Lydia Davis Head, Heart
“Head, Heart” is a narrative poem by Lydia Davis that was published in 2007. The poem by Lydia is a short piece of narrative, but it is powerful in the sense that it covers relationship issues influencing all people in the world. The author has used symbolism in the title of the poem. Repetition has also been used throughout the poem to enhance the readability and memorability of the poem by the reader. The speaker narrates the feeling experienced by human beings when they lose their loved ones. Elements of a poetry such as tone, mood, figurative language, and imagery are used by the author to describe the feeling of the speaker.
The author uses entities Head and Heart as the title of the narrative poem. The two entities have been used by Lydia to set the identity and the structure of the poem (Wei, 40). Head and Heart have suffered from a great loss as quoted, “I want them back, says heart.” The loss has caused the Head and the Heart to have a feeling of sorrow and distress. The Head has the responsibility of consoling the Heart for the loss suffered. Heart and Head have been used symbolically. Under normal situation, Heart is an organ that is used to pump blood to all the other body parts. Also, under normal body functioning, Head is part of the body that controls the decisions to be taken by the other body parts. The author uses Head and Heart as real beings instead of body organs, which makes the poem more meaningful to the audience.
The poem ‘Head, Heart’ portrays a theme of heartbreak and sorrowful tone. The author depicts how the Heart is suffering and weeping (Blin, 145). What reason is making the Heart to weep? The question has to cross to the mind of every reader of the poem. The Heart can only suffer due to a failed romantic relationship or loss of a close friend due to death. Therefore, heartbreak is the central theme of the poem by Lydia. A sorrowful tone has been used throughout the poem to show the suffering of the Heart and the Head. The poem by Lydia is more narrative than lyric. Lyrical elements such as rhythm have not been exploited. However, readability and memorability of the poem have been enhanced by repetition where the term heart has been used to end each line of the poem. For instance, “Help, head, help Heart.” Imagery in the poem is revealed by the use of terms head and Heart. By use of the two entities, the author induces a great sense of empathy to the reader, causing the audience to reflect the feelings of Heart and Head on their own life.
In conclusion, ‘Head, Heart’ poem is a narrative poem by Lydia that portrays the theme of heartbreak. Repetition and imagery have been used to make the poem more meaningful to the reader. A sorrowful tone has been used in the poem to enable the reader to feel the emotions of the Heart and Head. The suffering of the Heart and Head due to heartbreak reminds me of the day I lost my fiancée. The poem is relevant to today’s life as everyone suffers a heartbreak due to a failed romantic relationship or loss of loved ones. The poem was hence chosen because of its relevance and use of imagery, which makes the audience to identify themselves with feelings of the speaker.
Works Cited
Blin, Lynn. “When going too far is going just far enough: Appropriation, parody and adaptation in Lydia Davis’ short stories.” Études de stylistique anglaise 13 (2018): 141-160.
Wei, Xue, and Kate Rose. “Urban Nowhere: Loss of Self in Lydia Davis’ Stories and Wang Anyi’s Brothers.” Journal of International Women’s Studies 18.4 (2017): 38-49.
