Notes.

Hello. Sorry I haven't blogged in ages. I have a lot of notes to sure though. Be prepared for a very long entry =p

Ballade Of A Talked-Off Ear

Daily I listen to wonder and woe,
Nightly I hearken to knave or to ace,
Telling me stories of lava and snow,
Delicate fables of ribbon and lace,
Tales of the quarry,
the kill,
the chase,
Longer than heaven and duller than hell
-Never you blame me, who cry my case:
"Poets alone should kiss and tell!"
Dumbly I hear what I never should know,
Gently I counsel of pride and of grace;
Into minutiae gayly they go,
Telling the name and the time and the place.
Cede them your silence and grant them space
-Who tenders an inch shall be raped of an ell!
Sympathy's ever the boaster's brace;
Poets alone should kiss and tell.
Why am I tithed what I never did owe?
Choked with vicarious saffron and mace?
Weary my lids, and my fingers are slow
-Gentlemen, damn you, you've halted my pace.
Only the lads of the cursed race,
Only the knights of the desolate spell,
May point me the lines the blood
-drops trace
-Poets alone should kiss and tell.

L'ENVOI
Prince or commoner,
tenor or bass,
Painter or plumber or never-do-well,
Do me a favor and shut your face
Poets alone should kiss and tell.

Title: I honestly chose this poem because at first glance, it seems difficult to interpert just from the title. The title graps the reader's attension because it isn't very clear what exactly this poem is about. Is the author going to tribute an ear? The "ear" is being personified as well here because it has been "talked-off". Who did this to the ear and why was it done? It seems the author is trying to tell the reader that someone has taken away the ear's privilage to talk or listen for that matter. It's odd how Parker uses personification in this sense. Already, I ask, is she trying to mock those who took the ear's privilage away or is she mocking the ear itself and what it listens to? I think the title already demonstrates some form of wit through its sharp yet simple diction. Also, "ear" has a connotation of something being listened to, gossip, or secret that is not meant to be heard. "Talked-off" seems slightly curt and negative.
Paraphrase: The speaker listens to wonder and woe every day, and every night she listens to a dishonest person or to a very close friend, who tells her stories of lava and snow, and delicate and fragile or personal tales of ribbon and lace, tales of the fights, the kill, the chase, that were longer than heaven and duller than hell-you shouldnt blame me, those who cry at my story..."Poets alone should kiss and tell!" Sumbly she hears what she really shouldn't know, gently she calms those of pride and grace. In a happy minute, they go, telling the person's name and time and place. Leave them your silence and grant them some space who leaves an inch shall be raped of a year. Sympathy is what they want to give you; poets alone should kiss and tell. Why is she so tithed at what she never owed. Shocked with the things people now know. Her weary lids and fingers are slow-everyone, damn you all, you've messed up the pace of her life. Only the people who are part of this race, only the knights of this horrid spell, may point to her on the page and the direct lines that refer to her which are covered in blood, poets alone should kiss and tell.
*I'm not sure if this second part if supposed to be part of the first half of the poem but it seems (according to many referances) that they belong together.
L'ENVOI...rich or poor, high voice or low voice, painter or plumber or anyone of any occupation, do me a favor and shut up, poets should kiss and tell.
Connotation: Wow, I just realized after paraphrasing how intense the word choice she uses is in bringing about the tone and the general mood of this piece. Parker is sharp, thats for sure. There are many highly connotative words in this piece...
"Talked-Off": people overdid the gossiping, ect (please see referance to "title")
"Ear" gossip, to lisen to something, (also see referance to "title")
"Daily": This is such a simple world yet quite a powerful way to begin her poem because the speaker is trying to emphasize that she can not escape the words and things other people tell her thus when she starts off with this word, it gives the reader a vibe that the speaker is stuck in this choas of gossip and people's words.
"wonder" and "woe": the juxtaposition of these two words is quite interesting..,normally you wouldn't see these words side-by-side because "wonder"brings abotu a strong sense of amazement and a positively moving experiance but at the same time, "woe" has a strong negative connotation because it implies strong sadness or distress.
"hearken": I honestly had to look this word up (which is one reason why I think Parker chose to use it in this poem). The entire poem is demonstrating the rights of poets and what they should share throughout their poetry. Parker uses the word "hearken" which means to listen to show that poets have the right to play with words as they have the right to pick and choose what they wish to express to their readers.
"ace": In the literal, denotative sense, this word means a "close friend"...but if you analyze the connotative usage of this word, it can imply gambling or playing with the cards...a skilled person or someone who can defeat their opponents in a witty way. Is Parker referring to the gossipers?
"Lava": hot, heat, fire, someone powerful, raging, fierce
"snow": cold, innocent, blank, empty
*note: she juxtaposes the usage of these two words as well. Why? To show the fierce contrast between the gossip she encounters and possibly the affects it has on others.
"delicate": brings about an image of a child or a polcelin doll..interesting how she uses this word to compare this gossip because it shows how vicious it can become.
"lace": feminine, fragile, "perfection" in a sense because many in the Victorian ages, lace was associated with the rich and their clothing.
"quarry, kill, chase": representing certain situations in our daily lives. Very vague words yet reflective of human nature and our day to day situations but in an uncivil portrayal. She's referring back to our primative nature as animals rather than civilized human beings.
"blame": such a straightforward and an "in your face" word...if you notice, she goes from very vague and abstract language (many of which are metaphorically or highly connotative) to a very curt and straightforward word to emphasize her point.
"Dumbly": Implies her reluctance but it seems she has no choice. Implies the small-mindedness or the fact that she is stuck in such a word where she can not escape the gossip.
"pride"/"grace": Quite a strong connotative contrast. Pride implies the evil side to human nature, the one that is looked down upon and grace has a highly positive connotation because it is something many wish to achieve. Grace is positive and can also imply religious grace which is something people wish to achieve.
"counsel": why did Parker choose to use this word here? If you take this word out of context, the first thought that comes to mind is a group of people meeting to discuss something which goes back to her main idea about how people continuously gossip and talk about unnecesery things.
"boaster's brace": This phrase really reinforces her sneering attitude towards those who gossip in the way in which is contains alliteration and the word "boaster" here is used in a sarcastic way because in a sense, the phrase is ironic to the entire poem's meaning.
"raped": very negative. stripping something does not belong to them. powerful usage.
"chocked": negative to show how shes trapped in this world.
"weary": gloomy. they are wearing her down.
"Gentlemen"/"Knights": Interesting how through the entire poem she is mocking those she is referring to yet she usages this word which is given to highly respectable men as well as the knights. They are treating her the opposite of how society expects them to act which creates even more of the irony because shouldn't the people be gossiping about them to?
"prince/commoner": Uses the contrast between the connotations of "rich" and "poor" to make a statement that this affects everyone.
Attitude: As mentioned in the connotation section, she sneerful towards the subject and very cold towards society.
Shift:The second stanza--> gets more personal and she brings herself into how this gossiping is affecting her yet in the first she is stating how it affects those in society as a whole. in the third, she gets even colder and begins to become ironic. in the forth--> again she is stating how it affects everyone. Highly affective because she goes fromvery general and how it impacts everyone to how it specifically impaced her to how again it affects society as a whole.
Theme: People will talk about you know matter what, it's part of life.
Title: Parker thinks it's neceserry to stop this cycle of slander.