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Penelope's Despair
Summary: In his poem "Penelope's Despair," Yannis Ritsos uses gothic elements to show despair, simile to illustrate disdain, and irony to example foolishness. These techniques enable Ritsos to develop a character in Penelope who in her level of distress is more rounded than Tennyson's flat "aged wife."
Ritsos' "Penelope's Despair" adds psychological depth to the reader's perception of Ulysses' "aged wife" (Tennyson 3). This is accomplished by Ritsos' use of gothic elements to show despair, simile to illustrate disdain and irony to example foolishness.
Several components of a gothic story are present in this poem and are used to help define the narrator's anguish. The author uses gothic vocabulary such as "dim light" and "cunning" (Ritsos 1) to create Penelope as a distressed woman. Penelope's distress is also displayed by her actions when she "fell speechless to the floor" and her newfound unhappiness and lost love is shown when the narrator describes her "as if looking at her own dead desires" (Ritsos 1). Penelope is experiencing hopelessness and misunderstanding, a staple of gothic literature. This is the first indication of Penelope's internal depth.
The second exhibition of Penelope's feeling is shown by the use of simile, which is...
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This section contains 438 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) |
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