Alcestis On The Poetry Circuit Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: A BCD EFGHEIJKK LDMN JOPQRSTUVDW XXYUZUA2B2 C2D2E2F2G2H2 I2UDJ2XK2L2M2N2 O2P2Q2R2N2P2 S2D2In Memoriam Marina Tsvetayeva Anna Wickham Sylvia Plath Shakespeare s sister etc etc | A |
- | |
The best slave | B |
does not need to be beaten | C |
She beats herself | D |
- | |
Not with a leather whip | E |
or with stick or twigs | F |
not with a blackjack | G |
or a billyclub | H |
but with the fine whip | E |
of her own tongue | I |
the subtle beating | J |
of her mind | K |
against her mind | K |
- | |
For who can hate her half so well | L |
as she hates herself | D |
who can match the finesse | M |
of her self abuse | N |
- | |
Years of training | J |
are required for this | O |
Twenty years | P |
of subtle self indulgence | Q |
self denial | R |
until the subject | S |
thinks herself a queen | T |
yet a beggar | U |
both at the same time | V |
She must doubt herself | D |
in everything but love | W |
- | |
She must choose passionately | X |
badly | X |
She must feel lost as a dog | Y |
without her master | U |
She must refer all moral questions | Z |
to her mirror | U |
She must fall in love with a cossack | A2 |
or a poet | B2 |
- | |
She must never go out of the house | C2 |
unless veiled in paint | D2 |
She must wear tight shoes | E2 |
so she always remembers her bondage | F2 |
She must never forget | G2 |
she is rooted in the ground | H2 |
- | |
Though she is quick to learn | I2 |
admittedly clever | U |
her natural doubt of herself | D |
should make her so weak | J2 |
that she dabbles brilliantly | X |
in half a dozen talents | K2 |
thus embellishes | L2 |
but does not change | M2 |
our life | N2 |
- | |
If she's an artist | O2 |
comes close to genius | P2 |
the very fact of her gift | Q2 |
should cause her such pain | R2 |
that she will take her own life | N2 |
rather than best us | P2 |
- | |
after she dies we will cry | S2 |
make her a saint | D2 |
Erica Jong
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
Write your comment about Alcestis On The Poetry Circuit poem by Erica Jong
Best Poems of Erica Jong