Poetry and The Great Gatsby
Obsessive Love
“Non Sum Qualis”, “She Walks in Beauty”
- Gatsby’s obsession of being as close as possible to Daisy: his life is defined by
his obsessiveness of their possible relationship: “If it wasn’t for the mist we
could see your home across the bay.” Her house, and therefore her life are the
only things that guide him.
- Obsesses over her symbolism, not herself: she is objectified as his prize
possession.
Breaks down her physical qualities in each paragraph: assumes that her outer
beauty must be reflected in her inner morality. Admires from afar, does not test
his assumptions.
- Gatsby is obsessed with recovering the love that they once had: his memories
are his driving force, and cloud his rationality.
Speaker is consumed by memories of a fleeting, shallow relationship. Worships
the idea of her almost as though she was a deity. Suggests that he cannot live
without her.
Barriers to love
“The Ruined Maid”, “Song (Ae Fond Kiss)”, “Who So List”
- Class and status being barriers to love: Being ‘old money’ is a status that is
completely out of reach and unobtainable to those who are not descended from
it. It was arguably the most prominent barrier that arose between Daisy and
Gatsby. Equally, class divide was an unconquerable hurdle for Myrtle. Both
Myrtle and Gatsby resulted to superficiality in order to get closer with their
lovers, although in the end, they both die from their futile attempts to associate
themselves with the higher society.
Amelia’s conquest for a higher status has been somewhat fruitful, however her
past of poverty is inescapable and hangs over her. Alike TGG, class is something
that can never truly be imitated successfully.
- Unrequited love- Gatsby is unwaveringly infatuated with Daisy, however Daisy
views Gatsby as a mere fragment of her past. She never returns his advances in
the same way: while G is willing to give up his life and reputation for her (“Was
Daisy driving?... “Yes…but of course I’ll say I was.”), D is consistently hesitant,
and abandons him when he no longer has the support that is so essential for
her.
Speaker rivals against another man for a woman’s attention, however her
loyalty seems to be to wealth and status. However, similarly, the status of the
woman seems to be a large factor of attraction for the speaker.
- The barrier of marriage: Jay Gatsby views Tom as a parasite regarding G’s
pursuit of Daisy. He does not blame Daisy for her marriage, but instead blames
Tom for marrying D, and at times seemingly suggests that D had no choice in
the matter, and that it was against her free will.
, Speaker is in despair as his lover and her husband depart for Jamaica. He
mourns their love and wishes her all the best, however, suggests that their love
will never be diminished, not even by their eternal separation.
Idealised love
‘She Walks in Beauty”
- Gatsby is a prisoner of his own idealised perception of upper-class life, and of
Daisy in particular. He allows himself rather naively to be guided by the illusions
that he has created about himself and others, and is ultimately destroyed by his
inability to accept reality.
SWIB idealises the woman’s beauty by engaging with emotions. The speaker
suggests that the woman’s outer beauty is dependant on her inner beauty. He
casts an idealised view of her as untainted and completely immersed in
goodness, and emphasises that this purity has resulted in her visual
attractiveness.
Love and class
‘The Ruined Maid’, ‘Who So List’
- In the Great Gatsby, love is a tool, used to ensure financial security. Particularly
in Daisy’s case, it seems as though she is blind to the meaning of love itself, as
her only concern is her stability and safety. Somewhat tolerably, she utilises love
to secure her societal status, and she does this by marrying Tom, whose
superiority as a man, and unwavering societal position, could offer her the
stability that she desires.
In ‘The Ruined Maid’, Amelia seeks to free herself from the shackles of poverty
and unrelenting labour, and so she pursues prostitution to fulfil her desire of
financial stability. Alike Daisy, she recognises that in early 20th century society,
especially for women, love is a form of economic survival.
The speaker in ‘Who so List’ describes his ‘playful’ rivalry with another, more
prosperous gentleman over their shared pursuit of a woman. In the end, she
settles for the wealthier man, and though she has no voice within the poem, we
get the impression that her choice was, to an extent, out of practicality, heavily
influenced by her desire for monetary stability. “Graven with diamondes”
Similarly, Myrtle admits that she only married Wilson because she believed that
he was financially well-off, but she later discovers that he cannot provide for her
in the way that she desired, and her illusion of love shatters, showing that her
attraction was aimed solely towards his supposed wealth, and not himself.
Marriage
‘The Flea’, ‘Who So List’
Marriage is not just symbolic, but also physical. It is the physical mingling of two
people, and the speaker of the poem declares that even the mixing of his blood
and his lover’s blood inside the body of a flea means that they are married.
- Regarding D and T’s marriage, their union is far from characterised by love.
