Theme Of The Poem A Subaltern's Love Song

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A continual motif throughout Betjeman's poetry selection is the placing of common historical female stereotypes. These caricatures are deeply scrutinized and contrived in order to be mocked and laughed at; adding to the heavily satirical and farcical nature of Betjeman's poetry.
In Betjeman's "Lenten Thoughts of A High Anglican" his repetitive reference to "The Mistress" echoes throughout the poem; this plays on the duality of meanings the word possesses, as some readers may draw reference to the connotations of female power & liberation made popular in the early 20th century whilst some readers may draw reference to the connotations of sexual promiscuity. Betjeman continues this tone by alluding to her thick, full, "droop{ed}" lips and "elegant …show more content…

She is immediately humanized from the outset as Betjeman remarks her name; establishing her individuality and uniqueness. This feeds in to the romanticized nature of the poem as the term "love-song" creates a passionate atmosphere which is maintained throughout the poem by the use of sound over sense with phrases such as "carefullest carelessness" creating an oxymoronic confusion in the reader and the repetition of the word "weak"; both signifying how their bond consumes him thus, distorting reality. This distances her from the one-dimensional hyper-sexualized caricature in "Lenten Thoughts Of A High Anglican" as there seems to be a deeper emotional connection free of lust; we see this as he dreams of becoming "engaged" to her. Moreover, she is described as "strong" with "the grace of a boy"; highlighting her masculine and dominant qualities. However, unlike in "In Westminster Abbey" and "Lenten Thoughts Of A High Anglican" this power receives praise and applause as Betjeman comingles the word "Strongly" with "adorable" and claims to be in "weak" from her "loveliness", highlighting how she maintains her feminine qualities despite being strong and independent. Additionally, Betjeman subtly remarks to their sexual encounters by referring to her "blazer and shorts" on the "floor" and by personifying his car roof as "intimate", making sure to maintain the romantic jaunty tone of the poem. In this way Betjeman invites the reader to view "Joan Hunter Dunn" as a multi-dimensional character; with sexual desires that do not define her. It could be argued that this poem opposes Sandra M Gilbert and Susan Gubar's idea of "social castration", a phrase highlighting how in in many works of misogynistic literature women have to sacrifice their rights to freedom and identity in order to find acceptability. However, in this poem Betjeman defies this pattern by making the act of sex before

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