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READ THIS
The poem is a very brief but poignant look at the desperate cry for help from a person in
despair, and the ironic response with which this plea is met.
THE POET & HER POEM
Gabriela Pearse was born in Colombia (South America) of a father from Trinidad but with a
British mother. She would later move to the United Kingdom, where she studied at Warwick
University.
Her poem -- "Today" -- sums up very briefly the impersonal world in which we find
ourselves today, a world in which one person has no longer the time for another's despair.
Pearse uses very short but stabbing verses and lines. Indeed, there are just four verses, while
none of the lines exceeds six syllables. Does the poet have any specific reason for doing this?
On the other hand, is there any reason why the number of lines in each verse gets fewer as the
poem proceeds -- from five lines in verse 1, to four in verses 2 and 3, and then only three lines
in the final stanza?
The poem must also not be seen simply as the story of one person in need but is rather a
microcosm of today's world where people are becoming more and more individualistic, and less
and less caring.
Today we are concerned more about ourselves and less about others, more about our material
pursuits and less about helping others whom we meet on our journey through this life.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
"A woman with a gash
so deep and wide in
her black soul."
- Why does the poet refer to "her black soul"? (4)
[Need help?]
Blackness in the western world has variable meanings. It may depict otherness which
would make the woman in despair a stranger who perhaps is not to be trusted.
Blackness also conjures up images of evil. The devil is always seen as black. Evil and
sin go hand in hand, which would mean that her soul is full of sin.
On the other hand, the image of blackness might perhaps be an association with despair
itself. The woman is indeed in a state of unutterable despair -- and despair in the Christian
world has always been associated with the worst possible sin.
Of course, the woman who is in the state of despair might herself be black in skin-tone, and
therefore her black soul would also be associated with race.
And finally, the meaning might perhaps be a combination of all these -- and perhaps more.
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- Why should the poet speak about "her soul" and not "her
spirit"? (4)
[Need help?]
In western philosophy, soul despicts the full essence of being -- that which gives
the person the fullness of life. The concept comes from the medieval division of body and soul,
where body is the physical reality while the soul is the life-giving principle.
Spirit, on the other hand, has a lesser importance. Traditionally it has been held that
only humans have souls whereas animals have none. An animal, however, may have
"spirit".
"Soul" therefore refers to the total essence of being which gives life. Death of the soul
is also eternal death of the person. "Spirit" lacks any of this connotation.
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- Comment on the significance of the words "a gash so deep and wide" in her
soul. (4)
[Need help?]
There is an image portrayed here of a wound that is so gaping that it can only lead to death.
A physical gash that is "so deep and wide" in the body would indeed be fatal.
Metaphorically, therefore, such a gash in one's soul would have tragic consequences, leading
to the spiritual death of the person.
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- Why does the poet speak of "a gash" and not "a wound"? (4)
[Need help?]
A wound is somehow much more clinical, and is something that can be repaired or healed. A
"gash", on the other hand, is savage and massive, something that cannot be healed but
usually leads to rapid death.
The word itself is also more savage in its sound -- capturing a quick but violent ripping apart.
"A wound", on the other hand, is much softer in its tone, lacking the savagery of "a
gash".
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"her black soul
came and spilled her
self over me."
- Is there any reason why "her self" is divided into two words -- and is divided over
the two lines -- and is not written simply as "herself"? (4)
[Need help?]
"Herself" -- written as one word -- is merely a relative pronoun. If the words are
divided into two, on the other hand, then "self" becomes the object whereas "her"
is the relative which explains which "self" is being referred to.
Once the poet has divided the words in this way, therefore, then "self" becomes
synonymous with the fullness of her being, her soul, the entirety of her spiritual, living entity.
One could, in fact, replace "her self" with "her soul".
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- Comment on the fact that her black soul came and spilled herself "over
me". (4)
[Need help?]
If something is spilled "on" you, you would be partially wet. If, on the other hand, it is
spilled "over" you, you become thoroughly drenched.
It is therefore a question of intensity. The poet is therefore drenched with the outpourings of
this woman's despair.
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- Why does the poet use the word "spilled" and not, say,
"poured"? (4)
[Need help?]
The word "poured" connotes some form of control, a deliberate pouring where one is
able to stop if one wishes. When one pours, one also controls where one is pouring -- one
does not usually make a mess when one is pouring.
On the other hand, "spilled" has the connotation of an involuntary action. It just happens
-- and the result is usually a mess. There is no control implied when one uses this word.
When one spills, it might go anywhere -- and one also does not control how much is spilled.
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