I was born in the Congo.
I walked to the Fertile Crescent and built the sphinx.
I designed a pyramid so tough that a star
that only glows every one hundred years falls
into the center giving divine perfect light.
I am bad.
I sat on the throne
drinking nectar with Allah.
I got hot and sent an ice age to Europe
to cool my thirst.
My oldest daughter is Nefertiti.
The tears from my birth pains
created the Nile.
I am a beautiful woman.
I gazed on the forest and burned
out the Sahara desert.
With a packet of goat's meat
and a change of clothes,
I crossed it in two hours.
I am a gazelle so swift,
so swift you can't catch me.
For a birthday present when he was three,
I gave my son Hannibal an elephant.
He gave me Rome for mother's day.
My strength flows ever on.
My son Noah built an ark and
I stood proudly at the helm
as we sailed on a soft summer day.
I turned myself into myself and was Jesus.
Men intone my loving name.
All praises all praises,
I am the one who would save.
I sowed diamonds in my back yard.
My bowels deliver uranium.
The filings from my fingernails are
semi-precious jewels.
On a trip north,
I caught a cold and blew
my nose giving oil to the Arab world.
I am so hip even my errors are correct.
I sailed west to reach east and had to round off
the earth as I went.
The hair from my head thinned and gold was laid
across three continents.
I am so perfect so divine so ethereal so surreal.
I cannot be comprehended except by my permission.
I mean...I...can fly
like a bird in the sky...
When I first read "Ego Tripping", I thought that the message was that amidst exaggeration or lies, there is truth. I came to this conclusion about the truth with the interspersed, realistic, simple lines: "I was born in the Congo" (line 1), "I am bad" (line 7), "I am a beautiful woman" (15), etc. However, I thought that there must be a connection to the religious allusions in some way, so I looked the poem up. According to one source, "she went deep inside of her soul and sort of transformed herself spiritually. She created a new person in herself and it was brought to the outside. It was as if she was reincarnated into herself" (http://www.exampleessays.com/viewpaper/94213.html). In other words, the narrator is exploring different religions by envisioning herself as a friend of Allah and mother of Nefertiti and Noah. Furthermore, the title ego tripping literally means "getting high on your ego and hallucinating" these impossible situations (http://www.emule.com/2poetry/phorum/read.php?6,184592). The next source explains the theme is "empowerment; she uses all of the allusions to support it (exaggerating of course). She is a black woman and an activist - whether she wants to express that black people are powerful, or that women are powerful, I don't know" (http://www.emule.com/2poetry/phorum/read.php?6,184592). I had never thought of this interpretation, however it seems highly plausible because Giovanni is a civil rights activist and writes about the lives of African Americans in a realistic light. The first stanza/line of the poem is the origin of this connection to Africa, followed by later "I am a beautiful woman" (line 15), which establishes the feminist or black pride motif (http://ledascholars.blogspot.com/). The poem ends with a hopeful, uplifting sentiment utilizing the image of a bird flying. Three literary terms are allusion, hyperbole, and simile. In parts of the poem, the allusions act as a hyperbole in that the narrator is claiming inconceivable actions and lineages: "For a birthday present when he was three, I gave my son Hannibal an elephant. He gave me Rome for mother's day" (lines 23-25). The simile "I mean...I...can fly like a bird in the sky..." (lines 48-49) promotes the uplifting, promising future for, perhaps, black women.
I found that many different interpretations could apply to this poem. Which makes the most sense to you and why?
ReplyDeleteI loved the ending of this poem, the mysterious and somewhat serious tone switched and the last line reminded me of children on the playground always trying to one-up each other.
ReplyDeleteI was very confused by what this poem was trying to accomplish but I wondered if it was an atheist's view of religion. It has an egotistical voice that describes different religious (and secular) events through history. I felt that the egotism was to criticize how every religion claims that their's is the one, true belief. I felt that Giovanni was saying that religions often claim miraculous events as the outcome of their beliefs. I think Giovanni was saying that she feels that religion causes conflict with all the different opinions thinking they are right. The last line seems to be her poking fun at religion claiming that she can fly maybe thanks to her "religion".
This is juts a shot in the dark but it's the interpretation that I could come come up with.
So you believe that there exists a satirical undertone to the poem, originating in all the hyperbole? I can understand where you are coming from and I had never thought of this interpretation. From what I have read and listened to by Giovanni, it seems unlike her to poke fun at religion. I do,however, know she is a strong advocate for black pride. Did you see this interpretation anywhere in the poem or do you think it is kind of a stretch?
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this poem, I immediately was under the impression that Giovanni was comparing herself to mother nature. The poem includes many references to nature, such as an ice age (line 9) and the Sahara desert (line 16). Giovanni also alludes to many different people in different time periods and says how she was part of all of them. The poem seems to be a riddle, like the reader is supposed to guess who the speaker is.
ReplyDeleteI can see both interpretations that were presented about reincarnation and empowerment. I think my interpretation relates more closely to the first source, reincarnation of herself. I agree with Marianna about the end of the poem and how the tone completely switches. However, I did not see this poem as an atheist's view of religion, but that is an interesting way of viewing it.
I agree with Michaela. At first glance, I also thought the speaker was intended to be mother nature, and it almost came across as one of those children poems, "Who Am I?". Having partially read the biography you gave on Giovanni, I felt that perhaps she was trying for this effect. By making the reader feel as if they are guessing who she is, they treat the poem almost like a game, jumping from one event to the next. Rapidly, the speaker moves through major events and allusions as if she were speeding through time, and eventually taking off in flight by the end. As much of a stretch as it may be, I think that Giovanni was attempting to reveal that, as women(indicated by "I am a beautiful woman" as well as undertones of a woman voice) moved through history, they together form an immense power. Here, I believe, is where Mother Nature comes in. With references to women throughout, Giovanni is perhaps epitomizing this "woman power" theme by narrating the poem with the voice of Mother Nature. She could be subtly hinting at the fact that this huge span of earth's history(good or bad), was in essence, born by Mother Nature. Mother Nature is the ultimate feminine power-figure, as she has existed since the beginning of time, and throughout it all has carried the title of Mother and Powerful Force. Therefore, if I were to pick from any of your interpretations, I would most definitely go with woman-empowerment. Again, it may be a stretch, but I feel that in the end, after having perhaps alluded to the ideas I have mentioned, Giovanni encourages the reader to take flight and to continue on with life remembering that "I can fly", alluding to the history that Mother Nature has already, metaphorically, made "fly" and encouraging the reader to follow . (I tried my best to interpret this poem in the best way that I could...)
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts go along with your empowerment of women interpretation, Emma, as well as the mother nature idea that Michaela and Kate have analyzed. As Kate has mentioned, the consistent use of “I” paired with historical events natural occurrences assimilate the speaker as a ‘mother nature’ that has transcended time. I believe that there are definitely feminist undertones through the references to women like “The tears from my birth pains/created the Nile.” and “I gave my son Hannibal an elephant./He gave me Rome for mother's day.” This poem reminds me of the one that we read in class, “It’s a Women’s World” where women are recognized as the ones who have run the world in their own subtle behind-the-scenes kind of way while in Giovanni’s poem, women are directly praised and empowered through lines such as “I am a beautiful woman.” and “My strength flows ever on.” They are even equated to significant biblical figures like Noah and Jesus, giving women important roles such as “… the one who would save.”
ReplyDeleteI like how the final lines, “I mean...I...can fly/like a bird in the sky...” gives the reader a moment to breathe after a laudatory poem jam packed with allusions.