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(6 cards)
Sculpture of a sad person
Links to title: “What the body can say” – body language as a complex form of expression
Metaphor: comparing body to text/poem
“How” – creates a question, questioning emotions
Meaning: Body expresses grief and sadness, emotions encoded physically
“How easy it is to read this body’s language”
What the body can say (Part 1)
“Her mouth falling open, wordless”: Death, lost ability to communicate.
Simile: Mother’s body = communion, symbolizing sacrifice.
Wafer: Christ’s body, metaphor for mother’s sacrifice.
“We”/”Our”: Bond between mother and daughter.
Quote: Mother’s death as a sacrifice for her.
“her mouth falling open, wordless, just as / we open our mouths in church to take in the wafer”
What the body can say (Part 1)
Grieving loss of mother and faith.
Seeks answers from God, but unclear on what to ask.
Body language (hiding, kneeling) shows vulnerability and loss of protection.
Struggles with spiritual confusion and grief.
“what, kneeling, / my face behind my hands, i might ask for God.”
What the body can say (Part 1)
SUMMARY
Sculpture of someone grieving makes speaker reflect on her mother’s death.
Explores grief, identity, religion, and sacrifice.
Highlights the shift from religious faith (Baptist) to atheism.
Focus on the idea that the body, even in death, can communicate truths.
Context - Tretheway Biography
“I see my mother as having made a kind of sacrifice to save me.”
What the body can say (Part 1)
STRUCTURE
Free verse with two-line stanzas, no rhyme.
Simple structure reflects the simplicity of grief, but themes are complex.
Questions raised with and without punctuation, showing unresolved search for meaning.
What the body can say (Part 1)
THEMES
Injustice, mother’s identity, her identity, grief
What the body can say (Part 1)
