In artwork, it is the role of the artists to compile their work in such a way that it comes out in the most convincing way for the reader to digest. There are certain tools that the artist will employ in order to achieve this and produce effective communication. This applies in all artworks highlighting that any critical analyst will be in a position to decode the processes and applications employed in the production. This essay aims at zeroing down on a piece of poetry with intention to unravel the author’s applications and inspirations in its production. Diane di Prima’s Song for Baby-O, Unborn will be at the centre of focus in the analysis.
Diane di Prima is, to say the least, a minimalist poet. Minimalism involves sparingly used words in broken down sentences which when put together will bring out the collective meaning of the poem. It is quite common to find one sentence broken down in a full stanza. More so, it is notable that minimalist poems will always feature single-word lines that make meaning when put in prose. In line with the economy of words that is embedded in this form of poetry, the reader is at task to make the connections in order to get the meaning out of the work. This is achieved by relating consecutive lines in a connected flow whereby they complement each other to send the message.
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Minimalist poetry is significant when analyzed from various angles. The significance can be verbal, artistic, personal, or cultural. Song for Baby-O, Unborn is very rich in the artistic, verbal and personal significance as evident in the word choice and structure. In matters artistic, there is proof that the poet has incorporated various elements that place the poem in the category of romance. The word choice is proof that the poet is cautious in her arrangement of endearments especially when he opens the first stanza with the word “sweetheart” (1). The poet further uses the word “baby” as another form of endearment from the persona to a loved child (13). This informs that the poet is enthusiastic to select the right words to express love in the poem that is quite economic with words. It is the last stanza that is blatant with the persona’s self expression where she says, “but I can show you/ baby/ enough to love” (12-14). The choice of flattering words is evidence of the artistic significance of this minimalist poem which, tough expressed in few words, communicated to the reader all it intends to send forth.
In line with the artistic significance, more so, the poem is heavy on persuasion. Well aware that this is a love poem, the critical reader has a duty to ascertain whether it is successful in expressing the love to the baby. The second stanza, therefore, presents the persona’s course of persuasion as she takes a round-a-bout way of expressing the deep feelings. The persuasive nature is incorporated with a sense of reality as the persona reveals that there are various imbalances in the world such as hunger and sadness (7-8). The poem is then given a punch in the closing stanza when the persona intimates that although she is not in a position to promise a better world that is free from the setbacks, she sure knows the way of love and would be in a position to sway the addressee’s feeling into experiencing everlasting affection.
It is also of artistic significance that the persona uses the first stanza for the purpose of self introduction. The revelation that “you’ll find/ a poet here” (3-4) confirms that the poet has temporarily suspended her fictional creativity to draw the reader into her real nature. While the persona may take any character, this poem goes directly to reveal that the poet is also the persona. The significance in the choice of character is that the reader is compelled to get a deeper understanding of the poet as an individual. Whereas many poets will tend to detach themselves from their work, in this instance the person is the poet. It is quite different from prose that involves first person narration because the narrator in prose merely picks a character to develop the story that will still be owed to the author. While we may not take the narrator as a direct representative of the author in prose, it is different in this poem as the persona is taken as the poet expressing herself.
It is also of personal significance that the persona is a poet. The act of the persona introducing herself as a poet, on top of being artistically significant, brings the addressee to a one-on-one with the poet. This enhances the poet from being conceived as merely the creator but also as a part of the creation. The personal touch is, therefore, crucial in forging an attachment between the poet and the addressee. The poet further confirms the addressee’s apprehension in the self-introductory stanza when she posits that it is “not quite what one would choose” (5). This highlights that even the author is aware of the reader’s confusion when it is noted that she has not taken a sideline and instead has chosen to be part of the poem.
It is also of personal significance that Song for Baby - O, Unborn is a love poem. The persona has directed the message to her sweetheart to express her feelings of affection. The opening word “sweetheart” (1) is evident that the addressee is being saluted on a personal level, not to mention the affection embedded in the word chosen. More so, the persona perpetuates the personal significance since the whole poem does not sway from directly addressing her sweetheart. The use of pronouns such as “I” and “you” (12) further inform that the persona speaks to a specific baby who she holds dear. It is a mother’s love.
Verbal significance is also embedded in the poem. In awareness that verbs are ‘doing words’, it is obvious that the poet has incorporates several verbs that are weighty in the overall expression of love as the main theme. The word break, for example has been repeatedly used to convey different meanings to the reader. In the first instance, the verbal significance in “break thru” (2) is a form of discovery. The persona uses the word to foreshadow the addressee that there is a task of finding out what is embedded in the poem and goes ahead to reveal that beneath the findings the reader is expected to discover is a poet in love. The persona’s imagery of “breaking/ globe” (10-11) further extends the verbal significance in the second stanza. Here, again, the word carries a different meaning as the persona expresses to her lover that indeed the world is not stable and may be under destruction. The aim of this verb choice is to pedestal the persona’s love which, apparently, is set on foundations that are tougher than the globe and would be expected to last even when the world is apart. The last stanza sees the persona expressing “enough to love/ to break your heart” (14-15) to signify an end of love. This reveals that the word break has been used all over the poem with a different meaning in each stanza. All the same, the verbal significance embedded has served the intended purpose and effectively communicated with the addressee.
Reference
di Prima, D. (1934). Song for Baby - O, Unborn. Retrieved from https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/song-for-baby-o-unborn/
