Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Marge Piercy's "For a Ballerina Who Died of Anorexia" is a haunting and poignant reflection on the tragic beauty and ultimate cost of the dancer's life. Through vivid imagery and evocative language, Piercy explores the juxtaposition of grace and suffering, the idealization of the body, and the devastating impact of an eating disorder.

The poem opens with a striking metaphor: "Her body inscribes an arc like a fine metal point, her body is a feather floating." This image captures the delicate, ephemeral quality of the ballerina's movements, suggesting both the precision and the lightness that define her art. However, the comparison to "a fine metal point" also hints at the sharp, cutting nature of her existence, an early indication of the pain underlying her grace.

Piercy's description of the ballerina's bones—"her bones are those of a swallow, her bones are chalky, her bones are hollow as flutes"—underscores the fragility of her physical form. The swallow, a bird known for its lightness and agility, serves as a metaphor for the ballerina's weightlessness. The reference to "chalky" and "hollow as flutes" bones conveys both the brittleness and the emptiness that result from anorexia, highlighting the toll it takes on the body.

The poem delves deeper into the physical toll of the ballerina's condition: "Her flesh is only lacquer on muscles taut and overworked, tendons that ping like breaking violin strings, joints forced the wrong way, blood in her toe shoes." These lines starkly depict the extreme physical strain and injury that accompany her art. The comparison of tendons to "breaking violin strings" evokes a sense of tension and imminent rupture, while "blood in her toe shoes" graphically illustrates the suffering hidden beneath the outward beauty of her performance.

Despite the severe toll on her body, the ballerina's suffering is masked by an ethereal appearance: "Even though she has no flesh still she bleeds from her feet. She is a perfect dream of light bent to earth in her feathered tutu, face remote, smile brilliant." The paradox of having "no flesh" yet bleeding from her feet speaks to the invisible yet profound damage caused by anorexia. The "perfect dream of light" and "feathered tutu" emphasize the illusion of perfection and grace that she embodies, while her "remote" face and "brilliant" smile suggest a disconnection from the pain she endures.

Piercy then shifts to a broader critique of societal attitudes towards such suffering: "over the dying body as a lamp illuminating a vision of fleshless grace, an angel of bones gleaming, pain as an art form patronized by eaters of large expensive dinners." Here, the ballerina's emaciated body is likened to a lamp illuminating an idealized vision of "fleshless grace." The phrase "angel of bones gleaming" conveys both a celestial beauty and a stark, haunting image of skeletal fragility. The final lines critique the way society glamorizes and patronizes such suffering, with "pain as an art form" consumed by those who indulge in "large expensive dinners," highlighting the disconnect between the audience's pleasure and the dancer's agony.

"For a Ballerina Who Died of Anorexia" is a powerful meditation on the cost of achieving and maintaining an idealized form of beauty and grace. Piercy's use of vivid, often stark imagery effectively conveys the physical and emotional toll of anorexia, while also critiquing the societal pressures and attitudes that contribute to this suffering. Through this poem, Piercy honors the ballerina's artistry and grace while also mourning the devastating effects of her condition, leaving readers with a profound sense of both beauty and loss.

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