Poetry Analysis—TP-CASTT (“Hanging Fire”)-look at next page for sample analysis
BY AUDRE LORDE
I am fourteen
and my skin has betrayed me
the boy I cannot live without
still sucks his thumb
in secret
how come my knees are
always so ashy
what if I die
before morning
and momma's in the bedroom
with the door closed.
I have to learn how to dance
in time for the next party
my room is too small for me
suppose I die before graduation
they will sing sad melodies
but finally
tell the truth about me
There is nothing I want to do
and too much
that has to be done
and momma's in the bedroom
with the door closed.
Nobody even stops to think
about my side of it
I should have been on Math Team
my marks were better than his
why do I have to be
the one
wearing braces
I have nothing to wear tomorrow
will I live long enough
to grow up
and momma's in the bedroom
with the door closed
T
P
TITLE
PARAPHRASE
C
CONNOTATION
A
ATTITUDE
S
T
T
SHIFTS
TITLE
THEME
The title of this poem is “Hanging Fire.” This could have a variety of
different meanings. When I first think about the title, I think about something
“hanging” overhead. It seems like there may be some impending doom.
Something bad may happen in this poem, but the reader is not quite sure of
what that may be.
I am fourteen and I feel like my skin has failed me in my time of need
The boy I like is still sucking his thumb, and it is very childish
Why is my skin always so dry? I don’t understand.
What if I die tonight, and momma doesn’t even know because she won’t
come out of the bedroom?
…
In line 2, the author refers to her skin “betraying me.” This is a
personification that may represent that she feels uncomfortable in her skin.
This lack of comfort could be because she is a teenager with acne, or it may
be that she feels uncomfortable with the color of her skin.
�The poet mentions the “boy I cannot live without” in line 3. This is an
example of a hyperbole. Most certainly, she will continue to live if the boy
she likes is not in her life, but, perhaps, like most teenagers, she feels as if life
as she knows it will cease to exist if she does not love this person and he does
not love her back. Of course, she knows that he is childish, as she implies
when she indicates that he “still sucks his thumb in secret, but she doesn’t see
her own childishness in the previous statement about not being able to live
without him.
The attitude in this poem is one of self-pity. The speaker seems to be in a bad
mood and is feeling sorry for herself. She rambles on and on about what’s
going on in her life and how no one seems to care for or give a second
thought about her. The tone may come off to some as whining.
One key shift occurs at the end of each stanza “and momma’s in the
bedroom. . . .” This shift indicates that the speaker has all of these things
going on in her life and, in addition to it all, her mother is not there for
support and guidance. The “and” leads the reader to believe that momma
being absent is just one of those things that the speaker is used to but is still
hurt by.
“Hanging Fire” is a term that means to delay action, to stop progress, or to
hang back. This is a fitting title for this poem because many of the issues that
the speaker has are those that could cause her to have arrested development.
Perhaps she can’t progress if she is worried about her skin color being a
disadvantage, or she feels the absence of her mother during this time in her
life is critical. Hanging fire could also mean just a delay in her present
action(s) to ponder some of the issues that are going on in her life – maybe
she’s simply pausing to think.
The theme of this poem is that, often, people fear dealing with their problems
alone. When there is no support from loved ones, it may make the smallest
problems seem insurmountable.