A.R.D Fairburn’s Rhyme of the Dead Self explores the creation of new identities through a violent transformation as opposed to a controlled, peaceful evolution. The poem treats the readers with a scene of gratuitous violence and gory murder of the poet’s younger self. This rhyme of disillusionment is a dark coming-of-age poem that depicts the realities and trauma of growing up.
Written in free verse, the poem does not stick to any regular meter, it follows a rhyme scheme of abab. Consisting of three stanzas of four lines each, the poem covers the metaphorical murder of the poet’s old self, the removal and eradication of old ideals symbolized by throwing the brain in the drain, and the hopeful affirmation that the young man will not disturb the speaker again in the first second and third stanzas respectively. The poem also uses various poetic devices like enjambment, metaphor, simile, alliteration and allusion.
Rhyme of the Dead Self | Rhyme of the Dead Self
Rhyme of the Dead Self |Analysis, STANZA 1
Tonight I have taken all that I was
and strangled him that pale lily-white lad
I have choked him with these my hands these claws
catching him as he lay a-dreaming in his bed.
The poem opens with a succinct depiction of the murder as the speaker confesses what he has done. He narrates how he strangled “the lily-white lad” that he was as he encountered his younger self sleeping, drowned in a dream The speaker clarifies that the lad he killed was all that he was and therefore alienates himself from the victim this brings questions into the reader’s mind about what the young lad must have done for the speaker to harbour such feelings for him.
The speaker also calls his younger self “lily-white”, lilies being symbolic of purity and innocence, which in this case also can be reinterpreted as naivety that the inexperienced child holds. He calls his own hands claws, announcing to the readers his deeds, perhaps with an aura of wistfulness. The use of the word claws suggests an animalistic quality that he ascribes to himself, making it known to us how he too wouldn’t have chosen to do this if he could.
The fact that the speaker finds the young man sleeping and dreaming points out how the young man has lowered his guard and does not pay attention to everything happening around him and is immersed in himself and his dreams which puts his ideals at odds with the workings of the world.
Rhyme of the Dead Self |Analysis, STANZA 2
Then chuckling I dragged out his foolish brains
that were full of pretty love-tales heighho the holly
and emptied them holus bolus to the drains
those dreams of love oh what ruinous folly.
The stanza moves deeper into the reasons and motives of the speaker when he committed the gory act and what he did afterwards. The speaker describes how he dragged out the victim’s foolish brains filled with a romanticised view of the world, characterised by how his head was full of dreams and stories of love which the speaker now thinks is but “ruinous folly”. The speaker then dumps this waste in the drain. The speaker describes himself chuckling as he pulls out the victim’s brain, showing how he is enjoying the actions that he is engaged in The following lines then give more details as to why he was reacting in such a manner.
The words “heighho the holly” alludes to a Shakesperian song named “Blow, blow, thou winter wind” The song states how the wind sings “Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:” depicting a cynical take on life and human relationships. Now the readers understand that the speaker’s actions are fueled by heartbreak brought upon himself by his foolish ideals and his desire to protect himself from pain.
The speaker chuckles as he is removing the brains perhaps out of relief that now is relieved of the ruinous ideas that have brought him pain. His actions now strike as a trauma response which has led him to reject his past ideals. It also suggests that the speaker has forsaken faith in love or he has had a change of heart when it comes to feelings. The usage “ holus bolus” is used to depict things done all at once, adding to the hasty nature of the action affirming again that it was done without a second thought and that his actions are premeditated, the poet has come to the conclusion that it’s his tender heart that gives rise to pain and making it numb by removing all thoughts of love will prevent this from happening again.
Rhyme of the Dead Self |Analysis, STANZA 3
He is dead pale youth and he shall not rise
on the third day or any other day
sloughed like a snakeskin there he lies
and he shall not trouble me again for aye.
The poem ends with the declaration that this pale youth is dead and shall not return, the poet likens the corpse to a snakeskin that has been discarded, and says that he shall not be troubled by the young lad ever again. The poet uses Jesus imagery when talking about the death of the young man, noting perhaps, how he was pure of heart and indirectly affirming the cause of his downfall again. The image of the young man being pale is brought up again, being pale denotes the weakness and illness that the poet wanted to remove. The simile is used as the poet likens the young man’s corpse to a snakeskin, discarded, pointing out that once his idealism perhaps protected his young mind from pain and served ts role, but now as the times have changed his ideal must be shed and discarded as new ones will form and protect him henceforth.
Rhyme of the Dead Self |THEMES
The major theme in the poem is that of transformation and growth, albeit carried out violently as if it is a radical revolution of the mind. The poet kills off the young man he used to be to remove the idealistic thoughts that are embodied within him. The action is carried out by an older and cynical self after being scarred by trauma and heartbreak. The poet recognises this method is sub-optimal hence the use of animal imagery to depict his hands (my hands these claws) showing how this animalistic reaction perhaps does not fit a human. But self-protection becomes paramount to the hurt soul that leads him to violently uproot the past idealistic self from his mind, now cynical and untrusting he hopes to be safe from pain.
