A Certain Lady is a poem written by Dorothy Parker that explains the multiple emotions that a woman goes through while she listens to the man she loves talk about his exploits with other women. The poem begins with a woman listening attentively to a man speak. She’s trying to attract him with her body language. He laughs and talks about his quests as a man with other women. Although he can’t see the pain that she hides behind her laugh and smile as he continues his stories about his lust with other women. Despite his inability to see her love and unwillingness to stay with any one woman, the lady is still in love with him. This can be seen from the last few lines where she wishes she could kiss him goodbye, even as he goes in search for other women. Tone:
The tone is regret and sadness from the woman. The woman regrets that he can’t see the love that she’s trying to show him and that he doesn’t see which immediately makes her feel sadness. Theme:
The theme of the poem is one of emotional turmoil one can experience in love. The lady is in love with the man, but the man is unable to see it. And thus she endures the heartbreak she receives every time the man tells her of his About Dorothy Parker:
In the 1920’s, Dorothy Parker became famous for writing book reviews, poetry, and short fiction for fledging magazine The New Yorker. Her uncle went down on the titanic 1912
While her work was successful and she was well-regarded for her wit and conversational abilities, she suffered from depression and alcoholism and she attempted suicide. She became a socialist in 1927 and being a firm believer in civil rights, she bequeathed her literary estate to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Upon his assassination some months later, the estate was turned over to the NAACP. In 1914, Dorothy sold her first poem to Vanity Fair. At age 22, she took an editorial job at Vogue. She continued to write poems for newspapers and magazines. Her childhood was an unhappy one, both her mother and step-mother died when she was young; her uncle went down on the Titanic in 1912; and her father died that following year.
The Essay on Wyatt Prunty's Poem ''Elderly Lady Crossing On Green''
The title of Wyatt Pruntys poem, Elderly Lady Crossing on Green, describes the experience of a revengeful speaker. He tells how you should not to help that little old lady to cross the street. Then, he goes on to explain himself by saying that she used to be a nasty person who drove her car without any consideration for the pedestrians. In fact, she would have run you flat as paint / To make the ...
A Certain Lady
Oh, I can smile for you, and tilt my head,
And drink your rushing words with eager lips,
And paint my mouth for you a fragrant red,
And trace your brows with tutored finger-tips.
When you rehearse your list of loves to me,
Oh, I can laugh and marvel, rapturous-eyed.
And you laugh back, nor can you ever see
The thousand little deaths my heart had died.
And you believe, so well I know my part,
That I am gay as morning, light as snow,
An all the straining things within my heart
You’ll never know.
Oh, I can laugh and listen, when we meet,
And you bring tales of fresh adventuring, of ladies delicately indiscreet, Of lingering hands, and gently whispered
things.
And you are pleased with me, and strive anew
To sing me sagas of your late delights.
Thus do you want me – marveling, gay, and true,
Nor do you see my staring eyes of nights.
And when, in search of novelty, you stray,
Oh, I can kiss you blithely as you go
And what goes on, my love, while you’re away,
You’ll never know.
