Waking in the Blue

By Robert Lowell

The night attendant, a B. U. sophomore,rouses from the mare’s-nest of his drowsy headPropped on The Meaning of Meaning.He catwalks down our corridor.Azure daymakes my agonized blue window bleaker.

Introduces concept of social status; implied ‘low’ social standing – B.U. is overshadowed by Harvard

Introduces theme of internal desolation; the blue sky further provokes the metaphysical blue of bleakness the poet experiences

Alliteration

Blue represents a ‘sea’ that the residents of the mental institution are referred to as ‘creatures’

Imagery ; along with “drowsy head” ridicules the ‘B.U.’ sophomore

Crows maunder on the on the petrified fairway.Absence! My heart grows tenseas though a harpoon were sparring for the kill.(This is the house for the “mentally ill”)

Implies isolation

Double meaning:1. Rigidity of Bostonian social structure2. The poet’s terror during self-reflection

Meaninglessness

Reference to harpooning of whales; motif of sea.

Emphasis through exclamation. Poet expresses his emotions

Rhyming couplet for comic effect . Detracts from despondent tone of previous lines.

What use is my sense of humour? I grin at Stanley, now sunk in his sixties,once a Harvard all-American fullback,(If such were possible!)still hoarding the build of a boy in his twenties,

Reference to preceding rhyme of ‘kill’ and ‘ill’. Parodying his predicament within a mental institution

Initially suggestive of physical deterioration ; alliteration of ‘s’

Now implies “Stanley’s” mental degradation, opposed to physical. Critically regards “Stanley” due to negative connotations of ‘hoarding’. Suggestive of dichotomies of Boston University and Harvard. Harvard representative of the Brahmin class. Stanley’s insanity is derived from his excessive concern with his appearance/image, ultimately a criticism of Bostonian social pretence. Through hyperbole, this criticism becomes evident.

Humour through snide observation; oxymoron of “Harvard all=American fullback”

as he soaks, a ramrodWith a muscle of a sealin his long tub,vaguely urinous from the Victorian plumbingA kingly granite profile in a crimson gold-cap,Worn all day, all nightHe thinks only of his figure,Of slimming on sherbert and ginger ale—more cut off from words than a seal.

Motif of the sea

Humour

Infantile qualities, compared to a boy and soaks in a tub

Juxtaposition. Reinforces childish qualities of Stanley. Ridiculous imagery of a buff man wearing a ‘crimson gold-cap’.

Extreme vanity

Comparison of Stanley’s physique to a seal and also intellectual capacity.

This is the way day breaks in Bowditch Hall at McLean’s;

the hooded night lights bring out “Bobbie,”Porcellian ‘29,a replica of Louis XVIwithout the wig—redolent and roly-poly as a sperm whale,as he swashbuckles about in his birthday suitand horses at chairs.

An attempt to imitate the nature of nobility, but falls short

King and Louis XVI are references to aristocracy

Iconic Harvard club representing the pinnacle of social standing

In both day and night, Bostonian societal flaws are evident. Also ‘two sides of the coin’. Day and night are different.

Hyperbole. The elitism of ‘Bobbie’ is overshadowed by the absurdity of his actions.Also indicates self-indulgence

Motif of the sea

These victorious figures of bravado ossified young.

In between the limits of day,hours and hours go by under the crew haircutsand slightly too little nonsensical bachelor twinkleof the Roman Catholic attendants.(There are no Mayflowerscrewballs in the Catholic Church.)

Mocking tone? Contrasted to the ridiculous representation of “Bobbie” and “Stanley”, associating them with ‘victory’ and ‘bravado’ seems sarcastic

Indoctrination. Forcing their set of hierarchical values on younger generations. Similar to mother in Commander Lowell, reading him “Napoleon book”

Link between ‘screwball’ and Bobbie or Stanley. Mayflower represents old Bostonian values.

Contrast to poet’s previous observation that “this is the way day breaks”...”the hooded night”. The attendants of low social class are privileged by Lowell over those who represent high social class. Parallels to skunks in Skunk Hour?

Militancy opposed to frivolity of inmates

After a hearty New England breakfast,I weigh two hundred poundsthis morning. Cock of the walk. I strut in my turtle-necked French sailor’s

jerseybefore the metal shaving mirrors.and see the shaky future grow familiarin the pinched indigenous facesof these thoroughbred mental cases,twice my age and half my weight.We are all old timers,Each of us hold a locked razor.

Suicidal desires

Tone of arrogance and superiority

Realises that his pride is similar in nature to the other people in the mental institution and that his future is as bleak as theirs and there is nothing to ‘strut’ about

Emphasises their insanity while ‘thoroughbred’ reinforces their upbringing in affluence

He realises that he a member of the society that he condemns through the images of Bobby and Stanley

ThemesCriticism of Bostonian society

ElitismClass conflict implied by sophomore from Boston University as

opposed to Harvard UniversityObservable in the inmates of the mental institution

“Stanley” – Vanity “Bobbie” – Pretentious

Introspection of selfPoet sees his “shaky future” in the mirror“We are all old timers”

He acknowledges his involvement in the very society he is criticisingThe locked razor is a symbol of suicide

Terrified yet tempted by its prospect

MotifsThe sea

The residents of the mental institution are creatures in the blue ‘sea’; seal, whale

Creatures confined in a claustrophobic blueHumour and comical images

Detracts from his seriousness as he contemplates suicideReflects poet’s discomfort at his failures