I like a look of Agony Analysis

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I like a look of Agony,
Because I know it's true—
Men do not sham Convulsion,
Nor simulate, a Throe—

The Eyes glaze once—and that is Death—
Impossible to feign
The Beads upon the Forehead
By homely Anguish strung.

.: :.

To me, this poem speaks volumes of truth. She isn’t saying that the look of agony gives her some great pleasure, but rather that she knows it to be true. She knows that people cannot fake a true look of agony. There is too much of one’s past and emotion that true agony pulls out. In the first two lines, she is saying exactly what the poem says, that she likes a look of agony because she knows it to be true, she knows that people cannot fake it. The third and fourth lines are saying that men do not put on false pains. I don’t think that she means that people don’t fake physical pain, but rather a deep emotional pain. In the second half of the poem, she is saying that only once do you die, and that again, cannot be acted, it’s impossible to act that out. The beads of sweat that lie on the forehead are because of some anguish. I don’t think that she meant for the death talked about there to be an easy death, such as in your sleep, but one that is sad and long and hard.
This poem is one of a series that she wrote, giving each section a title, and she calls this title “Real.” That, to me, is the perfect title for this poem. She likes real emotion, not some act someone puts on for attention.

| Posted on 2008-05-04 | by a guest