“Her Hair”
Kayla
Ericca R.
Richard
Six Important Phrases
“neck of waves to the nape” – He is giving a description of the woman’s hair. He gives the reader the feeling that the woman’s hair is luscious and soft
“enamored of its pleasure” – He describes how fascinated he is with this particular feature of the woman.
“Odors I grow drunk”- Baudelaire is describing how intense the sensual desire to be the woman is to him;it’s so enticing that it is comparable to being drunk.
“deaf to my desire”- Baudelaire wants the women whom he admires to acknowledge his from afar attraction to her.
“Aromatic forest stay” – describing her smell to be from the forest and also saying to keep it that way
“Fertile Idleness” – Very desirable traits in this women for a baby
Our analysis:
This poem expresses one’s lust from afar. The analysis of the keywords lead to the conclusion that he is describing one women. One can’t help but notice that the point of view the author takes is from afar. All the keywords he describes with her with are seductive words, such as “aromatic”. The lends to the speculation that the author is infatuated with the female that he is describing. He views her with great admiration, as he describes all her bodily features, especially her hair. For him, her hair is both visually pleasing and fulfills all the other 4 senses. He is admiring a woman that could very well not know who he is. Through this powerful imagery, the author presents a woman that is perfect, from afar. He may be enticed by her beauty, however, he is unaware of she really is. Therefore, the other can only give us a description of her, nothing more. She is unattainable, and although he may know what she looks like, he doesn’t truly who she is.
In Society:
The author is no different that people in today’s society. With social media on the rise, more people are judged upon how they are presented through a picture, rather than who they really are. The author can’t help but only describe her in sensual words because he is infatuated with what she looks like. Not once does he refer to her personality as a source of beauty, only her physical features. He doesn’t know who she really is. That is exactly what people do with social media today, they admire. They are in awe of what the individual looks like or what they may possess. They are blind to the trials and tribulations that the person might face on a daily basis. However, the smiling photo might lead one’s instagram follower to believe that some is happy, however, they may be dying inside. One’s physical appearance isn’t enough to conclude love, only admiration, much like what they author is doing.
6 responses so far ↓
mf152788 // Oct 17th 2015 at 9:10 am
The key words you chose were fantastic. I really got a solid understanding (which was developed further in the analysis) of the poem just through the words you picked, which shows that you chose the most important words and phrases of the poem. The analysis of them were very solid as well; the words and phrases are definitely on the more flowery side, and I probably would not have been able to understand it 100% if it weren’t for the on-point explanations.
The relation of the overall analysis to today’s society is great too. I never would have thought of it that way, but is definitely 100% true and you guys accurately depict how the concepts demonstrated are still relevant today. I also enjoyed how you delved deeper into how social media just depicts the surface, as you cite how someone look happy on Instagram but actually be dying inside. The connection you make between the poem and today’s society is definitely solid.
Overall a great analysis!
m.lee // Oct 17th 2015 at 11:20 am
I like the interpretation of how this poem relates back to society as a whole and I think the example of social media is completely on point. Social media has disconnected us in a way and it’s strange because it was actually meant to bring us closer together and it shows that there is no true feelings or realness in cyberspace. On the web, people don’t necessarily connect the way they would connect in real life and we believe in the image that we see but we don’t know the person behind the image and that’s rather unfortunate.
mi141990 // Oct 17th 2015 at 11:57 am
I really like your response to the poem named ” Her Hair”. Your interpretation of the poem makes complete sense because based on the poem, people like to judge other people by the way they look. That is not right and physical appearance should not conclude love. I also like the key words you chose because it definitely give you an understanding of the entire poem.
JMERLE // Oct 17th 2015 at 1:28 pm
Kayla, Ericca, Richard,
This is a very nicely considered response! The words/phrases you choose are quite good ones, and also rather difficult to explore, but you have made very nice attempts. You could be a bit more specific about “fertile idleness,” but, again, you’ve challenged yourselves, and that counts for a good deal.
I think your interpretation is completely valid. You can certainly see this as lust (although not everyone would see it that way) which you defend by pointing out that the narrator is obsessed with her physical appearance. You might also think about how these various descriptions of her hair might be read metaphorically (and we’ll talk about this is class, too).
Your connection to our world is absolutely valid, in terms of your interpretation. I’m wondering if we are getting more superficial or less (or neither more nor less)?
Nicely done.
Grade: 10/10
b.lo // Oct 17th 2015 at 2:01 pm
The key words that you described into to full details helped me realize what the poem wants to convey. Everything relates back to a woman’s features in the most part. I follow famous people on Instagram who are extremely pretty, and I would actually think that that person must have such a better life. But everything is just a cover to portray perfection.
Brandon Andujar // Oct 17th 2015 at 6:03 pm
The words and phrases that you chose were really important ones. They were interpreted in such a way that I got a better understand of the poem. One of the phrases that was interpreted fairly well is “Odors I grow drunk.” I would’ve interpreted it differently, but your idea gave me a different outlook. The analysis of the overall piece was very well put together and the ideas flowed naturally.