This Is a Photograph of Me
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The title of Margaret Atwoods “This is a Photograph of Me” is quite suggestive. The title may give rise to several interpretations. The poetess may want our attention to be drawn to the photograph. The fact that she claims that it is her in the photograph, verges on the fact that she looks very different in reality. However, the most plausible interpretation would be that- the general perception or outlook about her was quite different; this was her real self in the photograph. She first goes on to describe the photo in terms of time, it was not a recent photograph but taken some time ago. It appears to be smeared (out of deconstruction).There appeared to be blurred lines as though she was graphically analyzed. The blurred lines and grey flecks (aspersions) seem to be blended with the paper itself. They have now become intricately linked with her personality. The poetess is therefore depicted in the first stanza by means of logical analysis, and in terms of the material. Woman has always been intellectually disregarded; she rather remains as a material commodity for commercialization. The advertisements of today pose as the best instances.
We stumble upon the truth as the poetess declares in the next line:
The photograph was taken
the day after I drowned.
Note that as the poetess starts talking about herself she encloses those lines within parentheses. Parentheses are used when a text contains material that could be omitted without destroying or altering the meaning of a sentence. Parentheses may be used in formal writing to add supplementary information. They can also indicate shorthand for “either singular or plural” for nouns – e.g., “the claim(s)”- or for “either masculine or feminine” in some languages with grammatical gender. (Wikpedia).
Therefore, when the poetess talks of herself, she implies the stance of Women in general. Her part in this description of the photograph could be conveniently omitted without marring the perfection of the whole. She functions only as a supplement to this picture of society. Nature(the branch) and man-made objects(the slope of the house ) gain predominance over her. Her gender is not specified, as it is taken for granted.
I am in the lake, in the center
of the picture, just under the surface.
The poetess asserts that people have to look below the surface to locate her, they should not limit themselves to a superficial view of things. The poetess goes on to say it very difficult to locate her, or estimate her size. The womans identity is uncertain, in place and position. She goes on to state that the effect of water on light is a distortion. Here the Light becomes a metaphor for the woman who gives light to others through her service. Water is emblematic of