Principles of Literary Study 219
Michael Goeller

Voice, Tone, and Ambiguity

Draft Due Thursday, March 9 (at least 3 pages; bring two copies)
Final Draft Due Thursday, March 30

In a five-page, double-space essay, examine Philip Levine's "They Feed They Lion" and discuss the purpose(s) that ambiguity serves in the poem. The question I'd like you to focus on in your argument is: what purpose (or purposes) does ambiguity serve in the poem? How is ambiguity an essential part of the poem's argument or theme? Because this assignment deals with voice, tone, and ambiguity, you should also remember to discuss all three issues in the course of your argument.

I should admit up front, what you will almost immediately realize: this is a difficult poem. It is not a poem that quickly yields its meaning, and ambiguity is only one aspect of its difficulty. Don't be put off by the poem's difficulty, though. Rather, try to see it as an invitation to interpretation. Especially with difficult poems, you (the reader) have to do a lot of the work of making meaning. Here's your opportunity to develop your skills in constructing a reading of a difficult poem. Don't try to understand everything, and don't try to pin the poem down to a single meaning. Rather, try to discuss the way the poem presents a multiplicity of meanings, and how that multiplicity creates an overall idea or unity of effect.

Here are some questions that might help you get a handle on this poem. You should not try to answer all (or necessarily any) of these questions in your paper. They are only intended to help you in reading and making sense of the poem: What are some of the immediate difficulties that the poem presents to interpretation? What words or phrases lack a clear denotation or are ambiguous? What connotations do the words and phrases create? What possible meanings are there for some words or phrases - and how might those possible meanings be related to each other? For example, what are the possible meanings of "They Feed They Lion" or "They Lion grow"? How might those meanings (even if contradictory) cooperate in creating a larger idea or impression?

Consider the words of the poem. Try to distinguish between words describing manmade things and those describing natural things. How is that potential opposition between the two handled in the poem? What difficult words do you find and what meanings are most likely in the context of the poem? The word "bearing" (in the odd phrase "bearing butter") is worth looking up in a good dictionary, for example. Of all the meanings of the word, which fits best the context of this poem? How does that meaning fit with other images or ideas in the poem? What, then, do you make of the phrase "bearing butter"? What connotations does it have?

What relationship between people and nature does the poem suggest?

Read the poem out loud several times. What does it sound like to you? What type of speech is this? In what context might these words be spoken, and by whom? What is the speaker's tone of voice? What message does he seem to be trying to impart? What is the speaker's apparent attitude toward the things he describes? Is it a unified tone or attitude or is there some ambiguity to his tone?

Though the poem has no fixed meter, how does it use rhythm for effect? How do repetitions (of sound, alliteration, phrases, words) contribute to the overall rhythmic effect? To what end?
Again, don't try to deal with all of these questions. Just use them in your prewriting. Your goal is to write a unified essay that makes an argument about how ambiguity functions in this poem or how ambiguity contributes to the poem's overall theme or effects. The more unified you can make your argument the better. One more thing: this is not a poem that will be understood on the first, fifth, or tenth reading. You must work at making meaning of it, returning to it in the course of writing. Use the revision process to help you unpack this poem and make sense of it.

Good luck.