Instead, it is a marriage of mutual social advantage, and is dominated by
Obsessive Love
“Non Sum Qualis”, “She Walks in Beauty”
- Gatsby’s obsession of being as close as possible to Daisy: his life is defined by
his obsessiveness of their possible relationship: “If it wasn’t for the mist we
could see your home across the bay.” Her house, and therefore her life are the
only things that guide him.
- Obsesses over her symbolism, not herself: she is objectified as his prize
possession.
Breaks down her physical qualities in each paragraph: assumes that her outer
beauty must be reflected in her inner morality. Admires from afar, does not test
his assumptions.
- Gatsby is obsessed with recovering the love that they once had: his memories
are his driving force, and cloud his rationality.
Speaker is consumed by memories of a fleeting, shallow relationship. Worships
the idea of her almost as though she was a deity. Suggests that he cannot live
without her.
Barriers to love
“The Ruined Maid”, “Song (Ae Fond Kiss)”, “Who So List”
- Class and status being barriers to love: Being ‘old money’ is a status that is
completely out of reach and unobtainable to those who are not descended from
it. It was arguably the most prominent barrier that arose between Daisy and
Gatsby. Equally, class divide was an unconquerable hurdle for Myrtle. Both
Myrtle and Gatsby resulted to superficiality in order to get closer with their
lovers, although in the end, they both die from their futile attempts to associate
themselves with the higher society.
Amelia’s conquest for a higher status has been somewhat fruitful, however her
past of poverty is inescapable and hangs over her. Alike TGG, class is something
that can never truly be imitated successfully.
- Unrequited love- Gatsby is unwaveringly infatuated with Daisy, however Daisy
views Gatsby as a mere fragment of her past. She never returns his advances in
the same way: while G is willing to give up his life and reputation for her (“Was
Daisy driving?... “Yes…but of course I’ll say I was.”), D is consistently hesitant,
and abandons him when he no longer has the support that is so essential for
her.
Speaker rivals against another man for a woman’s attention, however her
loyalty seems to be to wealth and status. However, similarly, the status of the
woman seems to be a large factor of attraction for the speaker.
- The barrier of marriage: Jay Gatsby views Tom as a parasite regarding G’s
pursuit of Daisy. He does not blame Daisy for her marriage, but instead blames
Tom for marrying D, and at times seemingly suggests that D had no choice in
the matter, and that it was against her free will.
, Speaker is in despair as his lover and her husband depart for Jamaica. He
mourns their love and wishes her all the best, however, suggests that their love
will never be diminished, not even by their eternal separation.
Idealised love
‘She Walks in Beauty”
- Gatsby is a prisoner of his own idealised perception of upper-class life, and of
Daisy in particular. He allows himself rather naively to be guided by the illusions
that he has created about himself and others, and is ultimately destroyed by his
inability to accept reality.
SWIB idealises the woman’s beauty by engaging with emotions. The speaker
suggests that the woman’s outer beauty is dependant on her inner beauty. He
casts an idealised view of her as untainted and completely immersed in
goodness, and emphasises that this purity has resulted in her visual
attractiveness.
Love and class
‘The Ruined Maid’, ‘Who So List’
- In the Great Gatsby, love is a tool, used to ensure financial security. Particularly
in Daisy’s case, it seems as though she is blind to the meaning of love itself, as
her only concern is her stability and safety. Somewhat tolerably, she utilises love
to secure her societal status, and she does this by marrying Tom, whose
superiority as a man, and unwavering societal position, could offer her the
stability that she desires.
In ‘The Ruined Maid’, Amelia seeks to free herself from the shackles of poverty
and unrelenting labour, and so she pursues prostitution to fulfil her desire of
financial stability. Alike Daisy, she recognises that in early 20th century society,
especially for women, love is a form of economic survival.
The speaker in ‘Who so List’ describes his ‘playful’ rivalry with another, more
prosperous gentleman over their shared pursuit of a woman. In the end, she
settles for the wealthier man, and though she has no voice within the poem, we
get the impression that her choice was, to an extent, out of practicality, heavily
influenced by her desire for monetary stability. “Graven with diamondes”
Similarly, Myrtle admits that she only married Wilson because she believed that
he was financially well-off, but she later discovers that he cannot provide for her
in the way that she desired, and her illusion of love shatters, showing that her
attraction was aimed solely towards his supposed wealth, and not himself.
Marriage
‘The Flea’, ‘Who So List’
Marriage is not just symbolic, but also physical. It is the physical mingling of two
people, and the speaker of the poem declares that even the mixing of his blood
and his lover’s blood inside the body of a flea means that they are married.
- Regarding D and T’s marriage, their union is far from characterised by love.
Instead, it is a marriage of mutual social advantage, and is dominated by
