Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Act" by Roque Dalton is a vehement and incisive critique of social inequality and the injustices wrought by the institution of private property. Through a litany of grievances, Dalton speaks on behalf of those marginalized and exploited under its regime. This poem is a call to consciousness and action, articulated through the collective voice of the disenfranchised. Dalton's indictment of private property serves as a broader denouncement of the systemic structures that perpetuate poverty, exploitation, and social division.

The poem enumerates the various forms of labor and deprivation experienced by those who live at the margins of society—those who wash others' clothes, care for others' children, live in others' houses, eat others' crumbs, and live on others' land. Each of these scenarios highlights the deeply entrenched disparities between the wealthy and the poor, the owners and the workers. Dalton underscores the irony and injustice of laborers providing essential services—cleaning, caregiving, laboring—only to remain impoverished and powerless, alienated not just from the fruits of their labor but from the means of production and the resources of the earth itself.

Dalton's use of repetition ("In the name of those") serves to amplify the collective suffering and the shared experience of exploitation among the working class. This rhetorical device not only invokes a sense of solidarity among those oppressed by the existing social order but also serves to gather momentum for the poet's ultimate accusation against private property.

The imagery Dalton employs—of a house not as a home but as "a tomb or jail," of consuming food "with the feeling of a thief"—vividly conveys the alienation and dehumanization experienced by the exploited under the system of private property. The enumeration of what the disenfranchised do not have ("nothing but hunger exploitation disease...") juxtaposed against the guarded possessions of the wealthy ("houses and factories and shops streets cities and towns rivers lakes volcanos and mountains always belonging to others") starkly illustrates the unequal distribution of resources and opportunities.

The final line, "I accuse private property of depriving us of everything," is a powerful declaration that encapsulates the poem's essence. This accusatory statement transcends a mere critique of economic inequality; it challenges the moral and ethical foundations of a system that sanctions such profound disparities in wealth and power. By framing the issue as an accusation, Dalton not only identifies the source of the problem but also implies the need for accountability and systemic change.

"Act" by Roque Dalton is a resonant call for justice that speaks to the heart of socialist and anti-capitalist critique. It lays bare the contradictions of a system that commodifies basic human needs and rights, urging a reconsideration of the values and structures that govern society. Through its passionate and unyielding voice, the poem stands as a testament to the struggle for a more equitable and humane world.

POEM TEXT: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Volcan/meuTtOUFIqoC?q=jubilant&gbpv=1#f=false

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