"Victoria's Secret"--An Analysis

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes Charles Martin's poem about sexual liberation entitled "Victoria's Secret." Both the content and structure of the poem are examined. The reviewer first describes Martin's life and career. Then, the poem's metric system is evaluated, including the words and phrases used to accent certain messages and themes. Additionally, the reviewer considers the literary stylization that Martin uses to juxtapose his contemporary message within his education on Victorian era sex. Martin's use of the narrative voice is also analyzed. The author concludes that "Victoria's Secret" is deftly used to look at the deeper social problems of our day, which shows Martin's ability to provide entertaining social commentary hidden within a layer of mockery and wit.

From the Paper:

"The first step to understanding "Victoria's Secrets" is to begin to learn of Charles Martin himself, an idiosyncratic poet who has transformed his poetic style to fit within the nuances of both traditional and modern poetry. Martin is not only a noted poet but also a critic and a translator he grew up in New York City and went to Fordham University and received his doctorate from the University of Buffalo . Although within "Victoria's Secret" his focus is on the witty and friendly imitation of traditional Victorian poetry, his specialty is in Latin poetry in which he has published twice. Considered one of the most prominent New Formalists , he has helped shape a transformation in modern form and narrative in poetry. This particular work was included within his book "Starting from Sleep: New and Selected Poems" in which he won the Bess Hokin Award. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Acheson, James, and Romana Huk, eds. Contemporary British Poetry : Essays in Theory and Criticism /. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1996.
• Atkins, G. Douglas and Laura Morrow. Contemporary Literary Theory. Amherst: University of Massachusetts, 1989.
• Bagwell, Timothy J. American Formalism and the Problem of Interpretation. Houston: Rice, 1986.
• Butler, Christopher. Interpretation, Deconstruction, and Ideology: An Introduction to Some Current Issues in Literary Theory. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984.
• Clausen, Christopher. "Reading Closely Again." Commentary Feb. 1997: 54+. Questia. 1 Oct. 2006 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001514301>.

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