Part Six:
Topping It Off: The Use of Titles, Subtitles
& Epigraphs
One of the often-overlooked tools at the poet’s disposal lies right
at the top of the page. Many times inexperienced writers do not take the
time to consider what influence the title has on a poem. First, a good
title needs to draw a reader’s attention, so that he or she will want to
read further. Secondly, the title acts as lens through which a poem can
be viewed or as a doorway into the world of the poem. A skillful title helps
the reader to understand the focus of the poem and adds context for the
reading. It gives a reader a place to start.
There are many ways that a title is used to add important information
to the poem. It can help set the tone for what is to follow. Yusef Komunyakaa
effectively sets a conversational and witty tone that prepares the reader
for the extravagance of the suggestions and images in his poem through
the title For You, Sweetheart, I’d Sell Plutonium Reactors while
Geoffrey Hill’s title September Song indicates the simplicity of
the poem.
The title can also help add vital information to the poem. Another
of Komunyakaa’s titles, Boy Wearing Dead Man’s Clothes acts to both
name the speaker and clue the reader on “what” has happened. This intrigues
us to read further to find out the “why.” Just as the title can work to
designate the speaker, it can also work to anchor the poem in a particular
time or place. It can indicate whom the speaker is addressing, as Marvin
Bell does with To Dorothy or help reveal the subject
matter as in Robert Hayden’s Night, Death, Mississippi.
A title may express the intent of the poet, such as Heroic Simile
by Robert Hass, or clue the reader to a poem's form or style. Robert Creeley
does this with his Air: The Love of a Woman and Howard Moss uses
this to good effect with his Elegy for My Sister.
Expectations set by the title can be fulfilled or even broken by the
poem itself. A title may presents one point of view while the poem presents
another. The one of the best examples of this device is Wilfred Owen’s
title Dulce Et Decorum Est which roughly translated is How
Sweet and Fitting. One might expect this to be a poem that glorifies
war. The poem in its description of wartime death, refutes the idea of
the title that it is sweet or fitting to die for one’s country.
The title may take a word or phrase and give it heightened meaning.
When the title appears in the body of the poem, it takes a different sense.
The title may be explained or take on a greater meaning than before. Phillip
Levine uses this to good effect in his poem You Can Have It. Yet,
the most dramatic example of this I have seen would be The Delicate, Plummeting
Bodies by Stephen Dobyns. The title seems difficult and inaccessible,
but when the phrase repeats in the poem, it takes on a new importance.
You can also use a subtitle to add further information. Usually used
as dedications, a subtitle can also add a little more perspective on the
situation discussed in the poem. One of the most helpful dedications I have
read is the one for Horse by Phillip Levine. The subtitle
for Ichirokawamoto, humanitarian, electrician, survivor of Hiroshima
immediately sets the context for the poem. We understand from
the subtitle the reasons for the strange behavior and bizarre description
of the horse.
Another strategy for adding context is to include an epigraph at the
beginning of the poem. Usually a quote or excerpt from a text, an
epigram can help set the stage for the poem. But the difficulty with using
a famous poet’s work for this technique is that the quoted line often sets
the bar for the poem so high, that the poem cannot achieve what it sets
out to. One way to avoid this is to use a quote that has a bearing on the
content of the poem, as Adrienne Rich does with her poem The Burning
of Paper instead of Children. The epigram, a quote from Daniel Berrigan,
helps build the framework of the poem without distracting from the author’s
work or setting up a possible negative comparison.
As you write, you may find there may be a line that may not fit perfectly
into the poem at hand, but it adds to the context or sense of the poem.
This line could make an apt title. If nothing suggests itself in this
manner, consider what single addition piece of information will best allow
the reader access to the work. Is the identity of the speaker clear in
the body of the text? Does the poem need to be set in a particular
time or place to be understood? If the speaker mentions “you” in the
poem, is it apparent who is addressed? Take time to see if the title incorporates
a sense of the poem that follows. Use it to help define the framework,
add additional information, set the tone and draw a reader to your work.
Part Seven to follow. |
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