Discussion Topic
"The City Planners" by Margaret Atwood: Analysis and Title Implications
Summary:
Margaret Atwood's poem "The City Planners" critiques urbanization and its impact on natural landscapes. The title suggests criticism of those who prioritize urban development over environmental preservation. The poem describes suburban life as artificially perfect, revealing underlying corruption and dangers masked by technological progress. Atwood highlights the irony of planners who fail to foresee the negative emotional and environmental consequences of their actions. The poem serves as both a critique of urban uniformity and an ode to nature.
What implications does the title "City Planners" suggest?
"The City Planners" is a poem written by Margaret Atwood.
The poem's central theme is the destruction of natural resources and landscapes to make room for real estate development. The poem is critical of urbanization at the expense of nature's depletion.
The title itself is a commentary on the expansion of the city. Humans "plan" to create infrastructures—which is supposed to show our civilization's sophistication and advanced technology—and yet these same developers and government officials do not make any plans for natural regeneration to offset the negative effects of urbanization.
The word "planners" in the title also conveys a sense of malice. In the poem's context, the word "planner" can be read as "plotters" who plot to destroy the natural landscape of the country to make way for industrialization.
"The City Planners" is not only a criticism of architectural uniformity and urbanization, it is also Atwood's ode...
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to nature.
References
What is the analysis of the theme of technological progress in "The City Planners" by Margaret Atwood?
The City Planners” is a commentary on urban development and how it sucks the soul out of us and our neighborhoods. The residential streets are described as stale and sanitary.
the houses in pedantic rows, the planted
sanitary trees, assert
levelness of surface like a rebuke
Even the grass is “discouraged.” It has given up trying to live free, constantly confined to the expectations of its suburban masters. Underneath all of this perfection lurks danger, briefly showed in “the smell of spilled oil,” “splash of paint” and “plastic hose poised in a vicious coil.” Each is a symptom of the larger disease lying hidden under the orderliness.
Technology can make our lives more controlled, but it also perches us precariously on the edge of losing control. The more we try to tame nature and control ourselves, the more we are in danger of disaster. If you hold on too tightly to something, you risk losing it.
References
Can you analyze "The City Planners" by Margaret Atwood?
To add on to the above post, I would suggest that the speaker of the poem becomes more and more irate at the fact that the "perfection" of the city is in reality, less and less idealistic. The irony exists in the fact that the planners certainly did not "plan" for people to feel as the speaker does.
In general, I'd say the poem starts out deceptively sweet. Suburban life is described as cookie cutter and perfect. The planners seem to have done their job. As the poem goes on, we see indications of corruption in real estate and it's clear that there is abuse of power, and things are not so ideal in suburbia!