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Difficulty: HardAllusion and Intertextuality

Read the following poem carefully before answering the question.

The Return

They called me back into the stinging light,
Unwinding linen from my stiffened clay,
And cheered the miracle that broke the night,
As if the dark were some malignant way.
But in that quiet vault, no shadows crept;
The silence was a cool, unbroken shield.
I did not dream, nor wish, but simply slept,
A crop forgotten in a winter field.
Now, bound again to breath and heavy bone,
I watch their celebration from afar,
And mourn the peace I gathered all alone,
Dragged back to carry this unwelcome star.

In the poem, how does the speaker’s allusion to a biblical resurrection (suggested by the "linen" and "miracle" in lines 2 and 3) function to subvert traditional expectations of rebirth?

  1. A
    emphasize the speaker's fear of the afterlife and their desire to remain permanently in the physical world
  2. B
    illustrate the speaker’s profound gratitude toward the community that restored them to a life of purposeful labor
  3. establish an ironic contrast between the traditional celebration of a miracle and the speaker's resentment of being returned to mortal existenceAnswer
  4. D
    identify the historical and cultural framework of the biblical narrative to categorize the speaker's experience
  5. E
    suggest that the poet is expressing their own biographical desire to escape the demands of writing through the persona of Lazarus

Answer

The allusion to resurrection establishes an ironic contrast between the traditional celebration of a miracle and the speaker's resentment of being returned to mortal existence.
The correct answer is correct because the allusion to the resurrection of Lazarus traditionally carries associations of joy, divine favor, and a triumph over death. However, the speaker in the poem subverts these associations by describing the resurrection as an unwelcome disruption of the peaceful, silent rest of the grave. The contrast between the onlookers' celebration of the 'miracle' and the speaker's own grief and resentment at being 'dragged back' to the physical world creates a profound sense of irony, using the intertextual reference to complicate the concept of rebirth.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the allusion within the poem's context.
The references to 'unwinding linen' and the 'miracle' of being called back from the dead point to the biblical narrative of Lazarus being resurrected.
Recognizing the source material is the necessary starting point for intertextual analysis.
2
Analyze the tone and attitude of the speaker toward this resurrection.
The speaker uses negative imagery ('stinging light', 'unwelcome star') to describe life, while describing death as a peaceful, silent sanctuary ('cool, unbroken shield', 'simply slept').
Determining the speaker's attitude reveals how the poem's tone compares to the traditional connotations of the allusion.
3
Evaluate the function of the allusion in relation to the poem's overall theme.
The allusion subverts the traditional view of resurrection as a blessed event, using it instead to highlight the ironic agony of being forced back into mortal life from peaceful death.
Synthesizing the tone and allusion establishes the correct interpretation of the poem's primary thematic conflict.

Key Concept

Allusion and Intertextuality in Poetry
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Topics

Allusion and Intertextuality

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