Brenda Shaughnessy’s Human Dark with Sugar begins with a blunt assertiveness that continues throughout her entire collection. In her first poem, “I’m Over the Moon,” she immediately declares that she doesn’t “like what the moon is supposed to do,” so she howls at it that she’s angry. This assertiveness comes through in the rest of her collection, especially in her apology poems, “Three Sorries” and “Sorry T.,” in which her honesty demonstrates she is anything but apologetic. This is particularly apparent with her second section of “Three Sorries,” which is actually titled “Don’t Be Sorry” (35). Although much of her writing is direct and plainspoken, Shaughnessy uses repetition to add complexity to her poems.
In her first poem, Shaughnessy states “but my lovers have never been able to read/my mind. I’ve had to learn to be direct” (6). This passage establishes Shaughnessy’s style for the rest of her collection, which is written in direct and plainspoken language. In “Old Bed,” for example, she states “I’m not so insecure that I need//to be ridiculous, to dream, to belong/to the smiling group, like anyone” (15). The fact that she straight-out states her lack of insecurity, rather than using an image or metaphor shows her directness. She does this throughout her collection, such as in “Sorry, T.” when she says “Hurting you vaporizes me,/which is why I love others” and “I was mortified, really lost” in “First Date and Still Very, Very Lonely” (31, 62). These passages show how Shaughnessy often uses her assertiveness in regards to her emotions and beliefs, especially when it comes to how she feels about lovers and partners.
Although some of her directness can come off with severity, such as when she writes “unless you are in that deviant minority of women…//In that case it is an imperative: defy your nature./Get rid of that too-protesty 10 percent,” she gets away with that honesty by surprising the reader with humorous lines. For example, she writes in “Spring in Space: A Lecture” that “people think that to be ‘wise’ is to be old, owlish,//unbearable, or Chinese. Wrong” (18). Even though some readers might take offense to being told they are wrong for believing these definitions, Shaughnessy surprises the reader with the use of Chinese as a defining characteristic of wisdom, because while readers might think that, she comes right out and says it.
Another example of how she uses humor to get away with telling the truth occurs in “Old Bed.” In this poem the speaker states that she can’t “waste another/third of my life drooling, snuffling,//spilling secrets from my honking mouth” (15). The speaker clearly reveals the personal truth that she’s already wasted part of her life, a confession that is likely painful for her to admit and even painful for readers who empathize with her. Despite this, though, her use of honking is a surprising and funny descriptor compared to the previous adjectives of drooling and snuffling. As a result, the speaker is better able to present the truth to the reader, so it will not be too negative in tone.
Even though Shaughnessy adds humor to her plainspoken language, her poems sometimes lack visual imagery and include several abstractions, such as beauty, secrets, wisdom, etc., especially when her honesty is used to confess emotions. Shaughnessy balances the plainspoken language and absence of concrete images through musicality, especially via the repetition of root words. For example, in “Parthenogenesis,” she writes “Nature, mature and feminized,/naturalizes me naturally by creating//the feeling of being a natural woman” (11). Lyrical lines such as this contrast the more direct writing throughout the rest of the poem, and as a result create more complexity. In “Replaceable until You’re Not,” for instance, the speaker says to “Throw your love until it sticks, and know/you’ll only know it stuck//if it ends up sticking. In case it does/in the end, in the beginning//just say ‘This is the one’” (37). Shaughnessy deepens the cliché idea of someone being “the one” by adding the new perspective of that soulmate just being the one to whom the speaker’s love stuck. The musicality of repeating the root word stick emphasizes that “the one” is not actually destined, but rather the random chance that your love hit that person and stuck with him/her.
In the next instance of musicality, Shaughnessy juxtaposes the idea of truth to fate in a circular argument when she writes that “whether or not/that’s true, trick yourself//into it being true, so you’re someone/who says truths” (37). Although she plainly states to trick yourself into believing you’ve found your soulmate, she complicates this message by repeating true. This repetition mimics how someone supposedly in love might repeat the lie in the hopes of convincing themselves that it’s true love, thereby adding depth to the idea of soulmates.
In her first poem, Shaughnessy states “but my lovers have never been able to read/my mind. I’ve had to learn to be direct” (6). This passage establishes Shaughnessy’s style for the rest of her collection, which is written in direct and plainspoken language. In “Old Bed,” for example, she states “I’m not so insecure that I need//to be ridiculous, to dream, to belong/to the smiling group, like anyone” (15). The fact that she straight-out states her lack of insecurity, rather than using an image or metaphor shows her directness. She does this throughout her collection, such as in “Sorry, T.” when she says “Hurting you vaporizes me,/which is why I love others” and “I was mortified, really lost” in “First Date and Still Very, Very Lonely” (31, 62). These passages show how Shaughnessy often uses her assertiveness in regards to her emotions and beliefs, especially when it comes to how she feels about lovers and partners.
Although some of her directness can come off with severity, such as when she writes “unless you are in that deviant minority of women…//In that case it is an imperative: defy your nature./Get rid of that too-protesty 10 percent,” she gets away with that honesty by surprising the reader with humorous lines. For example, she writes in “Spring in Space: A Lecture” that “people think that to be ‘wise’ is to be old, owlish,//unbearable, or Chinese. Wrong” (18). Even though some readers might take offense to being told they are wrong for believing these definitions, Shaughnessy surprises the reader with the use of Chinese as a defining characteristic of wisdom, because while readers might think that, she comes right out and says it.
Another example of how she uses humor to get away with telling the truth occurs in “Old Bed.” In this poem the speaker states that she can’t “waste another/third of my life drooling, snuffling,//spilling secrets from my honking mouth” (15). The speaker clearly reveals the personal truth that she’s already wasted part of her life, a confession that is likely painful for her to admit and even painful for readers who empathize with her. Despite this, though, her use of honking is a surprising and funny descriptor compared to the previous adjectives of drooling and snuffling. As a result, the speaker is better able to present the truth to the reader, so it will not be too negative in tone.
Even though Shaughnessy adds humor to her plainspoken language, her poems sometimes lack visual imagery and include several abstractions, such as beauty, secrets, wisdom, etc., especially when her honesty is used to confess emotions. Shaughnessy balances the plainspoken language and absence of concrete images through musicality, especially via the repetition of root words. For example, in “Parthenogenesis,” she writes “Nature, mature and feminized,/naturalizes me naturally by creating//the feeling of being a natural woman” (11). Lyrical lines such as this contrast the more direct writing throughout the rest of the poem, and as a result create more complexity. In “Replaceable until You’re Not,” for instance, the speaker says to “Throw your love until it sticks, and know/you’ll only know it stuck//if it ends up sticking. In case it does/in the end, in the beginning//just say ‘This is the one’” (37). Shaughnessy deepens the cliché idea of someone being “the one” by adding the new perspective of that soulmate just being the one to whom the speaker’s love stuck. The musicality of repeating the root word stick emphasizes that “the one” is not actually destined, but rather the random chance that your love hit that person and stuck with him/her.
In the next instance of musicality, Shaughnessy juxtaposes the idea of truth to fate in a circular argument when she writes that “whether or not/that’s true, trick yourself//into it being true, so you’re someone/who says truths” (37). Although she plainly states to trick yourself into believing you’ve found your soulmate, she complicates this message by repeating true. This repetition mimics how someone supposedly in love might repeat the lie in the hopes of convincing themselves that it’s true love, thereby adding depth to the idea of soulmates.