Category: This Is a Photograph of Me

Eerie, my one-word description of Margaret Atwoods poem, This Is a Photograph of Me written in 1939. Based off of the words, the layout, and what the poem actually says is what gave me this eerie sense of feeling. The poem also gave me a feeling that I overlooked something so in turn I read it over and over again, this lead me to a very important conclusion. The poem is about a person being overseen and the feelings that go along with not being seen when in fact the person is right there in front of you. I think that this is a poem about herself and how distant she may come from her piece it is still about her.

Parentheses play a big role in this poem because in the first half of the poem describes the picture with hills, a house, a lake, and a thing that is like a branch: part of a tree / (balsam or spruce) emerging. The fact that it is described as a thing like a branch gives the idea that it is not surly known what it is. Also the way the parentheses are used around two different types of trees is important because that also gives question to what is really there. This is important to note because the only other time that parentheses are used is in the whole second half of the poem where Atwood reveals it is a picture of her the day after drowning.

In this second half, it is also said that she is in the center of the picture in the lake. Once again there is a lot of uncertainty of the description. Atwood uses a lot of vague language on the description of self, especially in stanza six: 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. All of this language plays to the fact that she is so hard to see, even though she is in the center of the picture.

Back to the first stanza, some of the words and phrases Atwood here also give uncertainty, such as: some time ago, smeared, and blurred lines. All these statements have a commonality, they have no definite. Meaning that they do not give a boundary, they are not absolute, they are all vague. These words and phrases contribute to my analysis that it is about someone being overlooked and some of the feelings they might have such as unable to be seen and easily blended in, blurry; a feeling of death.

This poem is also slightly ironic because in is not a typical poem of rhymes and structure, it is as though Atwood is talking to the reader, but it is impossible to write a poem or talk to someone after death. I think this helps my case that we do not need to take the death in the poem literally but metaphorically as a feeling of being dead. She is always looked over, the picture describes Atwoods life because everything around her is normal and easily described blurry but there. Though she is just under the surface of the water and hard to see because the water / on the light distortion. This statement is also backwards: water / on light, just like a story of someones death.

This is a poem of Atwoods life and how she is very hard to see in the whole scheme of things. It is once said that once a poet puts a piece out that they no longer are part of it. So I think that this is a poem about herself and how distant she may come from her piece it is still about her.

These lines are the fourth stanza of the poem and are located approximately in the center of the piece. I think that the fact that the lines are located in the center is important because to me these lines signify a turning point in the poem or in other words a sort of catharsis. The beginning of the poem is mostly concerned with the surface level details of the photo such as small details like trees and houses. The beginning of the poem seems like it simply a poetic description of a beautiful scene. But then these lines completely change the tone and mood of the poem. What at first seemed light hearted is now dark and dreary.

To me, these lines signify the beginning of the second part of the poem which is juxtaposed with the first. The first line in the poem begins “It was taken” and then the line I chose begins “The photograph was taken” which is essentially just a rephrasing of the first line and therefore a use of repetition. This use of repetition implies as I said before, a new chapter in the poem which will give insight and a new perspective on the first. The two contrast with each other in several ways but at the same point, they rely on each other for meaning. Essentially the catharsis that takes place here is impossible without the preceding lines and our changed perception of these lines is impossible without this catharsis.

Another aspect of these lines that is crucial to understanding it is its use of the passive tense. Instead of using the active voice and saying something along the lines of “the person took the photo the day after I drowned” she uses the passive by saying it was taken. In writing it is generally agreed upon that using the passive voice should be avoided so her repeated use of it makes it notable. Especially given that this is a poem not prose and she likely chose her words and style very carefully. This use of the passive voice is relevant because having your picture taken is a passive act. Even though we often think of things like photos as objective they certainly are not. The photographer can change several things such as lighting or the angle to make the subject of the photo appear completely different.

So by using the passive voice, Atwood draws attention to the passive nature of this photo. The photo can be seen as a metaphor for how we see the world. If we approach this from a feminist perspective we can see this as how in our patriarchal society, men create and tell women’s stories rather than women themselves. Atwood says the photo was taken the day after she drowned and this could be alluding to this fact. Atwood is trying to allude to the fact that having your stories taken from you is in itself a sort of drowning and ultimately death. Conveying yourself through art is a vibrant expression of life while having this stolen and co-opted by others for their benefit is death.

