Poetry Essay
Concern for the Culture
Human beings love using sarcasm, irony, and mockery to cope with their personal struggles they have with society. Tony Hoagland is a confessional poet who conveys his personal experiences through those particular mechanisms. However, these experiences Hoagland writes about are not always as light hearted as his diction. Hoagland exploits human mannerisms in his work and uses them to unveil his deep seated issues with the society he lives in. In three of Hoagland’s poems, “At the Galleria Shopping Mall”, “Adam & Eve”, and “Lucky”, Hoagland takes an individual and exposes his disdain towards that particular individual and their behavior. The reader should not just think Hoagland dislikes this person but, realize Hoagland uses the individual in his poetry to represent the shortcomings of society. Hoagland does not seem to hate any of the individuals he writes about, in his eyes, these individuals are just merely the products of the society they live in.
In the poem “At the Galleria Shopping Mall” Hoagland depicts his niece’s shopping habits, mocking her snobby disposition. Hoagland writes in the poem:
And here is my niece Lucinda,
who is nine and a true daughter of Texas, who has developed the flounce of a pedigreed blonde
and declares that her favorite sport is shopping.
Hoagland is claiming Lucinda, the nine year-old niece from Texas, is just fitting into the social norm. At this point the reader would think Hoagland correlates his niece with being a materialistic brat and a diva. However, Hoagland is pointing out that it is not just his niece that behaves in this manner. The statement “a true daughter of Texas” establishes that Hoagland is mocking the whole idea of materialistic women in Texas. This statement makes it seem that Texas would be proud to have a daughter like this and that it was expected of Lucinda to grow up this way.
As the reader continues reading the poem it would appear Hoagland loathes his niece and
Human beings love using sarcasm, irony, and mockery to cope with their personal struggles they have with society. Tony Hoagland is a confessional poet who conveys his personal experiences through those particular mechanisms. However, these experiences Hoagland writes about are not always as light hearted as his diction. Hoagland exploits human mannerisms in his work and uses them to unveil his deep seated issues with the society he lives in. In three of Hoagland’s poems, “At the Galleria Shopping Mall”, “Adam & Eve”, and “Lucky”, Hoagland takes an individual and exposes his disdain towards that particular individual and their behavior. The reader should not just think Hoagland dislikes this person but, realize Hoagland uses the individual in his poetry to represent the shortcomings of society. Hoagland does not seem to hate any of the individuals he writes about, in his eyes, these individuals are just merely the products of the society they live in.
In the poem “At the Galleria Shopping Mall” Hoagland depicts his niece’s shopping habits, mocking her snobby disposition. Hoagland writes in the poem:
And here is my niece Lucinda,
who is nine and a true daughter of Texas, who has developed the flounce of a pedigreed blonde
and declares that her favorite sport is shopping.
Hoagland is claiming Lucinda, the nine year-old niece from Texas, is just fitting into the social norm. At this point the reader would think Hoagland correlates his niece with being a materialistic brat and a diva. However, Hoagland is pointing out that it is not just his niece that behaves in this manner. The statement “a true daughter of Texas” establishes that Hoagland is mocking the whole idea of materialistic women in Texas. This statement makes it seem that Texas would be proud to have a daughter like this and that it was expected of Lucinda to grow up this way.
As the reader continues reading the poem it would appear Hoagland loathes his niece and