Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Robert Wrigley’s "Mouth" is a provocative and deeply layered exploration of power, voice, and the complexities of human relationships, symbolized through the figure of a thrift-shop ventriloquist?s dummy. The poem weaves humor, sensuality, and unsettling psychological undertones to create a narrative that probes the boundaries between control and vulnerability, reality and fantasy, and the act of speaking versus being spoken through.

The poem opens with the intriguing purchase of the dummy, described as irresistible: "a little man who?d sit on your lap and say the things your lips should not." This line immediately establishes the dummy as a stand-in for unspoken desires, forbidden words, and suppressed truths. It embodies a paradoxical freedom—a voice that exists only when manipulated, yet capable of expressing what the speaker cannot. The ventriloquist?s dummy becomes a complex symbol of both agency and dependence, its presence inviting both fascination and discomfort.

Wrigley’s vivid description of the dummy emphasizes its artificial perfection: "the coiffed black hair, the pencil mustache, his diminutive, excellent tuxedo." These details render the dummy almost lifelike, yet its exaggerated elegance—"like a dollhouse playboy or a maitre d?"—underscores its absurdity. This blend of realism and caricature amplifies the tension between the dummy?s lifelessness and the life projected onto it by the woman.

The poem delves into the interplay between the woman, the dummy, and her lover, creating a dynamic fraught with power and ambiguity. The dummy’s "drolly" presence during intimate moments introduces an element of voyeurism, while the woman’s act of placing it on her thigh afterward transforms it into a silent critic, "review[ing] his competitor?s performance." The dummy’s role as an intermediary—silent yet suggestive, powerless yet provocative—becomes a catalyst for the woman?s exploration of her own desires and boundaries.

The act of ventriloquism—her hand inside the dummy, animating it—serves as a metaphor for the complexities of agency and control in relationships. The poem suggests that the dummy allows the woman to externalize parts of herself: "It wasn?t so much how he looked... but that she?d sometimes think to sit him on her bare thigh afterward." This act blurs the lines between self and other, performer and performed, as the dummy becomes an extension of her own voice and imagination.

The lover’s violent reaction to the dummy—"took him by the throat and tossed him face first back on his corner chair"—introduces a darker dimension. His act of asserting dominance over the dummy parallels his physical dominance over the woman, yet the poem suggests that her imagination subverts this control: "she imagined the fleshly man the dummy." This role reversal underscores the fluidity of power dynamics, as the woman reclaims agency through her fantasies, transforming the lover into a mere projection of her will.

The poem’s climactic moment centers on the dummy’s mouth, described as a space of paradox: "nothing ever entered but from within." This detail highlights the dummy’s dependence on its operator, while also reflecting the woman’s own exploration of internal versus external expression. The act of opening the dummy’s mouth—"all the way and tilt back the empty head of him"—culminates in her laughter, a visceral, cathartic release "from the gut, from the heart." The poem’s final line—"which was nothing more or less than her fist"—reframes the dummy’s power as wholly her own, a manifestation of her control and the strength of her inner voice.

Wrigley’s use of free verse allows the poem to move fluidly between humor, eroticism, and psychological depth. The language is precise and evocative, capturing the surreal and symbolic dimensions of the narrative while remaining grounded in sensory detail. The tone shifts seamlessly between playful and unsettling, reflecting the multifaceted nature of the relationships depicted.

"Mouth" is a richly textured exploration of the dynamics of power, voice, and identity within intimate relationships. Through the figure of the dummy, Robert Wrigley examines the interplay between control and surrender, the tension between expression and silence, and the ways in which individuals navigate their own desires and boundaries. The poem resonates as a meditation on the complexities of human connection, where even the inanimate can become a mirror for the deepest parts of ourselves.

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