Friday, August 28, 2015

Gained in Translation (3): Shopping Bag


Capitalization and enjambment are crucial devices for creating meaning in poetry.

"ShangHai" is an unusual stylization, comparable to if you wrote "NewPort" in English. The extra emphasis on "Hai" (Sea) suggests approximately the same difference in stress as "seaside" versus "seaside." The absence of punctuation concludes the statement with an ambivalent tone; a period might be too neutral for a declaration of welcome, while an exclamation point would take up too much space.

"Evaded affection" at first evokes the pain of unrequited love, yet the connotation of "Evaded" demands closer inspection. One only evades what is aggressive or unwanted, so in fact this "affection" is far more than merely unrequited. This analysis leaves aside the beautiful and tragic left-justification of the lines, where "Evaded affection" seems to actually dodge to the left side. 

Furthermore, what are "pieces of the heart"? Are they emotions? Loving relationships? And why "pieces" of these pieces? Perhaps the poet is referring to the granular constituent parts of those larger pieces, e.g. gifts given or words uttered to beloved friends or family.

What does the author intend by separating "Thank you" from "Very Much," phrases that in normal use stand together? For one thing it emphasizes the two separate parts, especially the "Very much" which, having been given its own capital, takes on a range of meanings quite independent from "Thank you."

Of course, this is all just words on a plastic shopping bag.