The title of this poem is unusual because of its subject matter. We all know that sexual crimes are among the worst crimes that can be perpetrated on any human being, but our sensibilities are further aroused when a defenseless infant is subjected to such horrific abuse. The title is both shocking and poignant.
The title is also unusual because the poet, Finuala Dowling, is addressing her poem to an anonymous doctor; this leaves us...
The title of this poem is unusual because of its subject matter. We all know that sexual crimes are among the worst crimes that can be perpetrated on any human being, but our sensibilities are further aroused when a defenseless infant is subjected to such horrific abuse. The title is both shocking and poignant.
The title is also unusual because the poet, Finuala Dowling, is addressing her poem to an anonymous doctor; this leaves us with several questions that are not answered by the content of the poem. We are led to ponder the intentions of the poet in choosing the title and content of her poem:
1) Who is this doctor? Is Dowling writing about a fictional or real medical emergency? By implication, is the rape fiction or did it really happen?
2) Is the doctor successful in saving the life of the infant?
3) Is tending to a brutalized infant a common experience in this doctor's line of work?
The word "despair" in the title highlights the doctor's efforts in saving the baby's life. It also describes the doctor's emotional state in reference to the operation; her sense of helplessness is evident in her anguished cry for providential intervention.
and when finally you stood exhausted at the end of her cot
and asked, “Where is God?”
So, yes, the title of the poem is effective because it draws the reader's attention to the doctor's humanity and to the execrable crime against an innocent and defenseless baby. Above all else, the title challenges us to ponder the contradictions of life as we read the poem itself.
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