Resume by Dorothy Parker
Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns are lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.
This poem will be used to teach a beginning class of Secondary 1 Express students, and/or Secondary 1 NA students. The reason for the choice is simple; the poem is manageably short, and the offer some of the poetic devices like tone, irony and imagery succinctly. The subject matter is also identifiable, and provides a good teaching moment/point for teenagers to channel their angst about the world into poetry, rather than attempt and be overly indulgent in contemplating suicide.
1) What is the rhyme scheme? Describe the form of the poem.
§ To read the poem aloud; the rhyme scheme is ababcdcd. This poem is selected because it the rhyme is easily identifiable, and is a good introductory to poetry at large.
§ The poem itself is very short. Could they be anything to it to suggest that life is short, and it might not worth even contemplating suicide.
2) What do you think the story is about?
§ The subject matter is about suicide, and the cumbersome problem(s) associated with each suicide method. And this questions whether it is worth the effort to attempt suicide. Teachers can also bring in the moral obligations that complicate and weighs heavily on suicidal people. à Why do people contemplate suicide? What are the problems that afflict them greatly to such an extent to encourage them to end their lives? Teachers will be able to possibly develop and train empathy in students.
§ Teachers can then add on to the discussion of the poem and debate the impact it will have on the family/friends of the people who committed suicide. In addition, for the subsequent lesson, teachers can choose to explore further with poems that deals with death. This will create a sense of coherence and continuity.
3) What is the tone of the poem?
§ There’s a sense of irony to the poem. Although seemingly whimsical, the subject matter and the extent of the effectiveness of this poem is more than meets the eye.
4) Highlight the significance/irony of the title.
§ What is the message the poet is trying bring across?
§ Consider what the poem means to you personally?
I found the above website pretty helpful in analyzing the poetry better, and teachers can extrapolate the discussion there to come up with more scaffolding questions.
Thanks for the link, Azizah. I'm actually thinking this might be q uite a difficult poem for Sec 1. The is perhaps deceptively simple but the subject matter and the tone are not. You may need first to find out more about Dorothy Parker. She is actually a writer very well-known for her razor tongue and acid wit. So she's very, very sharp. This poem reflects her cynical, no-nonsense, totally unsentimental attitude. In this case, giving students info about the writer's characteristic style would actually help. I wouldn't start with your first question but your second. Don't choose questions on technique as your first question. You want to establish overall meaning first. You are right about tone in this poem. Her choice of title is interesting. I wonder what the class thinks, let alone what Sec 1 students can come up with!
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