, the speaker expresses a desire to sing in an unconventional time and way; she shows the strength of one woman stepping out of the hegemonic binds by singing in the gloomy November, instead of like all other woman who sang in the happy month of May. The poem addresses the responses from society as rejecting the social constructions. By doing this the speaker is thought to be “crazy” by the other woman because she is declining to follow the social constructions that were places upon them all. She is stepping out of the normal boundaries that the society was placed in, not caring what the others thought of her.

-Crystal Kelsey

5 comments:

  1. I believe this is a good analysis of the poem. I really like how Gwendolyn Brooks sets it up also, short and straight to the point, like a statement she's trying to make to the world. I look up to people, men and women, who are bold and confident enough to break social norms. At this time in my life, I would probably not do what she does in her poem, but I hope one day I will feel like I would be able to. But I would not do it only to make a point and gain attention; I would do it because I would be in the mood to do it. I feel like this is what Brooks had in mind also when she wrote this poem.

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  2. I agree with you, Gwendolyn Brooks is an artist who is not afraid to express the issues at hand even if it means offending those around her. I believe that the poem is also about breaking the social norms and crossing the boundaries. i think the person in the poem is questing the social construction that surrounds her such as why women are to sing songs at a particular time of year and not another. The hegemonic groups determine when to sing and when not to sing and the author boldly does not accept it when everyone else around her has.

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  3. As someone who also chose to analyze this poem, I found a lot of the same themes and social ties as you did. Along with the ones you mentioned it also seemed to me that Gwendolyn Brooks was embracing the negative social ties as a way to show how her cultures labels do not have an effect on her, and thus make society powerless. I like your analysis but think that you need to tie it back to culture a little more.
    -Jordan Ross

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  4. i think that you bring up a good point!! Thanks! You're right about that making the society powerless. Brooks stood up for her own culture without caring what others thought of her, she is a strong individual and she shows that in her writings!

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  5. It was nice of you to include her poetry as well. Through her poetry students can learn more about the depth of her skill as an artist and writer.

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