The Ego, the Superego and Kizer’s Bitch: Freud in Poetry Essay

Carolyn Ashley Kizer was born on December 10, 1925. Her father was a lawyer and her mother a labor organizer in the Pacific Northwest, although she held a doctorate in biology. Her parents were older than the parents of her friends, however filled the house with a rich intellectual atmosphere that surely influenced the young Kizer (McFarland). Throughout her childishness her parents would read her the works of Whitman and Keats before bed (Schumock), simply it wasnt until she was centre aged that she devoted herself to literary pursuits. It is strange that such a manifestation happened so late in life, considering the poet Vachel Lindsay was a houseguest of her parents not to consultation the academically freeing ambiance. But Kizer herself references this change of direction to repressed psychical energy (OConner) after her divorce from her first husband and the tutelage of her wise man and teacher Theodore Roethke. Through this awakening and beyond, Kizer has left a trail of politically, socially and culturally relevant poetry that has won her many awards and accolades, including the Pulitzer Prize in 1985 for her collection Yin. One of her most well-known works, entitled Bitch, was make in 1984 in the collection of poems Mermaids in the Basement. The poem written in a single stanza of 34 lines depicts the scene of a woman meeting an ex-lover in a random encounter. What is later depicted in the poem is an intricate display of contrasting emotions and thoughts. Outwardly, the woman is polite and pleasant to the man, but inwardly her bitch fumes at the meeting. Her inner bitch remembers the kindred and wants the woman to outwardly display her disdain. The womans internal communication subdues the wanton wanting of her harsh inner cri... ... rare glimpse at this dynamic, and in turn, gives the reader not only a good tale, but also a closer look at themselves. Works Cited Kizer, Carolyn A. metrical composition Magazine. Bitch by Carolyn Kizer. Coppe r Canyon Press. Web. 27 May 2012. . Kuhn, Elisabeth D. Kizers Bitch. The Explicator 66.2 (2008) 108-11. Print. McFarland, Ron. Carolyn Kizer. cyclopedia of World Authors. 4th ed. Pasadena, CA Salem, 2003. MagillOnLiterature Plus. 28 Dec. 2011. Web. 27 May 2012. OConnell, Nicholas. At the Fields End Interviews with 22 Pacific Northwest Writers. Seattle University of Washington, 1998. Print. Schumock, Jim. Story, Story, Story Conversations with American Authors. Seattle unrelenting Heron, 1999. Print. Wurtzel, Elizabeth. Bitch In Praise of Difficult Women. New York Doubleday, 1998. Print.