This is a photograph of me by Margaret Atwood critical analysis

 

This is a photograph of me

It was taken some time ago.
At first it seems to be
a smeared
print: blurred lines and grey flecks
blended with the paper;

then, as you scan
it, you see in the left-hand corner
a thing that is like a branch: part of a tree
(balsam or spruce) emerging
and, to the right, halfway up
what ought to be a gentle
slope, a small frame house.

In the background there is a lake,
and beyond that, some low hills.

(The photograph was taken
the day after I drowned.

I am in the lake, in the center
of the picture, just under the surface.

It is difficult to say where
precisely, or to say
how large or small I am:
the effect of water
on light is a distortion

but if you look long enough,
eventually
you will be able to see me.)

From The Circle Game by Margaret Atwood. 

 

Margaret Atwood

The Canadian writer Margaret Atwood (born 1939) is best known as novelist, as the author of books such as Handmaid’s Tale and Oryx and Crake

·      The poem opens The Circle Game, Atwood’s 1964 collection of poetry

·      Free Verse

·      Describes a blurry photo to the audience, the image implications  continuously transforms

·      Means of exploring the malleability of history and truth, especially suppression of marginalized voices

·      Sets stage for The Circle Game which centres female perspectives and experiences that have long been subsumed under male-dominated histories

·      The form of the poem mirrors ever changing nature of history

Summary

·      The speaker describes an old photograph from many years ago

·      Upon the first glance, the image appears blurry with all of its fuzzy shapes mingling on the photo paper

·      The poet first points out a fragment f an evergreen tree that creeps into the frame from one of its left corners

·      To its right is an incline, halfway up the incline is a little house whose weight is supported by a wooden frame

·      Background of the image is a lake, behind which sits the short hills

·      The speaker clams in a parenthetical statement to have drowned the day before the photo was taken

·      The speaker takes the reader’s attention towards the centre of the lake, where the speaker lies lifeless beneath its surface

·      The speaker explains it is hard to make out the corpse’s form, its size and position

·      The speaker maintains that if the audience contemplates the photo for a while, they will be able to spot the speaker in the photo.

Themes

History and Erasure

·      Initially the photo has  a blurry image then various detail and quaint landscape emerge

·      Halfway through the poem the speaker’s corpse is pictured

·      Narrative is dark and complex

·      Soft language “ gentle slope” “small frame house” “low hills”

·      Corpse is submerged within the lake denotes that the speaker’s experience has been obscured

·      One could figure out the corpse only after immense observation means that complicated realities of the past are harder to discern

·      Reflection of light ff the lake – a distortion denotes that suffering of marginalized people can be easily left out

·      Speaker’s form is at the center of the photo just under the lake’s surface denotes that such obscured stories are central to understanding the past and can be accessed.

The Subjectivity of truth

Throughout the poem, the speaker provides commentary on the photo and calls attention to particular details, shifting reader’s understanding of what the photo represents. One’s concept of truth is based on perception. Truth is unfixed and easily manipulated.

History

Atwood’s “this is a Photograph of me” is based on a shocking story of  a drowned child. As the title suggest the collection revolves around children’s circle game. The tone of the poem reveals many tensions and dualities.

Poem itself is the Photograph

The poem itself is the photograph that the poet wants to show, scansion is the jargon for analyzing poetic metre, the poet wishes the audience to scan the poem.

·      26 lines

·      14 lines describe thee photo

·      Remaining 12 lines depicts poet’s intention in writing this poem.