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Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained | |||
John Updike’s poem "Courtesy Call" engages with language in a playful manner to explore the relationship between consumer culture and personal identity, all through the lens of a simple interaction with a tailor. The poem begins with a snippet of formal business communication from a London tailor, which sets the tone for the whimsical interpretation that follows. Updike animates the clothes as if they were eager subjects awaiting the return of a long-lost ruler. The trousers, jacket, and other articles are personified, expressing joy and reverence upon the speaker's arrival: "My trousers cried, 'Oh is it / Our own, our prince?' and split their pleats / At the pleasure of my visit." This anthropomorphism injects humor and a surreal quality into the scene, turning a mundane act of trying on clothes into a regal reunion. The clothes' reaction—"My jacket tried to dance with joy / But lacked the legs; it screamed"—further amplifies this absurdity, pushing the boundaries of how we typically perceive our interactions with inanimate objects. Updike uses these exaggerated emotional displays to critique, in a light-hearted way, the importance we often place on material goods and outward appearances. The clothes, desperate for the speaker’s approval, mirror the way society seeks validation through consumption and fashion. As the poem concludes, the speaker attempts to calm the clothes with a gentle command, "Adjust your warp and weft." This line not only refers to the fundamental aspects of fabric construction but also subtly suggests the need to temper superficial concerns with deeper, more foundational adjustments in how we view ourselves and our possessions. The final exchange between the speaker and his clothes, "Said they, 'We love you.' I: 'I know, I was advised,' and left," encapsulates the poem’s playful critique of consumer relationships. The speaker acknowledges the clothes' 'love,' a sentiment informed by the tailor's earlier note, reflecting on the manufactured and transactional nature of such emotions in consumer interactions. Overall, "Courtesy Call" is a whimsical yet insightful meditation on the interactions between consumer culture and personal identity, using the motif of a tailor's visit to explore themes of materialism, identity, and the humanization of the inanimate in modern society.
| Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DRESSING MY DAUGHTERS by MARK JARMAN IT'S HARD TO KEEP A CLEAN SHIRT CLEAN by JUNE JORDAN ODE TO A DRESSMAKER'S DUMMY by DONALD JUSTICE THE RED SHIRT by PHILIP LEVINE THE THINGS IN BLACK MEN?ÇÖS CLOSETS by E. ETHELBERT MILLER |
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