Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Muriel Rukeyser's "Burlesque" is a poignant exploration of the intersection between desire, commodification of the human body, and societal voyeurism. Through vivid imagery and a critical lens, the poem examines the spectacle of a burlesque show, revealing underlying themes of exploitation, confusion, and the human condition.

The poem opens with a scene in the second balcony, where "the dark man’s hand moves at his thigh," indicating a personal and perhaps shameful engagement with the performance below. His "congested eyes" turned to the floor suggest a mix of guilt, desire, and detachment. This individual's reaction is contrasted with the crowd's collective demand for more, as they "stamp and bray for more," highlighting the animalistic and almost brutish nature of the audience's desire.

Rukeyser describes the performance with stark and sensual imagery: "Magenta flares strip grace away / peeling attraction down to this: / thighs’ alternation, shrugging breasts, / silk tapping the mons veneris." The use of "magenta flares" and "silk tapping" evokes a sense of artificial allure and mechanical repetition, reducing the performer's grace to mere physical movements aimed at eliciting a specific response. The imagery of "peeling attraction" suggests a stripping away of humanity and dignity, leaving only the raw, commodified body parts for consumption.

The poem continues to delve into the objectification and ritualistic aspect of the performance: "The adequate trough inclines and dips / rising venereally to view: / stained by the shifting light to blue, / the pearl scarf simmers at her hips." The phrase "adequate trough" depersonalizes the performer, reducing her to an object of utility, while the "pearl scarf" simmering at her hips underscores the sexualization and spectacle.

Rukeyser highlights the cyclical nature of desire and its physical manifestations: "With each contraction of desire / the appealing flesh is whipped entire, / ambushed in spasms." The language here emphasizes the involuntary and almost violent nature of the audience's desire, with the performer's body caught in the throes of this ambush.

The poem then shifts focus to the street outside, where the raw light exposes the faces of the spectators: "The raw light serves as index to / upturning avid faces who / shine all the signals of defeat." The light reveals the true nature of the spectators, marked by their own struggles and defeats, juxtaposed against the artificial allure of the performance inside.

The climax of the performance is depicted as a moment of collective confrontation and fear: "An army of horns moves up the hall, / drums hurry to their crisis where / awkward in fear, the audience / at last confronts a dancer bare." The use of "army of horns" and "drums hurry to their crisis" creates a sense of impending climax and tension, while the audience's fear and awkwardness reflect their uneasy complicity in the spectacle.

Rukeyser captures the vulnerability of both performer and audience: "these naked multitudes exposed to her: / bright shoulders, glossy length of leg, / the lapsing beat persists, to beg / salving of lives of these thighs’ stir." The performer's nakedness symbolizes not just physical exposure but also emotional and existential vulnerability, mirrored by the audience's desperate need for meaning and solace through the performance.

The poem's conclusion returns to the theme of confusion and the quest for beauty amidst exploitation: "We are drenched in confusion, drowning among lights / that flare across stormed waters showing here / the faces pitiable with hesitation, / eyes groaning past the corpse’s sneer." This imagery of drowning and stormed waters conveys the overwhelming nature of the spectacle and the spectators' emotional turmoil. The "corpse’s sneer" and "blemished faces and impeccable thighs" further underscore the juxtaposition of life and death, beauty and blemish, and the performer's objectified role in reflecting these dualities.

"Burlesque" is a powerful critique of the commodification of the human body and the societal dynamics of desire and exploitation. Through its evocative imagery and insightful commentary, Rukeyser's poem invites readers to reflect on the deeper implications of voyeurism, spectacle, and the quest for meaning in a world fraught with contradictions.

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