Crazy Jane..

Since we were discussing Yeats last week, I wanted to talk about Crazy Jane Talks to the Bishop. I am not gonna lie, the title is what caught my attention and my reasoning for writing about it. The poem is the interaction between a character Yeats based off of a woman he admired for her speech and lust for life. He ended up writing seven poems about the old woman, this being the sixth. The Bishop in the poem looks down at the woman and speaks negatively of her unkept appearance and unchaste life. In response the woman defends herself by teaching the Bishop of life and to welcome it while you can. I believe her response response to be given. Live while you can and enjoy what you have. Many people forget that lesson, or ignore it because of their status. While researching the poem, it suggests that the Bishop may have admired the woman at one point in time, and she rejected his advances. which is why he tried to hurt her verbally with the lines, "Those breasts are flat and fallen now, Those veins must soon be dry;". The woman's response is somewhat of a reflection on Yeats real life. He wrote this when he was almost 70, during a time when he reignited his own look at life and love. I liked that the rhythm drew me in with its sing song beat. It felt like a nursery rhyme almost, with each line rhyming with the next. Overall, I enjoyed the poem and liked that it was short. Even though it felt like there was little to read, there is a lot to interpret.