Introduction
During and after reading a poem, the very first question that comes to mind is; what is the poem about? Four questions have been advanced by (Cremin 38) which can help us understand a poem better. Inclusive of the above, we should be able to summarize the poem in just one sentence, explain arbitrarily if there are any parts of the poem we like or dislike and also explain the parts we think are important in a poem. Apparently, the answers to these questions help in opening up discussions about the atmosphere of the poem, theme, rhyme, tone, satire and language in the poem.
The Title
The first thing when responding to a poem is to look at the title, titles are usually symbolic. A Barbie doll is usually very beautiful with proportional features like the nose and mouth. We could say the poet used this title sarcastically because the girl described therein is ugly. Nevertheless, what is ugly? Who could be described as ugly? A famous salesman once wrote a book about why consumers buy their items of choice and in his research, he concluded that people form connections with their perceptions and experiences. An image can be presented as popular to a particular group people which makes them identify with the image as an ideal. In this case, the Barbie doll is used as a measure to compare how ugly the girl in the poem is (Furek 243).
The Themes in the Poem
To understand poetry better, it is important to identify themes in the poem. The main theme in this poem could ostensibly be stated as death, but the sadness in it is not just from death but also the embarrassment a woman goes through in case she is labeled as ugly. The girl in the poem was told from her youth how imperfect her physical features were. Apparently, the community has set standards of beauty probably symbolized by the Barbie doll, which the girl did not meet. All her other aspects, such as intelligence and strength were overlooked. This made the girl lose her sense of self worth; she tried changing her appearance to no avail and in the end died a disillusioned person (Furek 564).
Historically, poems were used as parables to warn and educate. Imagery, repetition, metaphors and similes are commonly employed in poems. The first metaphorical statement in this poem is the title “Barbie doll.” A Barbie doll can be used for amusement and for artistic purposes (Annas & Rosen 1209). The poet has employed repetition of the words. For instance, pee- pee in line 2. The language is simple, and was mostly used in poems in the 1960’s. The first paragraph is about the girl’s growing up; this is followed by the description of the girls’ physical imperfections, her mutilation and her death. This is the poet’s deliberate intention to show the sequence of the girl’s life. It is at puberty that a person is most sensitive, and it is also then that physical imperfections are mostly pronounced.
The core intention of a poem is to educate, pass information, warn or train. In this poem, the poet is trying to warn human beings not to go against their values and start idolizing on material items (Annas and Rosen 487). The other message is that beauty is not just the physical appearance, but a collection of a person as whole inclusive of her traits as well. In addition, we should not judge a person by the looks. The last line of the poem states that after the girl died, it was the joy of every woman. This is also a warning that jealousy is a vice that should be done away with.
Works Cited
Annas, J. Pamela, and Robert, C. Rosen. Literature and Society: An Introduction to Fiction,Poetry, Drama and non Fiction. New York: Cengage Learning, 2008.Print.
Cremin,Teresa, Bearne, Eve and Dombey, Henrietta. Teaching English: A Creative Approach. New York: Sage Publishers, 2009. Print.
Furek, Maxim. The Death Proclamation of Generation X: A Self- Fulfilling Prophesy of Goth, Grunge and Heroine. Minnesota: University Press, 2008. Print.