Of Theodore Roethke's poems that we read, "Elegy for Jane" was my favorite.
Maybe because I always feel a personal connection with "Jane" because that's what my mother always called me when I was little. Maybe it's my morbid side, but I imagine that I am the Jane of the poem, dead by a tragic accident, and the people who knew me are grieving--not just my family but the members of a community who also feel the loss of a young person--pastors, teachers, grocery-store clerks, etc. All this love and respect, for me.
But, my name is not Jane, and I'm not dead, and I still like the poem for the type of love that it is about. I hope nobody reads the speaker to be a stalker, because the last two lines should clear that up: "I, with no rights in this matter,/Neither father nor lover." The speaker is a teacher who was in love with, or took delight in, his student, for her beauty, her voice, her potential, her freshness. It isa powerful thing, our delight in the people about us, even if they are not friends, family, or love interests.
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3 comments:
Why did your mother call you Jane? That seems an odd nickname, considering your given name.
And I don't think you're morbid. At least, not any more so than I am.
I don't know why Mom called me by that name. The whole phrase was "Lady Jane" I believe. The other two got it too, but I cetainly was "Lady Jane" the most. Remember that it was Mom who called me "Liberty" too . . . she's had a hand in most of my names and identities.
I liked your personal connection to Jane, I don't think your morbid but I don't recall placing myself in Jane's shoes upon reading this. It is a nice notion to think about how all the people grieving over you are feeling or what they're thinking. And I love the last sentence of your blog--how true!
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