In the poem “Why I Like the Hospital“, Tony Hoagland satirizes the ability of individuals to hope even when it seems to be lost. People have a strange habit of finding ways to look strong even when they are not.
American poet Tony Hoagland, a well-known author. Tony is regarded as one of the greatest poets of the modern era and has received numerous awards. His dialect is renowned for being witty and foolish, making humorous references to modern life. Even on the most pleasant of days, his poetry tends to arouse the most terrible feelings.
The poem “Why I Like the Hospital” satirizes the ability of individuals for hope even when it seems to be lost. People have a strange habit of finding ways to look strong even when they are not.
Why I Like the Hospital | Analysis
Why I Like the Hospital | Analysis, Lines 1 and 2
Because it is alright to be in a bad mood there,
slouching along through the underground garage,
At the start of the poem, the speaker sets the tone. The poem is going to be about gloom and will revolve around a “bad mood” or a bad setting. In a hospital, negative feelings are accepted. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if someone is depressed while in the hospital. There won’t be any trouble if one moves carelessly. When at a hospital, it’s acceptable for people to not be at their best. It’s acceptable for people to slouch, be depressed, and simply embrace their unhappiness throughout the day. Contrary to when people are in a social setting, it’s not acceptable when someone walks or talks with poor posture.
Why I Like the Hospital | Analysis, Line 3-5
riding wordlessly on the elevator with the other customers,
staring at the closed beige doors like a prison wall.
I like the hospital for the way it grants permission for pathos
The poet discusses how life’s loneliness and alienation are represented by silent elevator rides. “Closed beige doors” are a representation of the hospital patients’ restrictions. The hospital appeals to the speaker because, in contrast to society, a hospital gives pity permission. You find yourself staring at the closed beige doors as you take the elevator silently with the other customers, their blandness suggesting a prison wall. Emotions are frequently raw and freely expressed in the hospital setting.
People come here looking for support, healing, or possibly witnessing the death of a loved one. It is a setting where expressing one’s most intense feelings is accepted, and vulnerability is welcomed. Although hope, resiliency, and compassion also exist alongside the palpable weight of anguish, fear, and despair. Here, the hospital serves as the antithesis of emotions.
Stories are being told within those beige walls. The shared experience of human suffering fosters a peculiar sense of connection among people whose lives are entwined. Strangers turn allies, providing comfort through sympathetic looks or a soft touch on the shoulder. With all its complexities, the hospital setting enables an implicit comprehension of the problems each person faces.
An emotional landscape’s microcosm is the elevator. Even while everyone may be preoccupied with their concerns and ideas, there is a general understanding of how short life is. The typical pretences and barriers are dismantled in that small area. The gravity of the situation can be expressed without the use of words. The Speaker, therefore, finds comfort in the hospital’s implicit approval of tragedy. It is a place where shedding tears is acceptable, where showing vulnerability is received with compassion, and where one may sense shared humanity in the face of adversity.
Why I Like the Hospital | Analysis, Line 6-9
—the mother with cancer deciding how to tell her kids,
the bald girl gazing downward at the shunt
installed above her missing breast,
the crone in her pajamas, walking with an IV pole.
Here, several difficulties are encountered. A mother struggles with the decision of how to tell her children about her cancer.
After having her breast removed to prevent cancer, the girl, who has lost her hair, looks downward at the tiny tube carrying blood that is attached above her missing breast. She will live, but adjusting to her body’s fresh changes will be difficult for her. The unsightly elderly woman, who was dressed in pyjamas, was moving about with an IV pole, which supplied her body with the fluids it required.
The poet discusses several moving and poignant instances. Each of these circumstances bears its weight and poses particular difficulties for the people involved. The circumstances emphasize the psychological and physical effects of illness on a person, especially when it has an impact on body image and self-esteem. A variety of emotions, like grief, vulnerability, or introspection, could be seen through the image created by the people.
An elderly woman described as a “crone,” is seen walking around in pajamas and using an IV pole. The name “crone” implies an elderly woman who may have experienced hardships in life and developed wisdom over time. Tenacity and strength are highlighted in this passage. These scenes emphasize the variety of emotions and difficulties people cope with when dealing with the disease by capturing various facets of the human experience. It’s critical to address such circumstances with compassion, comprehension, and a readiness to help those who are in need.
Why I Like the Hospital | Analysis, Line 10-17
I don’t like the smell of antiseptic,
or the air-conditioning set on high all night,
or the fresh flowers tossed into the wastebasket,
but I like the way some people are on their plastic chairs
break out a notebook and invent a complex scoring system
to tally up their days on Earth,
the column on the left that says, Times I Acted Like a Fool,
facing the column on the right that says, Times I Acted Like a Saint.
The speaker claims that he dislikes the antiseptic fragrance because it heightens the hospital’s realistic feel. Additionally, he dislikes the hospital’s extremely low temperatures, which are a metaphor for suffering and an absence of control.
Heat is similar to the fresh, but wasted, flowers that end up in the water basket. The contrast between the transitory beauty of the flowers and the frequently fleeting nature of recovery and therapy in a hospital is symbolized by this. Some people are attempting to find purpose in their condition. These words elicit feelings of introspection and awareness in a hospital or medical setting. It also evokes the idea of people waiting in a hospital waiting room while passing the time by developing a customized scoring system to assess their behaviour. Introspection and self-reflection, where people can think about and evaluate their activities, are implied by the usage of a notebook.
