RAISING HAND MELODY

Raising hand.
Raising
Yes and are you
I don’t know
Why
It is hard to remember
You and memory and memory I and memory you and you and memory I and I and memory
I remember
Raising hand melody.


This poem uses the combination of general and personal which Stein often employs (see: Lifting Belly); the poem is clearly personal in nature, but vague in detail. It is clearly a reflection on a specific event, but the context of tone (fearful, reminiscent, angry) is necessary to convey specific meaning. For example, line 6, if read negatively, could mean that the persona does not want to remember the event- “raising a hand” could in this case be a beating. However, if read nostalgically, line 6 could be the words of an old woman recounting a pleasant memory of meeting someone (a hand raised in greeting).
Techniques used (found in Stein’s works):
• Combination and permutation of a few words (line 7)
• Homophones: memory and melody
• Multiple meanings: “raising hand” could be abusive, could be a signal (raising hand in class)
• Context-dependent meaning
• Conscious narration (line 8)
• Relationship (you and I, line 7) as a topic
• (Potentially) dialogue demarcated by lines (lines 4, 5, 6)
• Concrete image (line 1)