Analyzing Tony Hoagland's Poem 'Beauty'
Lyndsie Gibson
Professor Romero
ENGL 1302
14 July 2013
“Beauty”
The poem “Beauty” by the author Tony Hoagland is a piece about the true beauty of a woman. Not the outside physical features but what makes a girl a girl and a woman a woman. True inner beauty, the special flower that girls hold so dear. Hoagland uses extended metaphor, third person point of view, and imagery to portray the loss of a woman’s virginity by comparing it to the strive to be beautiful to gain the acceptance of society. A woman’s virginity is her most prized possession, something that, once lost, cannot be gained back. An object that is a woman’s self respect, self-righteousness, and love for ones self all in one. When Hoagland says, “Or how she spent the next …show more content…
When Hoagland describes “After all those years/ of watching her reflection in the mirror,/ sucking in her stomach and standing straight,/ she said it was relief,/ being done with beauty,” (6-10). The sister describes what she saw of her sister through out the years. Starting with her change in physical appearance and the lengths that she would go to to make her self feel beautiful, then her sister morphing into the “dumb blonde” character and finally, fully changing and losing her real inner beauty all because she thought it would make her more physically attractive. Society has portrayed skinny, blonde, and willingness for boys to be considered “beauty”, but this is not necessarily the case. Inner beauty is what should be considered beautiful. A exceptional personality can be immensely more beautiful then anything shown on the outside. Outer beauty can be morphed and changed with things such as makeup, hair products, tanning agents, eating habits, and clothing style while inner beauty on the other hand is something that someone is born with. All natural and potentially breath taking, this is why virginity is
Professor Romero
ENGL 1302
14 July 2013
“Beauty”
The poem “Beauty” by the author Tony Hoagland is a piece about the true beauty of a woman. Not the outside physical features but what makes a girl a girl and a woman a woman. True inner beauty, the special flower that girls hold so dear. Hoagland uses extended metaphor, third person point of view, and imagery to portray the loss of a woman’s virginity by comparing it to the strive to be beautiful to gain the acceptance of society. A woman’s virginity is her most prized possession, something that, once lost, cannot be gained back. An object that is a woman’s self respect, self-righteousness, and love for ones self all in one. When Hoagland says, “Or how she spent the next …show more content…
When Hoagland describes “After all those years/ of watching her reflection in the mirror,/ sucking in her stomach and standing straight,/ she said it was relief,/ being done with beauty,” (6-10). The sister describes what she saw of her sister through out the years. Starting with her change in physical appearance and the lengths that she would go to to make her self feel beautiful, then her sister morphing into the “dumb blonde” character and finally, fully changing and losing her real inner beauty all because she thought it would make her more physically attractive. Society has portrayed skinny, blonde, and willingness for boys to be considered “beauty”, but this is not necessarily the case. Inner beauty is what should be considered beautiful. A exceptional personality can be immensely more beautiful then anything shown on the outside. Outer beauty can be morphed and changed with things such as makeup, hair products, tanning agents, eating habits, and clothing style while inner beauty on the other hand is something that someone is born with. All natural and potentially breath taking, this is why virginity is