Torments of the MindA Paper on Gretel in DarknessBy Sean M Ward
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In 1975 Louise Gluck wrote one of the most intriguing poems I have ever read. Set in the fairy tale world of Hansel and Gretel, her poem "Gretel in Darkness." Let us delve deep into the psychosis of a characters mind. In this living, breathing character we read torment of a genuinely deep nature. This poem lets us break down the wall of fiction and reality and lets us become engulfed with how a character feels after a traumatic event. The words whisk off the page and form into eye and ear candy as one can clearly see the devices, which scar poor, sweet Gretel. Gluck leaves us an open-ended poem however that makes the reader curious to what has caused Gretel to live in her current mind-frame. After reading this poem I saw three signs that she may be suffering from what we like to call post-traumatic stress syndrome today: Flash Backs, The feeling of entrapment, and the ability to not connect with others, possibly due to a lack of a female role model..
This poem after a second glance is riddled with flashbacks. Whether it be the complex "Her tongue shrivels into gas..