Today, I’m writing a blog dedicated to my professor at Lewis University. In analyzing and unpacking “the OED Defines Red-Hot” which is what comes up on the Poetry Foundation.
I take this poem’s first stanza to build up an image of a woman which is then distorted by the image of different men’s view on women. The poem begins: She’s a hot tomato; love // apple; Marylin Monroe’s Mink stole //.
Then the poem shifts into italics: “Different guys have different names for dolls, such as broads, tomatoes.”
The line gives us a look into the demeaning language used against women oftentimes by men. I believe Muench is reclaiming the language used against women in a sense that is not disparaging but empowering. To the point of the rest of the poem describing and creating vivid images based around a single woman who is “loitering around the harbor” - rhapsodic.
“She’s bloodshot and bittersweet. Cerise. // streak across her cheeks. Blood-blistered. Auburn hair. She lingers in the arbor beneath mimosa trees, sipping Madeira, stuffing currants in her carmine mouth. She’s ruddy. Ready Rusty.”
Muench beautifully illustrates the color red in various forms, continuing what the title imposes: “Red-Hot.” She succeeds in using “blood blistered. Auburn. Ruddy. Rusty. An incredible use of sound with the triple Rs. She does this with ease and continues with “She’s a red lighter. Skarlet starlet” and avoids using “firecracker…” which I think would have been too obvious and less powerful than “red lighter…”
“A red fox //
// A fox is a girl
// A fox is a chick you see”
Muench is clever here. She uses the red fox image in a triple stacked turn of phrase. She uses “chick,” another animal bringing back the demeaning use against women. But these two animals one is more of a scavenger which shows the complexity of what Muench is creating. Two ways that men have described women show two significant and different animals.
The ending is probably the most imagistic and downright sensory than all the others
“Her skin is a detonating fuse. She’s blowzy, a cardinal flower. Cinnabar scent. Terra-Cotta. Copper.”
This is probably my favorite single stream of images and color. She first uses “detonating fuse” to display anger but also TNT. She then uses blowzy which is “coarse untidy and red-faced” a cardinal flower– cardinal is red, but a flower recognizes itself to be dainty and pure– Cinnabar scent. Terra-Cotta.”
Without blabbering on I’ll say this poem captures so many facets of image and color.
Finally: I want to appreciate Dr. Muench in this post, her hard work at Lewis University pushed people like me towards the humanities which is what I needed at that time in my life.
Thank you, Simone!
CM
Link to Simone Muench’s website: HOME | simonemuench
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