Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Tiara" by Mark Doty is a poignant and deeply moving poem that explores themes of desire, loss, and acceptance through the lens of a friend's death from AIDS. The poem uses vivid imagery and moments of light-heartedness to convey complex emotions surrounding the death of Peter, a character who embraced his love for extravagance and beauty even in his final moments.

The poem opens with a striking image: Peter died wearing a paper tiara cut from a book of princess paper dolls. This detail immediately sets the tone for the poem, highlighting Peter's flamboyant and unabashed love for "royalty, sashes, and jewels." The tiara, a symbol of royalty and fantasy, serves as a poignant metaphor for Peter's identity and his defiance of conventional norms, even in death.

The narrative quickly shifts to a moment of levity at Peter's wake, where friends break the tension by joking about Peter's dramatic flair, imagining him late to his own funeral because he was still "fixing his makeup." This humor reflects the warmth and acceptance in Peter's community, illustrating how his vibrant spirit uplifted those around him even in grief.

However, the poem then takes a darker turn with the phrase "Asked for it"—a cruel insinuation sometimes directed at those who contracted AIDS, implying moral culpability for their illness. Doty challenges this accusation by emphasizing that Peter's only 'crime' was embracing life passionately: "going down into the salt tide of wanting as much as he wanted." The depiction of Peter's desires—uninhibited and sometimes reckless—highlights his human vulnerability and the harsh judgment he faced.

Doty's vision of heaven provides a stark contrast to the world's judgment. He imagines it as a place of "perfect stasis poised over the realms of desire," where the dichotomy between dreaming and waking blurs, and men lie among roaming wet horses, a surreal and peaceful tableau. This imagery evokes a sense of eternal rest and acceptance, a reprieve from the earthly struggles and judgments Peter endured.

The closing stanza contemplates the inherent beauty and allure of the world, with its "perfectly turned shoulders" and the "irreplaceable silk of horses rippling in orchards." Doty suggests that surrounded by such beauty and the profound desires it evokes, Peter, like anyone, could do nothing but "ask for it"—to live fully and without reservation, despite the risks.

"Tiara" is a celebration of Peter's life and an elegy for his suffering and death. It acknowledges the complexities of desire and the harsh realities of the AIDS epidemic, while ultimately affirming the dignity and beauty of Peter's existence. Doty's use of rich, evocative imagery and his compassionate portrayal of Peter create a powerful poetic tribute to a life lived with boldness and authenticity.

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