Waking in the Blue

1. Waking in the Blue By Robert Lowell

2. Introduces concept of social status; implied ‘low’ social standing – B.U. is overshadowed by Harvard Imagery ; along with “drowsy head” ridicules the ‘B.U.’ sophomore The night attendant, a B. U. sophomore, rouses from the mare’s-nest of his drowsy head Propped on The Meaning of Meaning. He catwalks down our corridor. Azure day makes my agonized blue window bleaker. Alliteration Blue represents a ‘sea’ that the residents of the mental institution are referred to as ‘creatures’ Introduces theme of internal desolation; the blue sky further provokes the metaphysical blue of bleakness the poet experiences

3. Double meaning: Rigidity of Bostonian social structure The poet’s terror during self-reflection Meaninglessness Implies isolation Emphasis through exclamation. Poet expresses his emotions Crows maunder on the on the petrifiedfairway. Absence! My heart grows tense as though a harpoon were sparring for the kill. (This is the house for the “mentally ill”) Reference to harpooning of whales; motif of sea. Rhyming couplet for comic effect . Detracts from despondent tone of previous lines.

4. Reference to preceding rhyme of ‘kill’ and ‘ill’. Parodying his predicament within a mental institution What use is my sense of humour? I grin at Stanley, now sunk in his sixties, once a Harvard all-American fullback, (If such were possible!) still hoarding the build of a boy in his twenties, Initially suggestive of physical deterioration ; alliteration of ‘s’ Humour through snide observation; oxymoron of “Harvard all=American fullback” Now implies “Stanley’s” mental degradation, opposed to physical. Critically regards “Stanley” due to negative connotations of ‘hoarding’. Suggestive of dichotomies of Boston University and Harvard. Harvard representative of the Brahmin class. Stanley’s insanity is derived from his excessive concern with his appearance/image, ultimately a criticism of Bostonian social pretence. Through hyperbole, this criticism becomes evident.

5. Infantile qualities, compared to a boy and soaks in a tub Motif of the sea Humour as he soaks, a ramrod With a muscle of a seal in his long tub, vaguely urinous from the Victorian plumbing A kingly granite profile in a crimson gold-cap, Worn all day, all night He thinks only of his figure, Of slimming on sherbert and ginger ale— more cut off from words than a seal. Juxtaposition. Reinforces childish qualities of Stanley. Ridiculous imagery of a buff man wearing a ‘crimson gold-cap’. Extreme vanity Comparison of Stanley’s physique to a seal and also intellectual capacity.

6. In both day and night, Bostonian societal flaws are evident. Also ‘two sides of the coin’. Day and night are different. Iconic Harvard club representing the pinnacle of social standing This is the way day breaks in Bowditch Hall at McLean’s; the hooded night lights bring out “Bobbie,” Porcellian ‘29, a replica of Louis XVI without the wig— redolent and roly-poly as a sperm whale, as he swashbuckles about in his birthday suit and horses at chairs. King and Louis XVI are references to aristocracy An attempt to imitate the nature of nobility, but falls short Motif of the sea Hyperbole. The elitism of ‘Bobbie’ is overshadowed by the absurdity of his actions. Also indicates self-indulgence

7. Indoctrination. Forcing their set of hierarchical values on younger generations. Similar to mother in Commander Lowell, reading him “Napoleon book” Mocking tone? Contrasted to the ridiculous representation of “Bobbie” and “Stanley”, associating them with ‘victory’ and ‘bravado’ seems sarcastic Contrast to poet’s previous observation that “this is the way day breaks”...”the hooded night”. The attendants of low social class are privileged by Lowell over those who represent high social class. Parallels to skunks in Skunk Hour? These victorious figures of bravado ossified young. In between the limits of day, hours and hours go by under the crew haircuts and slightly too little nonsensical bachelor twinkle of the Roman Catholic attendants. (There are no Mayflower screwballs in the Catholic Church.) Militancy opposed to frivolity of inmates Link between ‘screwball’ and Bobbie or Stanley. Mayflower represents old Bostonian values.

8. Tone of arrogance and superiority After a hearty New England breakfast, I weigh two hundred pounds this morning. Cock of the walk. I strut in my turtle-necked French sailor’s jersey before the metal shaving mirrors. and see the shaky future grow familiar in the pinched indigenous faces of these thoroughbred mental cases, twice my age and half my weight. We are all old timers, Each of us hold a locked razor. Realises that his pride is similar in nature to the other people in the mental institution and that his future is as bleak as theirs and there is nothing to ‘strut’ about Emphasises their insanity while ‘thoroughbred’ reinforces their upbringing in affluence He realises that he a member of the society that he condemns through the images of Bobby and Stanley Suicidal desires

9. Themes • Criticism of Bostonian society • Elitism • Class conflict implied by sophomore from Boston University as opposed to Harvard University • Observable in the inmates of the mental institution • “Stanley” – Vanity • “Bobbie” – Pretentious • Introspection of self • Poet sees his “shaky future” in the mirror • “We are all old timers” • He acknowledges his involvement in the very society he is criticising • The locked razor is a symbol of suicide • Terrified yet tempted by its prospect

10. Motifs • The sea • The residents of the mental institution are creatures in the blue ‘sea’; seal, whale • Creatures confined in a claustrophobic blue • Humour and comical images • Detracts from his seriousness as he contemplates suicide • Reflects poet’s discomfort at his failures