So the fact that she is writing this poem is in and of itself and act of subversion against this misappropriation. Her story was taken from her but in the act of writing, she is taking it back and now letting the audience see it from her perspective. Rather than being the passive subject she is taking on the active role of conveying. This is also subversive because women have been historically seen as passive beings incapable of critical or intellectual thought and by writing this poem she is a living contradiction to this notion. Ultimately I believe she is trying to change the perspective of the audience who likely see patriarchy ar normalized through her subversive personal expression.

One way she tries to change the perspective of the audience is through juxtaposing the surface with the what is beneath it and invoking the audience to look deeper. In the line I chose, the use of parentheses is a critical component of the poem. What may seem to be just mere punctuation is able to help convey the theme I mentioned above. In writing, parentheses are generally used to convey information that is supplementary but not critical to the meaning of the sentence. It is a meaning that is in the background but not the forefront. This connects to the fact that the first part of the poem describes what is on the surface of the picture and it is what appears immediately to those who cast their gaze upon it.

But Atwood tells the reader that if you look closer you will see her under the water. The water here seems to represent patriarchy and dominant cultural ideals which distort and hide her from plain view. Not only do they do this but they have killed her in a metaphorical sense as well. They have drowned out her sense of self because they are so suffocating and constricting. By placing this catharsis within parentheses she is suggesting that real truth does not lay on the surface. Even going into the background where the lake is located is not enough. One has to separate themselves from their initial impressions and look beyond the background to see below the surface where real truth lies.

In poetry it is important for meanings and themes to be conveyed to us in a unique and interesting manner. Margaret Atwood uses many literary devices so the reader can really feel her poems and come to a greater understanding through her wonderful narrative voices. In the poem, “This is a Photograph of Me,” Atwood uses haunting, ambiguous imagery to bring the piece to life and support its mysterious theme.

The first image we receive from the poem is in the title itself. The image is an actually “image” of the narrative voice. We get a pretty good idea that the “photograph” of the narrator will be revealed to us by the straight-forward title. As we begin to delve into the poem itself, we discover that it appears to be a “smeared print” at first. This imagery hints to us quite literally that there is much more to this photograph than “blurred lines and grey flecks blended with paper” and on a more hidden level it reveals something much deeper that we discover in the latter half.

In the second stanza the narrator, “she” if you will, begins to guide us through a deeper understanding of the cryptic blurriness of the print. She points out to us not a branch, but a “thing that is like a branch.” This adds to the mystery of the picture and begins to build a curiousness about our narrator. We are shown “part of a tree emerging,” which gives another hint to secrets which will soon “emerge” and be revealed. There’s also “a gentle slope, a small frame house,” which would normally have a positive connotation, but the “ought to be” in front of the two descriptions, gives the images the ambiguity and mysticism like the rest of the poem.

The third stanza consists of a two-line sentence which describes the background of the photo. We are told of “a lake, and beyond that, some low hills.” In its presentation as a short, separate image, it feels far away and dream-like. Then, in the fourth stanza, we are told by the narrator that this is a picture taken after she drowned. It is very shocking, especially after the still, silent images we have been painted, but not too surprising because the imagery prepares the reader for the true intent of the narrator’s voice.

In the fifth stanza, she tells us she is in the center of the picture, just under the surface. The imagery here is simple but very effective. We begin to piece together the “hidden” image of her body, already dead for a day in that calm, gray water. In just a simple description we wonder many things, which are not answered. Who is our narrator? How is she telling this “story?” Who took the picture? Her murderer? The search party? A photographer unknowing about what was “just under the surface?”

In the sixth stanza, the ambiguity continues with the narrator not sure exactly where her body was or how large or small. These are simple descriptive questions that move us with a subdued horror. Then there is the image that seems to sum up the whole feeling of the poem: “the effect of water on the light is a distortion.” The whole photograph is a distortion of the harsh reality of the situation. In the last stanza, we are informed that if we look long enough we’ll see her. Again, a line that doesn’t make sense and leaves us questioning the mysticism and blurriness of the piece. Will she really “emerge” if we keep looking?

