Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Lawrence Raab’s "Witch’s Story" is a retelling of a familiar fairy tale from the perspective of the witch, reframing her as a figure of inevitability rather than pure malevolence. The poem explores themes of disobedience, consequence, and transformation, challenging the simplistic moral binaries of traditional folklore. By giving the witch a voice, Raab creates a layered character—one who acknowledges her dark reputation but presents herself with a weary acceptance of her role.

The poem begins with an immediate assertion: "Everything you have heard about me is true, or true enough." This opening line signals that the witch is not interested in disputing the legends surrounding her. The phrase "or true enough" suggests that while the details might be exaggerated or distorted, the essence of the story remains intact. She follows with a statement of defiance: "You shouldn’t think / I’d change my story now." The phrasing implies both a refusal to apologize and a sense of resignation—there is no need to revise a tale that has already solidified into myth.

The story unfolds with the arrival of the "stubborn, willful little girl," a classic archetype in fairy tales. Unlike the traditional victim, this girl is not entirely innocent; she is described as "sneaking around my house, peering / in all the windows." Her actions are marked by curiosity and defiance, reinforcing the idea that she is an agent in her own fate rather than a passive recipient of cruelty. The girl’s parents, aware of the witch’s existence, have issued a stark ultimatum: "If you go, you?re not our daughter anymore." This line heightens the stakes, suggesting that the girl’s disobedience is not merely a childish transgression but a fundamental rupture in her identity and belonging.

The witch claims to have "ways of knowing," reinforcing her supernatural awareness. When the girl arrives at the door, "pale and trembly," the witch questions her, though she already understands the answer: "Why are you so pale?" I ask, although of course I know that too." The girl has seen something terrifying—"a green man on the stairs, and the other one, the red one, and then the devil himself with his head on fire." These figures, possibly spirits or illusions conjured by the witch, serve as an initiation into fear. The phrase "which was me, the witch in her true ornament, as I like to put it," suggests a moment of revelation—the girl has witnessed the witch in her fullest, most terrifying form. The term "true ornament" implies both self-awareness and a hint of vanity, as if the witch embraces the theatrics of her role.

Despite seeing what should have sent her "running home," the girl "walked right in." This is the detail the witch claims she does not fully understand. Why, after witnessing such horrors, would the girl enter willingly? The witch speculates: "Maybe she believed, just then, / that she was no one?s daughter anymore, and had to take her chances, poor thing, inside with me." Here, the poem deepens its emotional complexity. The girl is not merely foolish or reckless—she may feel abandoned, unmoored from the protections of home. The idea that she "had to take her chances" suggests desperation, a loss of faith in the world she came from. This small moment turns the tale into something more than just a battle between good and evil; it becomes a meditation on exile, choice, and fate.

The witch’s response to the girl’s arrival is disturbingly casual: "‘So you’ve come to brighten up my house,’ I said, and changed her into a log." The transformation is presented as almost offhand, as if the witch does not take great pleasure in the act but simply carries out what is expected of her. The phrase "It was an easy trick, and gave me little pleasure." suggests that the act is routine, even inevitable. The final lines underscore the grim practicality of her actions: "But I’d been waiting all day. I was cold, and even that small fire was bright, and warm enough." The girl’s fate is reduced to necessity—the witch needed warmth, and the girl provided it. The brutality of this conclusion is softened by its matter-of-fact tone, making it all the more unsettling.

"Witch’s Story" challenges the reader to reconsider the nature of villainy. The witch does not cackle or revel in cruelty; she simply does what she does, fulfilling her role in the story’s logic. The girl, too, is not wholly innocent—her disobedience, curiosity, and possible sense of abandonment contribute to her fate. The poem suggests that in certain narratives, some outcomes are inevitable, and those who fulfill them do so not out of malice but because the story requires it. By presenting the witch’s perspective, Raab shifts the fairy tale from a moral lesson to a meditation on inevitability, consequence, and the quiet resignation of those who are fated to be feared.

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