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13th out of 122 books
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25 voters
Enough Rope
Poetry
hardcover, 110 pages
Published
1926
by Boni & Liveright
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I had been excited about reading Dorothy Parker's poetry for years. I always expected it to be witty and funny.
I was surprised by this collection. The tone was overwhelmingly dark, at times graphically so. Dorothy Parker will go to violent extremes to describe her disillusionment with love. She is fascinated with death and the other side. In these poems, her lover spurns her so much he will not realize she has died; nor will he recognize her when she comes back to visit him. Parker focuses mainl...more
I was surprised by this collection. The tone was overwhelmingly dark, at times graphically so. Dorothy Parker will go to violent extremes to describe her disillusionment with love. She is fascinated with death and the other side. In these poems, her lover spurns her so much he will not realize she has died; nor will he recognize her when she comes back to visit him. Parker focuses mainl...more
Parker seems best known today for her wonderful epigrams and for having been a writer of some note in the first half of the twentieth century. I find nothing notable in this book of verse except for trite rhymes, tired ideas about relationships gone wrong, an “ain’t I clever” feeling without being actually clever, and the bad habit of using the last line or couplet to ironically change the direction of the verses that came before. Perhaps Parker is a writer of her time that does not survive the...more
I found this collection of poetry to be both enjoyable and disturbing. I enjoyed Parker's wit; her light, easy, unpretentious style; the simple, musical meter of her verse, and even the little ironic endings to her poems that kept me laughing. What was slightly disturbing to me, however, is that I was laughing at poems about suicide attempts, broken hearts, infidelity, depression, and death. She treats these very serious topics with a callous, matter-of-fact style of comedy. This juxtaposition i...more
*Hearthside
*Chant for Dark Hours
*Verse Reporting Late Arrival at a Conclusion
*Inventory
*News Item
SONG OF ONE OF THE GIRLS
Here in my heart I am Helen;
I'm Aspasia and Hero, at least.
I'm Judith, and Jael, and Madame de Staël;
I'm Salomé, moon of the East.
Here in my soul I am Sappho;
Lady Hamilton am I, as well.
In me Récamier vies with Kitty O'Shea,
With Dido, and Eve, and poor Nell.
I'm of the glamorous ladies
At whose beckoning history shook.
But you are a man, and see only my pan,
So I stay...more
*Chant for Dark Hours
*Verse Reporting Late Arrival at a Conclusion
*Inventory
*News Item
SONG OF ONE OF THE GIRLS
Here in my heart I am Helen;
I'm Aspasia and Hero, at least.
I'm Judith, and Jael, and Madame de Staël;
I'm Salomé, moon of the East.
Here in my soul I am Sappho;
Lady Hamilton am I, as well.
In me Récamier vies with Kitty O'Shea,
With Dido, and Eve, and poor Nell.
I'm of the glamorous ladies
At whose beckoning history shook.
But you are a man, and see only my pan,
So I stay...more
One of my favorites:
INSCRIPTION FOR THE CEILING OF A BEDROOM
Daily dawns another day;
I must up, to make my way.
Though I dress and drink and eat,
Move my fingers and my feet,
Learn a little, here and there,
Weep and laugh and sweat and swear,
Hear a song, or watch a stage,
Leave some words upon a page,
Claim a foe, or hail a friend--
Bed awaits me at the end.
Though I go in pride and strength,
I'll come back to bed at length.
Though I walk in blinded woe,
Back to bed I'm bound to go.
High my heart, or bowed m...more
INSCRIPTION FOR THE CEILING OF A BEDROOM
Daily dawns another day;
I must up, to make my way.
Though I dress and drink and eat,
Move my fingers and my feet,
Learn a little, here and there,
Weep and laugh and sweat and swear,
Hear a song, or watch a stage,
Leave some words upon a page,
Claim a foe, or hail a friend--
Bed awaits me at the end.
Though I go in pride and strength,
I'll come back to bed at length.
Though I walk in blinded woe,
Back to bed I'm bound to go.
High my heart, or bowed m...more
Satire, wit, anger, humility, death, decadence, distrust and above all humor. A wonderful glance at the twentieth century. A mentor.
It's a little like a manual for every generation's version of goth girls who have a sense of humor. What's not to love?
Parker's inimitable wit is present in nearly every poem. She was a sharp talker and a beautifully talented writer. One of my favorites, to be sure.
Parker's poems about love and broken hearts are rendered in traditional meters with an airy, off-handed tone similiar to the one Edna St. Vincent Millay perfected in her work. I admire the speaker's persona: an acid-tongued chronicler of the vagaries of love and of wo/men. These poems are bright, biting, clever & exceedingly brittle.
Poetry is not usually my bag, but I do love this short book of Dorothy Parker poems. She is so bitchy and biting and her poems are short!! I don't think it is in print anymore but I am sure all the poems can be found in her anthologies.
One of my favorite lovers of all time gave me this book.
Stupid Selfish Government.
Stupid Selfish Government.
dorothy parker is hilarious and dark. nobody does pithy better.
Dorothy Parker, you rock.
i love dorothy parker.
May 18, 2013
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Dorothy Parker was an American writer and poet, best known for her caustic wit, wisecracks, and sharp eye for 20th century urban foibles.
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1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
“Résumé
Razors pain you,
Rivers are damp,
Acids stain you,
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful,
Nooses give,
Gas smells awful.
You might as well live.”
—
863 people liked it
Razors pain you,
Rivers are damp,
Acids stain you,
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful,
Nooses give,
Gas smells awful.
You might as well live.”
“If I didn't care for fun and such,
I'd probably amount to much.
But I shall stay the way I am,
Because I do not give a damn.”
—
499 people liked it
More quotes…
I'd probably amount to much.
But I shall stay the way I am,
Because I do not give a damn.”
Apr 30, 2013 01:53pm