Litany

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2002

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

A litany is a list-like series of formulaic pleas, most often used for religious purposes; the word also connotes a boring and tedious recitation of something in list form. Collins merges this second meaning of the term and the classic poetic structure of the blazon, or a poem enumerating a beloved’s best qualities via a series of metaphors, and inverts it, joining the humorous tradition of the counterblazon.

The poem consists of an epigram followed by seven stanzas of varying lengths. It is written in Collins’s distinctive free verse, lacking meter or rhyme. However, Collins uses repetition to give the poem a sense of rhythm.

The poem juxtaposes the upper register of classic poetry form with the conversational syntax of contemporary speech: Colloquial phrases like “There is just no way” (Line 11) undercut the old-fashioned high tone.

Metaphor

“Litany” is a long string of metaphors, or comparisons that do not use the distancing words “like” or “as.” These often-tongue-in-cheek metaphors satirize the overreliance of love poets on clichéd imagery and vague abstraction. The speaker applies the metaphors to the beloved seemingly at random, declaring the beloved to be some things and not other thing without explanation. Several of the metaphors are one-offs, tossed out and then quickly discarded: “you are not the wind in the orchard, / the plums on the counter, / or the house of cards” (Lines 7-9). Others are repeated to draw particular attention to the metaphors, such as “the pine-scented air” (Lines 10, 11) or “the bread and the knife” (Lines 27, 28, 29).

The opening stanza uses metaphors associated with morning and new beginnings: fresh bread, morning dew, a rising sun. While seemingly complimentary, these comparisons offer no truly intimate knowledge of the beloved. The poem then takes a turn, presenting a series of metaphors that the subject of the poem is not, such as “the field of cornflowers at dusk” (Line 15). Because the abstract nature of the metaphors again prevents readers from gleaning any meaning, the effect is humorous: This reads like an insult because the beloved has nothing in common with this beautiful scene.

The surfeit of confusing metaphors eventually depicts the relationship between speaker and beloved, who connect through a shared sense of humor. The poem finally circles back to its original metaphor, which takes on new meaning as a repeated inside joke that highlights its ridiculousness as an earnest portrayal of love.

Repetition

The poem relies heavily on repetition to structure its free verse. In the first stanza, the repetition is quite regular; the first, third, and fifth lines begin “You are” and contain a comparative metaphor. The second stanza shifts this pattern. Although the poem continues using the phrase “you are,” it is buried in the middle of Lines 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, and 17, separated from the line beginning by one or more words, which takes emphasis away from the phrase and gives it a more casual feel. Only when the poem draws to a close does the repeated phrase “you are” once again takes precedence: “You are still the bread and the knife” (Line 28). This moves the reader’s attention away from the string of comparisons and back onto the beloved.

The final stanza also repeats the phrase “the bread and the knife” (Lines 27, 28, 29) three times in a row. This metaphor bookends the poem, which opens by citing the work of another poet and ends with a parodic recitation of the same lines, but this time highlighted to demonstrate their nonsensical illogic.