The “Times I Acted Like a Fool” and “Times I Acted Like a Saint” columns show opposite facets of the character. This rating system may be used as a tool for self-evaluation and introspection, enabling people to reflect on their behaviour and make efforts to grow or improve personally. Overall, these words convey a variety of ordinary and significant events that can occur in a hospital or medical setting, emphasizing the various feelings and emotions that may be present there.
Why I Like the Hospital | Analysis, Line 18-21
I like the long prairie of the waiting;
the forced intimacy of the self with the self;
each sick person standing in the middle of a field,
like a tree wondering what happened to the forest.
The speaker adores the endless, enormous idea of waiting for what is comparable to the great expanses of meadows.
Being in the hospital allows for intense self-introspection because there are fewer outside distractions. Even the burden of medical illnesses compels introspection. He saw himself as a lone figure in the centre of a field, similar to a single tree lost in the woods. This represents the fact that the patient is reflecting on the situation of his life and feels cut off from society at large or the community to which he belongs.
The setting encourages a reflective and introspective view of the experience of waiting in a medical environment. “The long prairie of Waiting” This word conjures up images of individuals waiting in a medical setting in a large, open area that is similar to a prairie. The word “long” implies a sense of duration, emphasizing the frequently prolonged waiting times that patients experience. Waiting areas can be places of expectation when people are left alone with their thoughts and reflections and time seems to drag on. Waiting in a medical setting can produce a special atmosphere where people are forced to confront their ideas, feelings, and vulnerabilities. The phrase “forced intimacy” refers to a circumstance when one is compelled to have a more in-depth relationship with oneself.
The waiting room’s inhabitants are portrayed in this illustration as lone people, each reflecting their challenges and tales. A sick person being compared to a tree and standing in the middle of a field symbolizes solitude and introspection. It evokes the sensation of being surrounded by people going through similar experiences while still feeling distant or detached like a tree wondering about the same struggles and experiences that everyone goes through.
Why I Like the Hospital | Analysis, Line 22-28
And once I saw a man in a lime-green dressing gown,
hunched over in a chair; a man who was not
yelling at the doctors, or pretending to be strong,
or making a murmured phone call to his wife,
but one sobbing without shame,
pumping it all out from the bottom of the self,
the overflowing bilge of helplessness and rage,
The speaker once came across a man in the hospital who was donning a lime-green dressing robe. The colour of the robe indicated the patient’s status in the hospital. His body was hunched over on a chair, yet he wasn’t yelling at the medical staff or acting overly resilient in the face of his illness.
He wasn’t even softly discussing his ailment with his wife. Men can openly cry in the hospital without worrying about social expectations or censure. The patient expresses his true emotions, which he had been holding in all along. Humans frequently attempt to conceal their concerns, but when there is no way out, we eventually give up hiding. The man is sobbing out loud, showing his emotions. The phrase “without shame” suggests that he is at ease enough to express his feelings in an unrestricted manner, free from social pressure or condemnation. This shows that he was having a very private and emotional moment.
According to the description, the man’s sobbing is a release of his bottled-up feelings. The expression “the bottom of the self” alludes to a vast reservoir of feelings, showing that he is reaching out from a point of openness and vulnerability. The difficulties or disappointments he is experiencing may be the cause of the “helplessness and rage” he mentions. This scene beautifully depicts an emotionally vulnerable moment in a medical context. It emphasizes how people can feel deeply even when they feel helpless and frustrated. It also serves as a reminder of the variety of sensations and feelings someone could go through when dealing with illness or challenging circumstances.
Why I Like the Hospital | Analysis, Line 29-33
a man no longer expecting to be saved,
but if you looked, you could see
that he was holding his hand in sympathy,
listening to every single word,
and he was telling himself everything.
The imagery portrays the man you saw at a profound and reflective moment of self-compassion and self-reliance. “A man who was no longer expecting to be saved” This statement implies that the individual has arrived at a place where he no longer needs outside help or redemption. It suggests a mental adjustment in which he accepts that he must forge his course and find consolation within himself.
The image of the man comforting and supporting himself by grasping his hand shows an act of self-comfort. It represents a link on the inside and a kind of self-compassion. He is actively acknowledging his ideas, feelings, and experiences by paying attention to “every single word.” The use of the phrase “telling himself everything” implies that the individual is doing self-analysis and self-discussion. He is probably talking to himself, giving himself comfort, understanding, and maybe even advice. It depicts an internal dialogue in which he attempts to organize and make sense of his feelings and thoughts. A potent moment of self-awareness and self-empowerment is depicted in this scene. It emphasizes the man’s capacity to look within himself for comfort and understanding and take responsibility for his feelings and experiences. It illustrates how strength and resiliency may manifest from inside, despite trying circumstances. It serves as a reminder of the value of practising self-compassion and self-care when dealing with challenging circumstances.
He was a man who no longer anticipated being healed. He openly displays his true sense of helplessness.
If one looked closely, one would notice that this man restrained self-compassion and self-support despite feeling helpless, terrified, and angry about his situation. He was trying to empathize by gripping his hand. When he realized that everyone in this large globe is lonely and that everyone must fight their own battles, he probably listened to his own words to console and direct himself.
Why I Like the Hospital | Conclusion
People are portrayed as being able to be wholly vulnerable at the hospital without worrying about being criticized. The poet wishes to make clear that the largest obstacle to fostering interpersonal connection is our propensity to conceal our suffering. The speaker explains how hospital patients are free to cry, whine, and show their weakest selves. It is the innate ability of the hospital environment that makes people feel free yet caged at the same time that the speaker likes.