She follows this with a strong choice of words
“It’ll amaze you the company I keep-
And ill keep them at arms length”
The choice of word, amaze shows that will be unusual and shocking. Also the – at then end acts a bit like an ellipsis, this tells the reader that there’s more to come and that it also links in with the previous sentence.
Also the metaphor used shows that she will keep people away from her; she wont let them get too close, incase she gets hurt again, both physically and mentally. Showing that she has been hurt previously and doesn’t want to go through the ordeal again.
The poet uses another metaphor to back up the same point.
“I’ve hauled my heart in off my sleeve”
This means that she will not let anyone get close to her heart or have her heart, meaning that she will stop her self falling back in love. This suggests that her past experience has not gone well. Also, its past tense meaning she has already done it and moved on. The word hauled also implies that it was hard work, which suggests that she didn’t want to do it and it wasn’t easy for her.
In the next stanza the post uses a metaphor to show how the character feels about her behavior;
“I’ll let my hair down”
The poet is trying to say that the character is relaxing and going to enjoy herself; she is going to do what she wants.
The next line is using a stereotypical image to explain the woman’s actions;
“Go Blonde”
This is trying to imply that blondes have more fun, so she wants to have as much fun as possible.
The woman’s actions are described in a metaphor;
“Be a bombshell”
The woman is trying to say that she appears different to what she actually is; it’s the image of something fake & pretending to be something. The character is trying to say that inside she is cold and dangerous.
In the next line another metaphor is used to describe the woman.
“Ill gold-dig, ill be frankly fake”
The metaphor used for gold-dig shows that she is just with men to get their money, suggesting that she is very materialistic, and will go to tremendous lengths to get what she wants. Also the choice of words on frankly fake has a double meaning; firstly, it means that she will be honestly be a liar, plastic and not what she seems, pretending to like men, when she doesn’t. These are an oxymoron, because honest and fake are opposites.
As the poem develops, the words used to describe the character, her thoughts and her actions (past/present/future) become more menacing; various sinister things are mentioned such as, daggers, kill and hell.
The pinnacle of the characters menacing behavior begins;
“I’d frighten the French
Ill be a torment, haunt men’s dreams
Ill wear my stockings black with seams.”
The choice of words used, torment, haunt & black are used to correspond to someone, in this case the character. They show “dark” images which suggest that she is dangerous maybe even evil.
She also says that she would frighten the French, because of the stereotypical image of the French being good lovers, so saying that she is even better! Also alliteration is used, to emphasize this fact.
Dreams and seams is a rhyme, which suggests that her thought are neat and orderly, which contrasts to the previous half rhymes.
The last line of this stanza shows the characters views on stereotypical women.
“Ill wear my stockings black with seams”
She is describing what she thinks a promiscuous woman looks like and how this is how she wants to be seen; this suggests that she knows about this particular topic well.
In the next verse the narrator is trying to make her self seem more attractive
“I’ll rouge my cleavage, flaunt myself”
This again is backing up her main aim, to become fake and plastic, not be her true self. It maybe to make someone jealous, and also to get attention from other men; to her flaunting her self is the only way.
The next line contains a double meaning
“My heels will be perilously high, oh
But I won’t sway”
The heels are not literally high; again she is trying to say that she wants to get noticed & be above everyone else. It also signifies her behavior; dangerous and shocking, the choice of word on perilous shows that it is shocking and scary. Also, the choice of word on sway can be used to describe the character on 2 levels; she won’t fall off her heels & she won’t let anyone push her around.
In the following line, it describes her behavior around men;
“Ill shrug everything off my shoulder”
The poet is commenting on the characters appearance and thoughts, the character won’t care what people think about her, she is happy as long as they are talking about her; she will just ignore it and do whatever she wants to do.
The last couple of lines in the last stanza describe how the woman will act of around other people.
“Make wisecracks, be witty of the cuff.
Tell blue jokes in mixed company”
This means that she will act clever and witty around both men and women. Also the choice of word on cuff shows how the poet uses various parts of the characters body to describe the characters actions.
The poet then describes the character like an item in auction;
“Ill be a bad lot”
The poet is trying to say that with this woman, you won’t know what you’re buying, until the very end, just like an auction.
The poet uses a metaphor to describe the characters appearance;
“I’ve a brass neck, there is mayhem in my smile”
The metaphor used on brass neck suggests that she is arrogant, she doesn’t care what people think of her, not anymore.
The choice of word on mayhem shows the characters true self. Also, the rhyme used on smile and style shows that she understands herself now and she is not confused.
To conclude, I think that the character shown in this poem is a smart middle-aged woman, who has been pushed on to the wrong path in life. She is trying to make her life as best as possible by trying to make the best of the little assets she owns.
She is simply in the course of a low point in her life.
