Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Crepe de Chine" by Mark Doty is a vivid, lush exploration of identity, desire, and transformation through the lens of urban life and consumer culture. The poem uses the motif of drag as both a literal and metaphorical expression of dressing up, not only to explore personal identity but also to engage with the city itself as a form of adornment. Doty's rich imagery and intricate language transform the mundane aspects of city life into elements of a grand, performative costume.

The poem opens by setting the scene with "drugstore windows," framing them as a part of "the mile-long film of lit-up trash and nothing" along the avenue. This description immediately places the reader in a setting that is both ordinary and charged with potential for transformation. Doty references Balzac's "great poem of display," invoking the idea that what is presented in the storefronts is not just commercial goods but a poetic and artistic expression of culture and desire.

The focus then narrows to the tableau of perfume bottles in the window, described in hyperbolic, cinematic terms. These bottles are likened to "unbuyable gallons of scent for women enormous as the movie screens of my childhood," blending nostalgia with a critique of consumerism's exaggerated allure. The perfumes, housed in "deco bottles" and forming a "little Manhattan of tinted alcohols," symbolize the city itself—structured, layered, and multifaceted.

As Doty reads the names of the perfumes—Mme. Rochas, White Shoulders, Crepe de Chine—he is transported into a sensory world filled with the sounds and textures of a bygone glamorous era: "the suss of immense stockings, whispery static of chiffon stoles on powdered shoulders." This passage not only evokes the tactile and auditory qualities of the materials but also connects them to the transformative power of drag, which for Doty involves an embrace of an extravagant, performative self.

The poem shifts from these reflections to a more personal desire, as the speaker imagines wearing the city itself. The desire for drag becomes a metaphor for a deeper yearning to embody and express the complexity of one's identity through the urban environment. "That's what drag is: a city to cover our nakedness," Doty writes, suggesting that just as drag can conceal, alter, and enhance one's appearance, the city too offers a landscape rich with opportunities for self-expression and transformation.

Doty's imagery becomes even more elaborate as he describes transforming the elements of the city into parts of his drag ensemble. From "silk boulevards" to "sleek avenues of organza," the natural and architectural features of the city are woven into a grand costume. This blending of the urban landscape with the fabric of drag attire illustrates how deeply the city's character is intertwined with personal identity.

In the concluding lines, Doty fully embraces this constructed identity, inviting names that evoke further transformation and allure: "Evening in Paris, call me Shalimar, call me Crepe de Chine." Each name is a fragrance, a persona, a role to be performed—each a facet of the city and of the self.

"Crepe de Chine" is a masterful poetic rendering of the ways in which individuals interact with the urban environment, shaping and being shaped by it. Through the extended metaphor of drag, Doty explores themes of identity, presentation, and the transformative power of art and performance, capturing the dynamic interplay between self-expression and the cultural fabric of city life.

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