Okay all you ladies out there, how do you feel about this poem? Is there anything about "The Guitarist Tunes Up" that has you feeling a little ticked off? How do you feel about being, figuratively speaking, the guitar? Not lovin' it? That could be a reaction to the poem's mid 20th century notion of what it was to be a woman, which is to say—not much. Back in ye olden times (okay, sixty years ago), women were often objectified in the name of love. Need an example? Oh, how about being compared to a guitar?
Questions About Women and Femininity
- What words would you use to describe the she in the poem? We don't know too much about her (the poem is only 8 lines long) but what do you imagine her personality is like? Why?
- Why do you think Cornford chose to use a guitar in this poem as opposed to some other instrument? If you had to choose an instrument to represent you, what would it be? Why?
- Don't like the vibe of this poem? Change it. How might you rewrite the poem with a more modern sense of femininity and relationships?
Chew on This
Despite her qualifying description, "Not as a lordly conqueror," Cornford's depiction of femininity and male-female relationships still places the woman in a subservient position reflecting mid 20th century societal norms.
In terms of describing male-female interaction from a female perspective, "The Guitarist Tunes Up" is basically like a mid 20th century version of Sex in the City.