Explication Of Nude Descending Staircase Kennedy
Explication of “Nude Descending a Staircase” Kennedy’s “Nude descending a Staircase” focuses on a woman walking down a flight of stairs while someone is watching her. The poem begins by introducing and describing the woman’s motions in the first stanza. The second stanza introduces those that are looking at her. The second stanza has been written to be twice as long as the first stanza, indicating that it could or should be separated in half. Towards the end of the second stanza, the poem describes her descending as a gradual process and leaves the woman pondering on the last step. This poem is written in Iambic form, where on unstressed syllable is followed by one stressed syllable. The poem follows the pattern of a four feet (tetrameter)
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This is separated by two sentences instead of a comma, which enforces the fact that the woman is descending the stairs carefree and worry free. Lines 7 and 8 describe a very unusual event, describing the air parting to let her walk thru. It’s hard to imagine seeing air, but this emphasizes her way of descending the stair as if time is standing still while she is walking thru air and showing herself to the audience. The last line of the poem reflects what the painting shows. “Collects her motions into shape”, looking at the painting, you’re not able to make out the figure until she reaches her last step and the detail of her body are more clear. The artist, a cubist, painted the Nude in attempting to capture a figure in continuous motion with …show more content…
Almost gives the reader the impression that the audience of this naked woman are so focused on her thighs, that the line can continue on and on with “thighs”, sort of a never-ending event. Line 10, “her slow descent like a long cape”, does not indicate that she is actually wearing a cape, but that she is descending so slow, that possibly her hair or even air, as described in line 7 and 8, are visible to the human eye and are leaving a track behind as she walks down. Her figure described by “snowing flesh”, “gold of lemon”, “sifts in sunlight” are all examples of natural beauty, almost like a godlike creature, like an angel
This is separated by two sentences instead of a comma, which enforces the fact that the woman is descending the stairs carefree and worry free. Lines 7 and 8 describe a very unusual event, describing the air parting to let her walk thru. It’s hard to imagine seeing air, but this emphasizes her way of descending the stair as if time is standing still while she is walking thru air and showing herself to the audience. The last line of the poem reflects what the painting shows. “Collects her motions into shape”, looking at the painting, you’re not able to make out the figure until she reaches her last step and the detail of her body are more clear. The artist, a cubist, painted the Nude in attempting to capture a figure in continuous motion with …show more content…
Almost gives the reader the impression that the audience of this naked woman are so focused on her thighs, that the line can continue on and on with “thighs”, sort of a never-ending event. Line 10, “her slow descent like a long cape”, does not indicate that she is actually wearing a cape, but that she is descending so slow, that possibly her hair or even air, as described in line 7 and 8, are visible to the human eye and are leaving a track behind as she walks down. Her figure described by “snowing flesh”, “gold of lemon”, “sifts in sunlight” are all examples of natural beauty, almost like a godlike creature, like an angel