MagPie 96- Wearing the Trousers in Macbeth (In English Class With Two Ringed Braids)
Here is a poem for Magpie Tales 96 and also dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night. This is based on a photographic prompt from Tess Kincaid, which was of a woman in a shadow that appeared to be a beard. (It’s not so clear in my version above.) Below is my poem:
English Essay In Two Ringed Braids
In English class in post-colonial school,
the study of idioms, literature
and exposition are assayed with
diligence: “some
complain that Shakespeare is
dull as ditchwater but in
the pages of MacBeth
may be found
a rip-roaring
ride. Lady
Macbeth wears the trousers
in the family at the
beginning of
the play, but by Act V, Macbeth
has taken the trousers
back while the Lady
throws the baby out
with the bathwater, as it were, going mad.
Macbeth, in the meantime,
adds suspenders
to his belt, killing one and all
till he feels as certain of
the throne as Bob’s
his uncle, but he cannot
see the forest for
the trees, coming
to a very bad end.”
The girl writing the essay wears
her hair in braids, which curl into
two ravenshone rings, elastics
camouflaged, in
each case, by
a large white bow, looped
to emulate both butterfly
and lotus,
wing and bloom,
and too, the “x”
of “betwixt,” all
in one
fell swoop.
And now a question for decisive poets and readers out there–I contemplated changing the last couple of lines to refer to the “cross” in “betwixt” rather than the “x”. That seemed a bit heavy-handed to me, but I am curious to see if anyone thinks it would be an improvement. Also toyed with “braces” in place of suspenders, but, well, I live in NYC. Thanks much for your thoughts.
(And please please please check out my new comic novel NOSE DIVE on Amazon if you have a mo.)
Explore posts in the same categories: iPad art, poetry, UncategorizedTags: dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night, iPad art, Karin Gustafson, Lady Macbeth wearing pants poem, Magpie Tales 96, manicddaily, post-colonial English class poem
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ManicDDaily 
December 20, 2011 at 4:09 am
You’re not supposed to be this clever and this brilliant, both at the same time. It’s not fair on the rest of us! I shall go on enjoying this for days to come.
December 20, 2011 at 10:07 am
Ha. (Hardly!) Thank you, David.
December 20, 2011 at 7:31 am
smiles…now you are sounding like berowne just a bit…ha…fun read for sure…we have some interesting phraseology dont we…
December 20, 2011 at 8:43 am
Lovely parody on the sort of essay on Macbeth that makes the Howler Blogs.
December 20, 2011 at 10:03 am
I love the second part of this fun Magpie! And you’ve another great image that corners the field for originality.
December 20, 2011 at 10:07 am
Thanks so much, Jinksy.
December 20, 2011 at 11:17 am
You never fail to entertain us, with words and art.
December 20, 2011 at 11:40 am
Thanks so much.
December 20, 2011 at 5:04 pm
I like the childlike directness of the essay (shouldn’t Macbeth be wearing a kilt? well, not in America anyway) and there’s a tongue in cheek quality which sorts Shakespearean tragedy right out. . Cross would be an interesting change, but it doesn’t echo the X visual of the bow–depends what you’re going for.
December 20, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Good point re kilt. (Ha.)
December 20, 2011 at 5:05 pm
You did well with this prompt that I couldn’t think of a word to write to! Plus it was educational. Bravo. (visiting from dVerse)
December 20, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Wonderful piece. Love the two facets that become one “form”. Out damned spot- I always say that anytime Macbeth comes up, so thought I’d mention it here as well. While the Cross would work and so would brace, I like the choices you made here as they just seem more aligned to the rest of the piece. Excellent job. Thanks for the read.
December 20, 2011 at 5:22 pm
Thanks. I was thinking of “out damn spot” too, of course, especially with bathwater. May go back into it to work that in!
December 20, 2011 at 8:22 pm
To me this is perfect as is. Delicious– so very evocative! I love the wordplay with the undercurrent of poignancy/innocence– brava! xxxj
December 20, 2011 at 9:54 pm
i love this analysis in terms of who where’s the trousers. how inventive
December 21, 2011 at 6:51 pm
Love the tale within a tale here, which you pulled off seamlessly. I think your choice of suspenders holds up quite well; and I like the idea of changing “x” to cross. Adds a layer of meaning for those not able to figure it out for themselves… of course, maybe you don’t want those to do so! Terrific contribution to the pool of poems this week.
December 22, 2011 at 8:31 am
i agree with kim..the tale within the tale is what makes this poem so fascinating..fine work k..