With each stanza we are revealed a deeper meaning. Concrete imagery of the photo reveals the mysteriousness, and in the last half, the imagery paints the uncertain and the intangible. We are left uneasy and wondering, just like the blurry imagery presented.

In today’s world, although significant strides have been made towards the pursuit of gender equality, women continue to face discrimination in the workplace, at home and in society. In works such as “This is a photograph of me” by Margaret Atwood, the speaker is wistful and has made herself unimportant even in her death. In “Spelling” by Margaret Atwood, the speaker explores all the different identities a woman takes on in her lifetime and how society limits women from pursuing those that deviate from her place in the home. Overall, Atwood advocates for change and progression on such gender equality issues. Atwood creates a reflection of society to highlight the perpetual marginalization of women by bringing awareness to the constraints placed against a woman’s identity and the society’s constant reinforcement of her worthlessness.

In order to fit into predetermined gender stereotypes and inhibit women’s potential, Atwood proves the constant limitations on women’s identities as a form of oppression. In “Spelling”, the speaker addresses a choice that most women have to make in their lives when it comes to choosing between their family or their personal development. She declares that, “a child is not a poem,/ a poem is not a child./ there is no either/or./ However.” She acknowledges the need to make a choice between being a mother or chasing one’s dream as society doesn’t let women have both in their lives. The use of effective diction in the form of short, blunt sentences has a declarative tone to it, reflecting the collective beliefs of many who accept the situation as it is and live with the constraints put on them. Ultimately, telling a woman what she can and cannot do is a sign of marginalization as it takes away her autonomy and decision making capabilities. Similarly, in the same poem, the speaker utilizes examples from history to warn against making the wrong choice in the eyes of society. The speaker refers to the “Ancestress: the burning witch,/ [with] her mouth covered by leather/to strangle words” serves as a warning to those who choose to go against social norms. The use of words such as “ancestress” imply that all women come from a history of evil and wrongdoing. Fundamentally, the use of the vivid imagery such as that of the “burning witch” is meant to scare women away from participating in acts that society perceives as wrong whether it be prioritizing a career or engaging in promiscuous acts. The fact that the speaker uses an example from history to show that the same consequences of going against gender stereotypes apply in present day reinforce society’s historical marginalization of women.

The dangerous implications of existing mindsets on a woman’s place in society are shown by highlighting female speakers who are so oppressed that they deem themselves as not worthy to be seen or recognized. In the poem, “This is a photograph of me”, the speaker describes herself in parentheses as if she is irrelevant and insignificant to the scene being described. She describes that,“the photograph was taken/the day after [she] drowned./[she]am in the lake, in the center/of the picture, just under the surface” parentheses to describe herself, there is a discernible shift in the tone of the poem. The use of parentheses devalues the speakers life as unimportant to be narrated in the same manner as the poem. As a result of this, women are conditioned to settle for mediocrity and believe that they do not deserve any better. This psychological conditioning is an example of how women are made to believe that they are less than. Similarly, the author indicates how she is overlooked to the extent that she blends into her surroundings and is not seen after her death, “But if you look long enough/ eventually/ you will be able to see me”. The effective diction directly addressing the reader using the pronoun “you” invites them to ignore social norms to see and recognize the speaker. After positioning herself as irrelevant for the majority of the poem, the last few lines are a call for help in an effort to notice her at least in her death if not in her life. However, despite this call to action for the reader, she accepts herself as worthy of being overlooked and given in to society’s perception of her in the last stanza. Ultimately, the effective diction helps show the consequences of years of systematic oppression wherein even women stopped believing that they have anything of value to offer.

In conclusion, through the works “This is a photograph of me” and “Spelling”, Margaret Atwood has created a social commentary on highlighting the ill treatment of women over generations. Constraining a woman’s identity by telling her what she can and cannot do and degrading the value of a woman’s life to condition her to think she is worthless are severe limitations of her potential and are designed to limit their progress in society. The use of effective diction, unique structure and vivid imagery allow for a holistic understanding of the fear and plight of the victim as she accepts her circumstances and prepares to live with it in both poems. Ultimately, by shedding a light on this horrifying picture of society that most choose to ignore, Atwood makes a strong case for society to acknowledge its wrongdoings and work to end the widespread discrimination against women.