Waking in the Blue
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Transcript of Waking in the Blue
McLean Hospital in Belmont The place where Lowell wrote his poem to a lady called Ann Adden who was a girl
he had met and fallen in love with during a brief stay Original draft is 25 lines shorter than the actual poem Stay at the psychiatric hospital indicate the confinement in the hospital
Waking in the Blue as a title could indicate- Awareness and recognition of his condition by him being in the psychiatric
hospital and him finding himself- A state of mind or a place symbolised by blue as he could be somewhere imaginary
or in a place of nothingness
First stanza- Mere’s nest- symbolising confusion and disorientation as it talks about “his drowsy
head”- use of vague adjectives such as “maunder” and “blue”- “absence” - idea of not knowing how to feel, consumed and the losing of ones
identity. Combined with title idea that you feel like you are drowning in the blue.
2nd stanza- Talking about sports and stereotypical nature of males- “Harvard all-American fullback” ideal success story, academic and sporting
recognition- “ramrod” – talking about the fact that football players are stupid and only live for
contact. - motif of the confused words describing his moods – “vaguely”
3rd stanza- Only cares about appearance and reputation- How he seen by others are his main thoughts- “more cut off from words “ describing that he cant find himself if he only thinks of
his status- Loss of identity
5th stanza- Talk of Louis the XVI as a rich and an arrogant king- Only cared about his image- Talking about how tries to fit in where his finest clothes – “birthday suit”
6th stanza- Again the motif of changing and styling your hair to get the fashionable look. - Relating to title as it consumes you and you are then not your self as you are
trying to make yourself look different than you are. – loss of identity - “screwballs” in the catholic church – reference to the churches image in today's
society?
7th stanza- Waking up to realisation of what you have become- Or looking in the mirror and seeing that you are greater than you actually are. –
sense of arrogance- “cock of the walk” – arrogance and fleeting confidence. - “twice my age and half my weight.” – arrogance and the irony as you are looking
at someone bigger than you are