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Born on July 29, 1905, Stanley Kunitz was the author of many poetry collections, as well as the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Selected Poems, 1928-1958. About Stanley Kunitz. The Portrait - My mother never forgave my father.
- Summary
- Structure and Form
- Literary Devices
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- Similar Poems
The speaker of ‘The Portrait’opens with a dually shocking and profoundly depressing statement of fact: their mother has never forgiven their father for his suicide. From there, the speaker tries to explain why their mother is unable to let go of her anger — with explanations ranging from the location (“a public park”) to the “awkward” timing of it ...
‘The Portrait‘ is a twenty-one-line poem written in free verse. It’s composed entirely in a single stanza, with lines varying from brief two-syllable phrases to longer eight to ten-syllable lines. With the exception of a few lines ending in commas, much of the poem employs enjambmentto follow the natural flow of each sentence.
‘The Portrait’ uses a handful of literary devices, including figurative language and imagery, to poignantly illustrate their complicated relationship with the memory of their father and mother. Kunitz’s use of metaphor (“She locked his name / in her deepest cabinet”) highlights the severity of the mother’s attempts to bury out of spite the memory o...
Lines 1-6
The poem begins with a shocking admission by the speaker that’s meant to give insight into the relationship (or lack thereof) between a child and their parents. Not only is their father lost to suicide, but their mother has also never forgiven. Her refusal owed to the incident’s “awkward” timing and because he chose to do it at a public park. It also turns out that the reason it was such an inconvenient time to become widowed was that she was pregnant with the speaker at the time. The entire...
Lines 7-18
This middle section of ‘The Portrait’focuses on the mother’s forced removal of the father’s memory from both her life and that of her child. The consequences of this unfold in a memory the speaker had from his childhood when he discovered a “pastel portrait” of their deceased father. When their mother finds out, her rage gets the better of her. Kunitz begins by using a metaphor to describe the lengths the mother has gone to bury the memory of the speaker’s father. She begins by locking away h...
Lines 19-21
In the final three lines, the speaker reveals how this memory has endured throughout their six decades of life. Their burning cheek has become a symbol of their mother’s rage, which was directed at them as a child in lieu of their deceased father. What started as a poem about the devastating effects of one parent’s decision ends with another parent making that same mistake. If the mother couldn’t forgive the father for their suicide — how is the speaker supposed to forgive (or ever forget) th...
‘On A Portrait Of A Deaf Man’ by Sir John Betjeman – a poignant elegyto the author’s deceased father.‘Daddy’ by Sylvia Plath– an eviscerating memory of a father that was far from ideal.‘Do not go gentle into that good night‘ by Dylan Thomas – a famous villanelleabout the author’s desire to see their father not give in to death.- Male
- May 13, 1994
- Poetry Analyst
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As the author penns a biographical sketch of his identity, he paints his own portrait. He clearly capsulizes an irreversible event that has obsessed him from the womb. He and his mother are stranded and tormented by their past, unable to heal because of unforgiveness, holding them both captive.
Analysis (ai): The Portrait, a deeply personal and haunting poem, explores the complex emotions of a mother grappling with the loss of her husband by suicide. Its raw honesty and unflinching portrayal of grief offer a poignant glimpse into the lasting impact of such a tragedy.
Apr 23, 2021 · The loss of the father is part of the cornerstone on which Stanley Kunitz built his poetry, an endeavor that evolved over nine decades. One of Kunitz’s poems, “ The Portrait ,” recalls a powerful encounter between the young Kunitz and his mother.
Stanley Kunitz. The Portrait. My mother never forgave my father. for killing himself, especially at such an awkward time. and in a public park, that spring.
