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Artist and writer Dorothea Tanning grew up in Galesburg, Illinois, and spent almost 30 years living in Paris, before moving to New York City. Tanning started writing poetry in her late ’80s, and her work was subsequently published in the Yale Review, the New Yorker , Poetry, and the New Republic .
- All Hallows' Eve
By Dorothea Tanning. Be perfect, make it otherwise....
- Coming to That by Dorothea Tanning
coming to that, whatever that was it might. come to before....
- All Hallows' Eve
Yesterday is torn in shreds. Lightning’s thousand sulfur eyes. Rip apart the breathing beds. Emotion: Fear. Topics: Abuse, Halloween. Home » Dorothea Tanning Poems. Dorothea Tanning was a poet, painter, and sculptor. She is best remembered for her surrealist paintings, writing, and publishing.
- Summary of All Hallows’ Eve
- Structure of All Hallows’ Eve
- Poetic Techniques in All Hallows’ Eve
- Analysis of All Hallows’ Eve
The poem takes the reader through a series of violent images that depict an abusive relationship between a male/female newlywed couple. Although the narrative is not clearly defined, there are certain poignant moments that inform the reader of the dynamic between the two. The woman does what she can to control her husband’s anger. She tries to make...
‘All Hallows’ Eve by Dorothea Tanning is a fourteen-line poem that conforms to the pattern of a Shakespearean sonnet. It is made up of three quatrains, or sets of four lines, and one concluding couplet, or set of two rhyming lines. The poem follows a consistent rhyme scheme that conforms to the pattern of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. But, unlike Shakespearea...
Tanning makes use of several poetic techniques in ‘All Hallows’ Eve.’ These include but are not limited to alliteration, enjambment, and caesura. The latter happens when a line is split in half, sometimes with punctuation, sometimes not. The use of punctuation in these moments creates a very intentional pause in the text. A reader should consider h...
Lines 1-4
In the first quatrain of ‘All Hallow’s Eve,’ the speaker begins by starting a series of images focused around the period of “all hallows’ eve” or Halloween. With just the title, a reader is likely to have a certain mood or atmospherein mind when they approach these lines. Tanning does not disappoint. By the second line, she uses words like “shreds” to create a terrifying and violent image of the day and what else is to come. She speaks of “Yesterday,” the past when things were safer, as being...
Lines 5-8
In the second quatrain of ‘All Hallows’ Eve,’ more violence follows. Whatever force or forces are out on “all hallows’ eve” are murderous and horrifying. There are bones that crack and are pulverized into dust. “Doom,” she continues, “creeps in on rubber treads”. This is a strange and haunting line that will lead a reader to several different interpretations. But, it is at this point that a reader should realize that there is more to this poem that initially meets the eye. It is not just abou...
Lines 9-14
In the last section of ‘All Hallows’ Eve,’ the speaker brings in more images that are related to the mundanity of day to day life and a woman’s efforts to please her husband. She is seeking out some way to quell his anger. She tries to “Sit tight, be perfect”. These things are necessary if she doesn’t want to meet the “werewolf” the man to whom she is married. The word “tranquilize” realties back to this image of the wolf as an animal that needs to be controlled.
- Female
- October 9, 1995
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
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By Dorothea Tanning. Be perfect, make it otherwise. Yesterday is torn in shreds. Lightning’s thousand sulfur eyes. Rip apart the breathing beds. Hear bones crack and pulverize. Doom creeps in on rubber treads. Countless overwrought housewives, Minds unraveling like threads, Try lipstick shades to tranquilize. Fears of age and general dreads.
No palms dolled up the tedium, no breathing wind. No problem was the buzzword then, their way to go. In truth, my case was black as sin, a thing to hide, In that they feigned to find me sane, so not to know. Someone brought in a medium. Anathema! Some clown sewed up my eyes, he said it wouldn't show.
