Willingly (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Tess Bond
- First Published: 1980
- Type of Work: Narrative
- Genres: Free verse, Poetry, Narrative poetry
- Subjects: Painting or painters, Home, Fate or fatalism, Houses, mansions, or manors
The Poem
Tess Gallagher’s “Willingly” is a poem in free verse with forty lines divided into four stanzas. The title suggests the cheerful act of giving one’s self or doing a task voluntarily; its function, however, is to establish an ironic mood. While most people would be quite pleased to wake up to the sight of their homes being freshly painted, the speaker is anything but happy. She feels violated and erased by the very action that would bring so many other people joy. Just as her house is inanimate and unable to stop itself from being painted and therefore...
[The entire page is 1181 words long]
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