Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Bellocq's Ophelia," penned by Natasha Trethewey, takes as its subject a photograph from the early 20th century, contextualizing it through the lens of John Everett Millais' iconic painting of Ophelia, a character from Shakespeare's "Hamlet." In doing so, Trethewey navigates the intricate crossroads of art, history, gender, and exploitation, using the photograph as a gateway to discuss the voiceless women who have been captured through various artistic mediums.

The poem starts by describing Millais' painting, where Ophelia "dies face up," her mouth and eyes open as though in her last breath or word. Trethewey then touches on the ordeal of the model, who posed in a cold bath, "shivering, catching cold"-a sacrifice for art that encapsulates a gender dynamic of the time where women were subjects, often exposed to discomfort or even harm for the male gaze. The poem suggests the model might have "imagined fish tangling in her hair," tying into the motif of water that symbolizes both life and death, beauty and decay.

In the second part, the poem transitions to the photograph taken by Bellocq, a portrait of a "nameless inmate of Storyville," a red-light district. Here, the water symbolism resurfaces as "the ravages of this old photograph seem like water lines across her thigh." The woman is "naked," and her body is "there for the taking." Yet, her face holds "a dare." Despite the exploitation she endures, she challenges the observer, her "heavy-lidded eyes" holding movement, her "lips poised to open, to speak." In contrast to the deathly, subdued Ophelia, this woman projects a semblance of agency.

While Ophelia's gaze "aims skyward" in her death, almost in surrender to her fate, the woman in the photograph stares directly into the camera. Her gaze isn't an escape; it's an engagement, as if she is ready to enter into a dialogue with the observer. This is where the poem's power resides, in its highlighting of the silent conversation between the depicted and the observer, between history and the present. It asks us to consider who gets to speak and who remains voiceless in art and history.

Both Ophelias are shown in poses of vulnerability; yet, while one dies a poetic death surrounded by "flowers and reeds," the other lives a life marked by societal marginalization and exploitation. Even so, Trethewey's "other Ophelia" manages to hold her own, refusing to be just another submissive subject. Her defiant look prompts us to question the systems that made her an "inmate" of such circumstances, and yet kept her spirit unincarcerated.

The poem juxtaposes two disparate works of art, pulling them together through shared motifs and emotional tones, to create a third work that is a testimony to the resilience and resistance of women across times and spaces. It's a poignant reminder that while art can capture beauty or tragedy, it can also be a vehicle for silent protest, for a "dare" that challenges us to look more deeply, to engage with the complex personhood of the ones portrayed.

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