Poem Analysis: Pluto Shits On The Universe

Pluto Shits on the Universe is a strong and defiant poem that expresses the rejection of rules, rules placed upon others by those who cannot even begin to control them. After being discredited as a planet for her uncharted and chaotic movements, Pluto reacts. She expresses her freedom from the rules of documented science, from our sense of time, from our titles and competition. This poem has tones of defiance, confidence and independence created through its syntax, diction, and repetition.

The first tone the reader may easily sense is defiance. With just the first line – “Today, I broke your solar system. Oops.” – Pluto (the speaker) instantly establishes an unsympathetic and unapologetic stance on her removal from the list of planets which make up our solar system. The syntax in this sentence alone tells readers that she couldn’t care less for her ‘dilemma’. Pluto, without a second thought – considering the inclusion of “Oops” in the first line rather than following a line break – immediately feels no remorse for the disruption caused. This, along with the rest of the first and second stanza, defines the

initial tone of defiance that can be found throughout the poem. The defiance is then intensified with diction such as “chaos”, “ain’t” and escaped”. Repetition in some diction had the same effect, e.g. the repeated use of “fuck” in lines like, “Fuck your moon … Fuck your rules … Fuck your order” (9, 21-22, 28).
The additional tones of confidence and independence are mainly sparked by diction and syntax.

The order of the following quote is interesting, as she states, “My name means hell, bitch,” before outright taking on that identity with “I am hell, bitch”. Concerning the arrangement, I first understood this line to be a realization, an epiphany on the page. As for the line herself, more so the words used, I took it as a declaration of Pluto’s sense of importance, of royalty – hell, though a Kingdom of the damned, is in fact a kingdom. Taking on the title of hell, hell being a kingdom of the damned, she is owning her ‘damnation’ from the list of recognized planets – a sort of “If the shoe fits” comment on her own existence. Therefore, with the aforementioned line, she is declaring dominion over herself and expressing her independence from the rules of our

science.
With phrases like “I deserve” and I want”, and lines like “Your year ain’t/shit but a day to me”, and “Neptune is bitch-sobbing in my rearview, /and I got … all this sky that’s all mine”, she perpetuates her rejection of our “rules” and proclaims her ownership of the remaining sky, free for her to roam and wander, unlike the planets stuck in our solar system. She celebrates her freedom, she dismisses our rules, she disses her competition – Neptune, Jupiter and the other planets – and laughs in the face of it all.
Although a lot of the diction is solar system-based, one can easily place themselves in Pluto’s shoes, relate with her situation and grow from the message of this poem. Others do not define us, not matter how ‘official’ their words may be. We cannot be placed in order of best to worst, greatest to least, etc., unless we allow ourselves to be. We should not apologies for leaving the standards or expectations of others unmet when we have not asked to be evaluated, researched and monitored. We own our freedom, we own our names, we our titles, and we own our worth. In short, be unapologetic when being yourself.