The Concept of Deception, Secrecy and Evil in Smith’s Duality It is a general nature to think that one could tell how another person is feeling just by looking at person’s physical appearance. It is human character to assume that just because a person is smiling that they are happy or vice versa if they were doing the opposite. Although sometimes this is not the case, some people are good at putting on a poker face and hiding their true emotions and will only reveal what they want to show. Individuals often have different reasons on why they do not act on their thoughts or say the things that come to mind. People also have a way of thinking one way and acting another because if their true colors show they would not be accepted. Society plays …show more content…
a major role of determining the standards that we live by as well and some may find themselves to be out of place if allowed to convey what they truly thought. This concept can be found not only in the everyday lives of people but also throughout literature as well. In the Poem Duality by Charlina Daitouah Smith, the speaker expresses the theme of deception, secrecy and evil through her most inner thoughts. The speaker of the poem uses deception to appear normal even though on the inside she is insane.
The first evidence of deception takes place in the fourth tercet of Duality. The speaker says “Who knows that behind this beautiful face/ murder sometimes lies in wait/ an insane desire to exterminate?” (10-12) This line of the poem reveals that the speaker looks innocent from the outside contrary to how she appears to be on the inside. This mirrors the poems title Duality which in essence means the irony or a contrast between two themes. Another example of deception can be found in the sixth tercet when the speaker says “There is no way you can tell/ just by looking at this gentle female/ that she dreams of being wonderfully cruel”. (13-15) This means that people aren’t always what they appear to be and can often time be misleading. In reference to the poem the speaker appears to be as two different people in one, one which is evil internally and another who is good externally. This is often seen throughout literature and a character who acts as such is known as a doppelganger. The author ends the poem by saying “And when you think you know me well/ it turns out you don’t know me at all”.(27-28) This statement not only represents deception but also secrecy leaving you to wonder what else the speaker might be …show more content…
hiding. Another central theme that can be found throughout the poem titled Duality is secrecy.
The speaker opens up the poem by speaking in first person and saying “In the privacy of my mind/ I give vent to rage, lies, / envy, and vices of every kind”. (1-3) The speaker’s mind is like a safe haven and she can go there to be free and private with her thoughts without anyone knowing her true identity, almost as if she is trying to hide from the public’s eye. In the second tercet she mentions that she is filled with joy and is safe because the forbidden part of her nature is explored and no one can see or knows. In Duality the speaker also mentions that her mind is a wall that conceals her. This statement represents the speaker’s secrecy to keep her thoughts guarded and protected. Throughout the poem the speaker goes back and forth contradicting her façade with her inner thoughts. This technique makes the reader not only confused about the true identity of the speaker but also hungry for more information as the character in the poem isn’t thoroughly revealed and brought to light. The lack of information from the speaker and the nature of her thoughts can make her seem as a dishonest and evil
person. Evil is another reoccurring theme that can be found in the poem. Throughout the entire poem the speaker seems angry so she vents to the readers and often brings up the subjects of torment and murder. The first clue the reader gives us can be found within the fourth tercet. The speaker says “murder sometimes lies in wait/ an insane desire to exterminate”(11-12). This statement makes the reader wonder what happened to the speaker to make her go made with rage and why or who do she want to kill. The speaker seems to enjoy planning and fantasizing about her wicked thoughts. She even relates to the readers by saying “Or how could you ever discern/ that yonder jolly gentlemen/ relishes thoughts of unleashing bloody mayhem?”(16-18) This statement implies that she isn’t the only one who thinks this way and that in fact everybody has trouble contrasting between the good and evil side of their conscience. All three themes were important and they manifested themselves throughout the entire poem. Deception, secrecy and evil were used to convey a message of human nature and ethics to the readers. Even though the poem is fictional there is a lot that can be learned and connected to. The speaker of the poem isn’t good by nature; she appears good on the outside by force, the execution of law, reason, conscience and the difference between right and wrong. Maybe the speaker is afraid to act on these things because of the fear of consequences and punishment so she acts like she is a good person while she enjoys her fantasies about being evil. The author of the poem enhances it by making the poem relatable by creating a visual of the ongoing struggle of one’s mind in contrast to their body. Duality shows the themes that were mentioned merged together and even more importantly the theme of good versus evil. The poem reveals a balance of the two within one person and all individuals can associate with it. Perhaps the poem represents one’s inner spirit verses the façade that society has imposed on humans to be. .
Examining the literary terms used in this poem, one should mention alliteration first. It is used in the following line: “There are those who suffer in plain sight, / there are those who suffer in private” (line 1-2). Another literary device,
The poem told the story of a man who is inhibited by language, and has never quite had the ability to articulate his thoughts and feeling through words. It is said that his family members have tried
The informal language and intimacy of the poem are two techniques the poet uses to convey his message to his audience. He speaks openly and simply, as if he is talking to a close friend. The language is full of slang, two-word sentences, and rambling thoughts; all of which are aspects of conversations between two people who know each other well. The fact that none of the lines ryhme adds to the idea of an ordinary conversation, because most people do not speak in verse. The tone of the poem is rambling and gives the impression that the speaker is thinking and jumping from one thought to the next very quickly. His outside actions of touching the wall and looking at all the names are causing him to react internally. He is remembering the past and is attempting to suppress the emotions that are rising within him.
