Perhaps it's not the best thing for me to admit that at my age and after all of my years in this field, Wednesday was the first time I'd read "Sátira filosófica" (o sea "Hombres necios"). I've known of its existence and its theme - "why do men despise women for being something that they themselves created?" I even have the poem in a couple of anthologies and I'd often thought of reading it, but never did. I think I wanted the first time to be special. In a class. With an experienced professor to explain it. My favorite lines are, "¿O cuál es más de culpar,/aunque cualquiera mal haga:/la que peca por paga,/o él que paga por pecar? ("Oh which is more to blame/although anyone can do bad/she who sins for pay/or he who pays to sin?") I did read it aloud in my office and picked up on the alliteration. In class Profe. Linda illuminated the phonemes and made it clear that it wasn't just alliteration for alliteration's sake. The [p] is a harsh sound and so is the poet's condemnation of men who condemn women for being just what they want them to be. No matter which kind of woman...Sor Juana, that 16th century cloistered nun inverts male/female roles continuously en su obra. I am astounded, plasmada, amazed, inspired, exhilarated, saddened, entertained, enlightened by this poet and her talents. It is sometimes too much to absorb...
...so on the way home, I listen to things like the Donnas and sing along to the puerile, simple rhyme. Temporarily cloistering the baroque intricacies of Sor Juana and examining the unpolished guitars and vocals and rhymes like, "I'm gonna take my chance tonight/I'm gonna get in his pants tonight". The Donnas also invert male/female traditional roles in their world of rock and roll. There have been many female rockers before them who call men to task in their lyrics, but I don't know if any had started as young as the Donnas. Even the name of the group is in response to a male group. The Ramones took on the same last name, which both unified and made them somewhat anonymous. I'm not sure what this means, but The Donnas invert this by taking on the same first name, and taking an even further step toward anonymity by replacing their last names with the letters A.,B.,C. and D. If, as 8th graders, they react to and emulate the Ramones, I also think that their later songs are answers to heavy metal bands - "Take It Off" seemed an especially apt response to agressive misogynistic lyrics. Even with lyrics that seem to be at odds with each other ("Stop staring at my D-cup" followed by "Come on baby, just feel me up") and even now in 2008 the girls' take on the sexes is refreshing. Not as much as Sor Juana's probably was, but The Donnas are much more sing-alongable.
No comments:
Post a Comment