They call me and I go.
It is a frozen road
past midnight, a dust
of snow caught
in the rigid wheeltracks.
The door opens.
I smile, enter and
shake off the cold.
Here is a great woman
on her side in the bed.
She is sick,
perhaps vomiting,
perhaps laboring
to give birth to
a tenth child. Joy! Joy!
Night is a room
darkened for lovers,
through the jalousies the sun
has sent one golden needle!
I pick the hair from her eyes
and watch her misery
with compassion.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The author is talking about a doctor’s life and his occupation. He goes to people’s house and watches things that would be finding disgusting but goes in with a smile. He tries to maintain a good face because he doesn’t want to complain what he is doing. He loves his job and has “compassion” toward it. One example of this is when he says “Joy! Joy!”and finds his job amusing but might he be saying it sarcastically.
ReplyDeleteThis seems to be a doctor that always gets called and seems to like helping people out. He/she seems to go to work even when the weather out is bad this shows he/she won't let anything get in his way of his job. He/she also seems to enjoy when a woman is about to have a child. The author talks about how the doctor is watching her struggle when he/she says "I pick the hair from my eyes and watch her misery with compasion". That is how the author ends the poem by saying that he watches her suffer having her tenth child with compassion. That gives evidence in saying that he/she loves what he/she does for a living.
ReplyDeleteThe speaker is a doctor who is interested in women. He does not mention a male patient, and I think it is because he is a pervert. He likes to look at woman suffer while in labor, or even if they are sick. I get the feeling that the speaker is a man because of his tone, and the way he watches the womans misery, yet he is compassionate. It also sems like the speaker is a man because he does not relate himself to be a woman in any way. He shows the surface of the waoman, but does not connect, as if he were distant.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is talking from a doctors point of view. Whenever he gets callled out for an emergncy he is there, the author is describing certain actions that are occuring in the area wher he or she is at. For exampample when he says
ReplyDelete"Here is a great woman
on her side in the bed.
She is sick,
perhaps vomiting,
perhaps laboring"
He is not fully aware of what might be happening
The tone of this poem seems to be somewhat exasperated, and compassionate too. It seems like he des not want to be out in the freezing cold weather but feels obligated to at heart
The poem is talking about the duty of the doctor. His duty is to serve people(patients) when they need him. It shows in the first line “They call me and I go”. It seems like his duty is waiting for people to call him over and go to help them. This doctor is actually enjoying his duty, his job. It shows in the imagery: when people called him over during the midnight, he opened the door and “smile”. His emotion shows he loves his job no matter how late the people call him over for helping them.
ReplyDeletethis poem seems to represent responsibility and knowing that depending on what someone does for a living there are people who depend on you. some things are minor but some like giving birth are more serious, also after all the pain and suffering there is a good outcome and it makes that person performing the job understand the true purpose of his actions.
ReplyDeleteWilliams himself was a doctor and considering that the name of the poem is “Complaint,” I believe that Williams is complaining about the tedious and the callous life of a doctor. He is forced to leave his life to go attend the needs of another person. The line, “It is a frozen road past midnight,” shows the rough journey he is forced to make. He hides his vexation by smiling when walking through the door. Williams says “Joy Joy,” in a sarcastic manner to further express his annoyance with his duty as a doctor.
ReplyDeleteIn this poem it talks about a doctor who knows he has a difficult job but still overcomes it and likes his job. The doctor never complains about his job for example he enjoys when the women is giving birth because he says "Joy!! Joy!!" The way he describes his patient you would think that he won't be able to do this job but he does he helps his patient no matter what.
ReplyDeleteHere narrator describes the suffering of a woman. Narrator is surely a doctor who is dedicated to his patient. The woman is about to give birth to her tenth child and her physical condition is very bad as narrator says She is "sick", "perhaps vomiting". It provides a vivid picture of the struggle and suffering of the Italian immigrants in America. Their family was very large as birth control was not available. Here williams exclaim to the reader "joy! joy!' which is totally opposite to reality. It is not a happy news at all. The birth of this child in not any indication of happiness rather it represents distress and joylessness. The poet has created a picture of joylessness by describing road as frozen and by showing a picture of midnight. Here he shows a great respect to the motherhood by describing this woman as "great woman". he offers compassion for this women by picking the hair from her eyes. It manifests his admiration and compassion for the poor women he visited.
ReplyDelete