Analyzing "Lisa's Ritual, Age 10": A Poetic Exploration

Categories: Experience

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I. The poem I have selected for my assignment is “Lisa’s Ritual, Age 10" by Grace Carolyn Bridges. I was immediately drawn to this poem upon reading it, an important aspect when connecting with a piece of work. It focuses on a young girl named Lisa and her encounters with incest involving her father. The poem delves into Lisa's feelings and her actions following these incidents. My aim is to analyze the poem in order to gain a deeper understanding of what the author is trying to communicate through Lisa’s story.

II. The initial stanza introduces Lisa and details her response to a challenging situation, providing insight into her emotional state. The significance of this stanza lies in its establishment of the poem's tone and the revelation of Lisa's resilience despite her recurrent struggles. The line "She doesn’t cry." (Line 8) underscores her stoicism, suggesting a sense of desensitization to her circumstances. The use of a period at the end of this statement emphasizes its finality, indicating the gravity of her experiences.

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Additionally, the detachment in the girl's actions, such as "She runs a hot bath..." (4), conveys a sense of isolation and distance from the reader.

The poem's structure suggests a single narrator sharing a personal experience, as seen in lines 8 and 10. The arrangement of the lines in the first stanza, particularly in lines 4-7, conveys a sense of drifting or exhaustion. The use of a simile in lines 6-7, comparing the situation to "red dye leaking from her school dress in the washtub," evokes multiple interpretations, including the loss of innocence.

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The second stanza's line arrangement presents a challenge for interpretation.

It felt a bit confusing, which made it difficult to understand. The author once again uses similes in this stanza: “as teacher’s new chalk…” (14), “white as a clean bedsheet.” (15). I believe this is because of the speaker’s age; being 10 years old, it's easier for her to compare unfamiliar things to familiar ones. Teacher’s new chalk, clean bedsheet, and so on are all things a 10-year-old would recognize, making it simple for her to take aspects of this horrifying experience and compare them to things she knows well in order to make her point. In this stanza, the reader sees the young girl huddled in her room, almost as if seeking protection from another attack. “... curls against it.” (12) paints a vivid picture of her curled up in a corner, using its sturdy presence as a backbone, something she lacks while enduring her ordeal with her father.

Through comparisons to her father, the author describes the wall as a source of comfort and relief for the young girl. The unpleasant traits associated with her father - sweatiness, hairiness, stickiness - contrast with the wall's qualities of being clean, fresh, and protective. As she leans against the wall, the girl seems to find solace and escape from her difficult experience, as indicated by phrases like "falls away" and "hands lost."

The speaker reflects on how slipping away, like kitchen dirt into noplace, is all that matters, no matter where she ends up. The final stanza revisits the feelings brought up earlier, highlighting a desire for a place where nothing ever happened. The little girl seeks safety from her experiences, imagining a protective wall as her sanctuary. The author personifies the wall as a quiet and tall figure, resembling a promise but even better.

It seems like the wall is poised for the perfect moment and will eventually erase everything. The most powerful line in the stanza, or perhaps the entire poem, is "... like a promise only better." (40-41). Does the father make this promise each time it happens? Is it a promise he has no intention of fulfilling? "tall like a promise" is compared to a "tall-tale", something fabricated. Something he says just because it sounds pleasant, especially since she is only 10 years old. However, what sets the wall apart is that it never breaks a promise. It remains steadfast and reliable for her.

III. While I have never personally experienced anything like the situation described in this poem, I have met individuals who have. The author's skilled use of language and delivery resonated with me, as similar stories are all too common in today's world. One needs only to glance at the news to find similar accounts. I admire the author for their honest depiction of what a 10-year-old might go through in such a situation. As a woman, I felt a connection to Lisa's story and I hope this poem serves as a reminder to others that they are not alone in their experiences. IV. My goal is to convey the author's message about Lisa's ordeal following her father's apparent act of violence.

I discovered that due to the presence of a wall, she finds comfort in dealing with her past experiences, knowing that the wall has always been a reliable source of support. Reading this poem was enlightening for me, as I now have more insight into the thoughts and emotions of those who have undergone similar experiences. This newfound understanding will stay with me beyond just completing this assignment.