Touch Poem

Touch- Hugh Lewin Title: A need for loving contact and connection that is disrupted with (ironically) harsh contact. Does not tell us whether it is about positive touch or negative touch. In the poem the speaker wants loving touch but what he receives is brutal touch from the prison guards which is violation. Guards hurt him and strip him off his humanity. Touch refers to a noun. Touch can also be seen as T-ouch : ouch showing pain. Structure/ Form: Structure: Free verse with one stanza of short, fragmented lines. Structure is important as it gives us the vessel- how the poem is delivered. Significance: Reinforces fragmentation while in prison- needs healing touch. Sense of irony as speaker is not free. Structure is important as it gives us the vessel- how the poem is delivered. Touch is prison makes him feel inhumane. The structure is free verse however, speaker is not free hence ironic. Tone: Plaintive- sounding sad and mournful. What comes to mind when touch comes to mind? Important sensory experience. Important from birth for development. Author Born in 1939, under old apartheid regime. He studied at Rhodes University- liberal university. He became a freedom fighter and was found guilty for sabotage against the government. He spent 7 years in prison. He then went into exile- you are forced to flee. Poem About his experience while being incarcerated. It was not easy as he was Caucasian, liberal and against government. Important remarks: The person is probably in prison/ detention or some form of Confinement. The persona is longing to get out. “When I get out he or she has been held in inhuman conditions. By “ touch “ he/she means being treated like a human being, loving and being loved. “Touch” means the freedom to express his or her emotions freely, spontaneously. “touch” the literal, physical touch. During the seven years of confinement, the persona has been treated like a pariah. He/ she says, I’ve learnt to know the meaning of untouchable. The persona has also been brutalized. He/ she was subjected to extreme violence. “ fierce mad fists, beating…” Finally, the persona experienced utmost indignity. He/ she was humiliated and denied any form of privacy ….” Searching – arms up, shoes off, legs apart …. Probing away all privacy.” Analysis: Line 1- when I get out shows that he is incarcerated. Someone is so general almost going to ask anyone. Note of desperation. Touch sounds so basic. Line 2- gently and slowly adverbs- indicate a tender sensitive engagement which is required from speaker. Repetition indicates how badly how he is searching for a kind spirit. Line 7-9- Again conveys the sense that the speaker has almost forgotten what it feels like. Living and existing difference. Existing is in the prison for daily survival. He wants to live life now that he is out. He has a great need to fulfil. Stanza 2 He elaborates that he has not been touched for 7 years. Implies no normal human contact. Repetition is emphasising the length of time. Line 13- untouched: it has not affected the emotions. Line 14- out of touch: being isolated from others such as family and he is unaware of what is happening in other situations. Line 18- untouchable: unable to touch. Figurative meaning= society dictates that you are avoided and shunned. Hindu caste system: lower cannot ascend to certain positions and can never marry of higher caste. It is a very sad state of affairs. A person who is despised. They are all negative. Stanza 3 Untouched not quite- punctuation the dash shows the interruption of the statement to show it is not quite true. It substantiates stanza 1,2 and 4,5. Centralizing function to all stanzas. Stanza 4 One fists- are referring to the physical ill treatment that he endured in prison associated with aggression and harshness. Fists that beat him into submission. Line 27- the screaming was his response to the beatings. He endured abusive beatings to injure. Don’t touch me- encapsulates so much pain and isolation. It is him against those forces. He cannot defend himself. Stanza 5 He lists the second type of touch he has experienced. Paws suggest animal rather than human attributes. It is deliberate use of word. Paws suggest ill treatment. Quietly intrusive. Paws are demeaning. The paws demoralize him. Patting paws- alliteration, soft sound not as harsh as the beating. Line 32 to end of stanza 5- he is talking about the bodily searches. This is the lack of privacy in prison. Indifferent- no feeling and no emotion from person violating the privacy. Line 33 and 36 alliteration suggests the quiet intrusion of the searching. Suggest the quiet indignity one endures in prison. Line 32 is powerful as it suggests the repetitive indignity. Line 38 and 39 probing away all privacy- that is demeaning. Alliteration becomes progressive in their intrusion- reaches a peak at the word privacy in line 39. Endure this systematically- it crushes your spirit. Stanza 6 He has had enough. Look at the placing of the words- forced to move your eyes. You are absorbing the impact of his reality. It is an emotional reminder of human interaction through the sense of touch and to touch. He wants to reciprocate. Line 45 and 47 there is a shift of emphasis- I. He wants to feel alive same as line 8 and 9. Both statements show his needs to feel human again. Sense of dominance in meaning coming through personal pronoun. He wants control after being a victim. Line 48 and 49- the tone is a dignified request. Touch will restore his humanity. He is vulnerable. The poem when a long time is spent in prison. The prisoner loses his humanity through positive interaction with other all he experiences is negative interaction. Prison is dehumanizing. Questions: a) Where do you think the personal is? Briefly explain your answer. b) What do you think the persona means by 'touch'? c) Using two illustrations, describe the persona’s experience during the seven years d) What is the significance of the word paws ? e) Which device does the poet use to reinforce the theme? f) Explain the meaning of the following words as they are used in the poem Prodding Indifferent g) What does the poem reveal about human need?