Discussion Topic
Literary analysis and key terms in John Updike's poem "Perfection Wasted."
Summary:
In John Updike's poem "Perfection Wasted," key literary devices include imagery, metaphor, and personification. The poem reflects on the uniqueness of individual talents and the sense of loss when such personal "perfection" is gone. Updike uses vivid imagery to evoke emotions and metaphors to compare life’s fleeting moments to a stage performance, emphasizing the irreplaceable nature of personal experiences and connections.
What literary terms are used in John Updike's poem "Perfection Wasted"?
And another regrettable thing about death
is the ceasing of your own brand of magic,
which took a whole life to develop and market —
the quips, the witticisms, the slant
adjusted to a few, those loved ones nearest
the lip of the stage, their soft faces blanched
in the footlight glow, their laughter close to tears,
their tears confused with their diamond earrings,
their warm pooled breath in and out with your heartbeat,
their response and your performance twinned.
The jokes over the phone. The memories packed
in the rapid-access file. The whole act.
Who will do it again? That's it: no one;
imitators and descendants aren't the same.
The entire poem is built around an extended metaphor that compares life to some form of comedy act on a stage. Updike begins his poem by lamenting the fact that death marks the end of "your own brand of magic," that is your own personal brand of humour and jokes. Life, in this poem, is compared to a stage performance that you put on for "those loved ones nearest / the lip of the stage." The audience, made up of your nearest and dearest are imagined responding to your show:
...their soft faces blanched
in the footlight glow, their laughter close to tears...
This "performance" of humans is "twinned" by their "response," which shows that the "audience" is appreciative and finds the act funny. All of these personal, family in-jokes are described as "The whole act." As the poem ends, Updike ends with the rather sad and depressing thought that...
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the "act" of each of us is incredibly original and can never be repeated once we are gone:
Who will do it again? That's it: no one;
Imitators and descendants aren't the same.
The death of each person represents a tremendous loss, the poem says, not least in terms of our personal sense of humour that is so unique to us and can never be repeated or imitated. Thus the central example of figurative language is how life is compared to a stand up comedy show through an extended metaphor.
How would you analyze line 8 of John Updike's "Perfection Wasted"?
And another regrettable thing about death
is the ceasing of your own brand of magic,
which took a whole life to develop and market —
the quips, the witticisms, the slant
adjusted to a few, those loved ones nearest
the lip of the stage, their soft faces blanched
in the footlight glow, their laughter close to tears,
their tears confused with their diamond earrings,
their warm pooled breath in and out with your heartbeat,
their response and your performance twinned.
The jokes over the phone. The memories packed
in the rapid-access file. The whole act.
Who will do it again? That's it: no one;
imitators and descendants aren't the same.
We can answer only one question at a time; so I've edited your question to the analysis of Line 8. As the poem's speaker--someone who has either experienced the death of someone close to him recently or who is at an age when death seems near--ponders death, he considers how no one else on the planet has the same connection as he does with his close family or friends. He enjoys that they allow him to be himself, in a sense performing for them, that they allow him to be the life of the party, cracking inside jokes and basking in the rapport that they all share.
Keeping that unique relationship in mind as you read the poem, consider then the similarities between the glistening of tears and the sparkling of diamonds. From a literal standpoint, after bringing his friends to tears with laughter from his quick wit, the speaker looks at his "audience" and sees the glistening from their tears and earrings. In the context of the poem, though, the figurative connection between tears and diamonds is more significant. Both tears and diamonds are obviously precious to most humans. For the speaker, the tears of laughter are so precious because they illustrate the unique personal bond that he has with those whom he has brought to tears, and of course, diamonds are the most precious of stones. Updike implies that kinship with others (represented by the tears) is as valuable or perhaps more valuable than tangible objects (such as diamonds).