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Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich

Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.

Aunt Jennifer's fingers fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.

When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.

Analysis:

Adrienne Rich's poem, "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" depicts the image of a woman creating a tapestry of tigers on a screen. These tigers serve as a representation of the agency that she does not possess in her own life. They are the foil to her; while they "prance across the screen," her only movement within her life is that of "fingers fluttering" to create art. She is unable to actually escape from "the massive weight of Uncle's wedding band," and that weight even makes it difficult for her to express herself through her sewing. The tigers, however, are "denizens of a world of green," provided actual citizenship of their own, and not dependent upon marriage and being spoken for by a husband. Furthermore, the tigers in the tapestry "do not fear the men beneath the tree." Despite the fact that the poachers serve a very real threat to their lives, they do not fear being exploited, due to confidence in their "chivalric certainty". Chivalry is a term generally granted to knights, who, of course, are traditionally male. It consists of strength of character, virtue, and body. The tigers are certain that they will be able to take on any threat that the poachers beneath them pose. After all, they are placed symbolically beneath them on the ground near the tree's base. There is a stratification there. The jungle is their own home territory, and for this reason, they are not ruled by men. However, even this ideal is questioned in the real world, as the needle Aunt Jennifer uses is made of ivory, which relies on the poaching of elephants for their tusks.

The last stanza alludes to the future, after the death of the speaker's aunt. She knows that her Aunt will die, still "ringed with ordeals she was mastered by." Aunt Jennifer will still be married and oppressed under the weight of an uneven social system, which is degrading to women. In comparison, the tigers in the tapestry are eternally alive and free. However, at least Aunt Jennifer managed to create something beautiful and representative of how she desired the world to be. This, in a sense, was her only agency, and her means of having a voice: her art. It was her legacy after death. The only thing comparable is the imprint that was made into the heart of the speaker, upon seeing such an expression of fearlessness, assertion, and power by a women so obviously despotized by expectations for females of the period. This legacy continues in the speaker, as perhaps time and willpower will allow her to live something more akin to the life of one of Aunt Jennifer's tigers.

Please Instruct Me How To Douglass.

In today's blog, I will grade the Know Your Meme video on archaic rap. In this meme, rap lyrics will be "translated" into older, flowery language, and placed before a self-portrait of the 18th century artist by the name of Joseph Ducreux. The result is something is of comedic effect. One of the most popular forms of the meme is the term "Disregard females, acquire currency."

"Who Let the Dogs Out," anyone?

Also, a nice variation on the meme is this photo of Frederick Douglass, accompanied by "translated" lyrics to the California Swag District's "Teach Me How to Dougie."

Anyone know the dance? Because I do not. :'(

Below are both the video and my grading, according to the rubric's values: perspective, juxtaposition, layering, and unity.

Now, for the grading...

Perspective [17/20] – I found the wide angle of the video to be quite awkward, but fittingly so, as it stressed the technical nature of the internet scientists. I also understood that they were aiming to accomplish the illusion that they were really in a laboratory, but the scientists behind the interview through the window were very distracting. I also did not understand the point of the flashing animals during the video countdown. Subliminal messages about farm animals really don’t seem relevant to archaic rap. Also, I recognize that they were most likely playing a rap video on the television behind them during the interview, but it would have been better had it displayed the actual video of the song to which was being referred. To their credit, though, they did show a bunch of examples of the Joseph Ducreux meme in the background.

Juxtaposition [20/20] The use of juxtaposition, however, was fabulous. The visual comparison of the original rap lyrics to the archaic counterpart perfectly illustrated the humor in both their similarities and differences. This was done during the number of archaic rap memes played concurrently with their corresponding rap videos. It was also interesting to learn about the tapestry meme and the comparisons that could be made between that and the former.

Layering [19/20] For me, it was the layering was adequate. I didn’t immediately catch all of the rap lyrics that were being “translated” immediately. Also, the tapestry meme was a little difficult to catch onto right away. Thus, it was rewarding to watch the video again.

Unity [19/20] Unity was found in the stationary nature of the internet scientists. Though the topics being discussed were interesting and variable, the setting provided harmony to the video as a whole. Also, the Joseph Ducreux photos are all very similar in composition, so that added as well.

Question: How is "hybrid eloquence" described in chapter 5?

Autobiography

Hello everyone! My name is Alexandra Werle. I am 19 years old. I am in my third year at West Chester University, studying English Literature B.S.Ed. I attended high school at Reading Senior High School. I currently work as a counselor at the YPAL, and I absolutely love it.

I thought I would add a few fun facts about myself. As is to be expected of an Literature major, I absolutely love to read. My New Year's Resolution is to read 50 books this year, cover to cover. So far, I'm way ahead of schedule. I also love movies, good music, philosophy, poetry, and comic books. I have an obsession with Bruce Lee. I enjoy singing and, of course, just goofing off with friends. Also, I recently died my hair red. Exciting! Pictured below is me with my Hagrid doll. Yes, I have a Hagrid doll. I'm cool, okay?

This blog will be used for my WRH325 class in the Spring of 2011.  Here's to a good semester, everyone!