In the poem pride, Dahlia Ravikovitch uses many poetic devices. She uses an analogy for the poem as a whole, and a few metaphors inside it, such as, “the rock has an open wound.” Ravikovitch also uses personification multiple times, for example: “Years pass over them as they wait.” and, “the seaweed whips around, the sea bursts forth and rolls back--” Ravikovitch also uses inclusive language such as when she says: “I’m telling you,” and “I told you.” She uses these phrases to make the reader feel apart of the poem, and to draw the reader in. She also uses repetition, for example, repetition of the word years.
Poetry stands beyond agreement or disagreement and reinforce all ideas of mysteriousness (671). In “Lady Lazarus”, the story of Plath’s life with her tendency of self-destruction sheds light the meaning of the poem. A poem can be a reflection of the writer’s life; to understand the particular poem better, a study about the writer background helps to construct the subliminal meaning within the lines. Plath reconstructs the meaning of being a survivor from destruction, as she sustains the trauma of life that causes her to be suicidal. “Although “Lady Lazarus” draws on Plath’s won suicide attempt, the poem tells us little of the actual event. It is not a personal confession, but it does reveal Plath’s understanding of the way the suicidal person thinks.” (Dickie). The courageous endeavor to survive proves that the death is no longer terrifying. “Peel off the napkin/O my enemy./D I terrify?---“. On the contrary, the character in the poem, Lady Lazarus comes out to the light and challenges to whoever the enemy is, by saying, “I am you opus,/I am your valuable,/The pure gold baby”. She addresses how worthy she is as a human being, and she is revived and stronger than
The first example of deception is Viola's decision to dress as a man. She must do this in order to survive. Viola is a young woman who narrowly escaped a shipwreck along with her twin brother, Sebastian. Unfortunately, the twins where separated during the shipwreck and each believes the other perished. Viola has no way of survival other than to dress as a man and serve Orsino. Viola says: "For such disguise as haply shall become the form of my intent. I'll serve this duke...for I can sing...That will help allow me very worthy his service". (Shakespeare, 54-59)
...e struggles between humans is highlighted in this poem “And we are here as on a darkling plain swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, where ignorant armies clash by night” (line 35-37). The speaker of this poem tells us that we shouldn't expect life to be full of “ really neither joy, nor love, nor light”(line 33). He wants to shake us awake, and to tell us that, in the world we live in now there is no certainty, no "help for pain" (line 34).
but also her viewpoints on herself and her surroundings arise from the depths of her id to haunt the poem with personal
The poet continues the poem exclaiming what he had to deal with while trying to hide his hate for his enemy. He had basically tried to hide his hate or anger for his enemy out of fear. “And I sunned it with smiles, and with soft deceitful wiles” is a phrase in the poem that shows that the person speaking in the poem also tried to hide his hate for his foe. The sentences in the poem continue to rhyme one after another in groups of two.
In Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” deception is always existing, as things are not always what they same. The main characters in the play all contribute enormously to the theme of deception. Mainly Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is skilled at manipulating and persuading others. This mainly effecting Macbeth himself as he plays the role of her husband. "Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't." This quote was spoken by Lady Macbeth
In lines 55 and 56, the speaker gives an example of the emotion she went through when her heart felt broken. “Any less the black man who; Bit my pretty red heart in two.” (Plath). She uses imagery to support the concept of feeling inferior to a male, as shown by the powerful image of her father described as the devil himself. Rage is also one of the main emotions shown throughout the poem. The speaker shows how agitated and mentally drained she feels in the confinement of her father’s no ending memories. “What is the speaker’s understanding of the predicament from which she seeks to escape? Certainly, the sincerity of her testimony is as apparent as her anguish and rage ” (Leondopoulos “ Daddy”) The speaker explains her mental confinement of rage by guiding
Characteristic of a dramatic monologue, the poem is written as a first person narrative. That being said, the reader is only provided with the male speaker’s perspective and the
"The point of view which I am struggling to attack is perhaps related to the metaphysical theory of the substantial unity of the soul: for my meaning is, that the poet has, not a personality' to express, but a particular medium, which is only a medium and not a personality, in which impressions and experiences combine in peculiar and unexpected ways."
By the end of the first stanza everything changes; the meter shifts to one that is more pressing, and even the rhymes completely change into slant rhymes. This change of the poem suggests that there is a thinly veiled insistence under the initial reading, one where the “Soul” is actually crying for help. It could be that she wants to believe that she has the power but perhaps an opposing force, perhaps a mental illness or a person is influencing her too much regarding her ability to choose. Regardless of whether the Soul is powerful or helpless – although the latter seems to be argued when the poem is analyzed – it is a strong voice nonetheless. The unmovingness, the authority, and superiority of an emperor kneeling, and shutting out the “divine Majority” before her inevitably places her upon a pedestal. The tone many times sounds romantic and yet condescending especially on an initial reading, then sounds pressing and helpless through further analysis. The subtle nuances used via her literary tropes suggests an anxious, internal argument occurring throughout the
She claims a “foolish, blemished Muse therefore sings” to her. One critic notes a discerning statement of psychotherapeutics once the writer compares herself to a male child. He writes, “the imagination of this textual matter suggests a profound envy for the a lot of obvious elements of the male anatomy, while not that the poet… feels inadequate for the task at hand…[and] no art will frame for this irreparable truth of nature.”