Finuala Dowling's poem "To the Doctor Who Treated the Raped Baby and Who Felt Such Despair" is quite unusually titled! First of all, the title is long—especially for a piece which is so short by comparison. There are thirteen words in the title and it is physically longer on the page than any of the lines in the poem. For readers, this makes a visual impact about the importance of the title. Another reason the...
Finuala Dowling's poem "To the Doctor Who Treated the Raped Baby and Who Felt Such Despair" is quite unusually titled! First of all, the title is long—especially for a piece which is so short by comparison. There are thirteen words in the title and it is physically longer on the page than any of the lines in the poem. For readers, this makes a visual impact about the importance of the title. Another reason the title stands out is the graphic nature. Not only does the phrase "Raped Baby" produce an extremely negative reation, but the title also references despair. The title holds key phrases to immediately alert readers to the abhorrent subject matter referenced in the work. Another note of interest concerning the word choice it that the word "rape" never occurs in the body of the poem, only the title. This creates a relationship between the title and the poem wherein each is strengthened in meaning by the other. The poem begins:
I just want to say on behalf of us all / that on the night in question / there was a light on in the hall / for a nervous little sleeper (lines 1-4)
Because the title made clear what the issue at hand was, readers already understand the reference before going any further into the work. In fact, without the title, the injuries and treatments described in the poem might be interpreted as a variety of events.
Dowling, Finuala. "To the Doctor who Treated the Raped Baby and Who Felt Such Despair." Poetry International, 2004.
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