Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"The Business of Love Is Cruelty" by Dean Young explores the intricate and often painful dynamics of human relationships through the lens of a childhood memory, extended metaphors, and rich, evocative imagery. The poem delves into themes of innocence, guilt, the capacity for cruelty inherent in love, and the complexity of human emotions and desires.

The poem opens with a striking confession of the speaker's awareness of the human propensity for inflicting pain on one another, setting a tone of introspection and regret. This is immediately illustrated by a vivid childhood memory: the speaker, at seven years old, tells his kneeling mother "I hate you," a moment of cruelty that he recognizes even then as a deliberate act—"calmly, enunciating like a good actor." This moment is not just about the words said but about the speaker's awareness and intention behind them, highlighting the complexity of human interactions from an early age.

The reaction of the mother, with "hands rising to her face," and the speaker's subsequent desire to "undo it, take it back," underscores the immediate regret and the irrevocability of words once spoken. This conflict between impulse and reflection, action and consequence, permeates the poem, reflecting the broader human struggle with the dualities within us.

The speaker's retreat to his room and the description of painting the model Bride of Frankenstein introduce elements of fantasy and escapism, as well as a continued exploration of rejection, desire, and the interplay between creation and destruction. The vibrant, "vivacious hair" of the Bride, juxtaposed with her rejection of her "intended" and the Doctor's longing for a simpler, freer time, serves as a metaphor for the complexities and contradictions of love and longing.

Herr Doktor's monster, described in terms of "corrosive and incommunicable need," symbolizes the darker aspects of human desire—the parts of ourselves that are lead-footed, weary, and perpetually unfulfilled. The monster's "rampage," and the question of "how many times do you have to die before you’re really dead?" speaks to the existential weariness and the cycle of destruction and rebirth that characterizes human experience.

Young's poem is a meditation on the paradoxes of the human condition: the simultaneous capacity for love and cruelty, the longing for connection and the impulse toward destruction, the desire to return to innocence even as we are drawn inexorably forward by our darker, more complex urges. Through its vivid imagery, nuanced exploration of character, and thematic depth, "The Business of Love Is Cruelty" invites readers to reflect on their own experiences of love, regret, and the inescapable human impulse toward both creation and destruction.

POEM TEXT: https://readalittlepoetry.com/2011/07/26/the-business-of-love-is-cruelty-by-dean-young/

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