In Mind (1964). Detailed description

Appearing in her 1964 collection O Taste and See, “In Mind” was written relatively early in Levertov’s career. It demonstrates, however, a stylistic and a conceptual maturity that mark the height of her power as a poet. Although it first seems a simple description of two different, or even opposite, women, an attempt to interpret the poem makes clear its propelling suggestive force.

Beginning with the title, Levertov positions the poem to comment on more than simply two specific women. “In Mind” leads to (at least) two possibilities. As the first line explains, the women exist “in my mind.” Many critics understand my to mean Levertov herself, or, more generally, the mind of a poet. That reading suggests that the two women symbolize distinct parts of the poet’s consciousness. Levertov often commented on the complexity of her own psyche as well as the psyches of artists in general. However, we can also read the first line as the speaker’s understanding of two distinct stereotypes of women, not necessarily having anything to do with the poet herself.

Either way we decide to read the poem, the first line and the title taken together imply some sort of conflict between the two women. First we read of an “unadorned” and “clean” woman described as having straight brown hair and smelling of familiar objects, “apples or grass” (Selected Poems 43). As far as white women within the Western literary tradition go, she is very plain. The second half of the poem describes a more colorful woman adorned with opals and feathers, a woman “who knows strange songs” (43). The speaker conditions both descriptions with qualifiers stated in the negative. The plain woman “has / no imagination.” The “turbulent moon-ridden” woman “is not kind” (43).

By highlighting what the women do not have, the speaker implies a lack in their personalities. Lacking those qualities—imagination and kindness—the characters seem incomplete and therefore somehow unappealing. The use of enjambment reinforces the tension caused by imperfections. Enjambment is the breaking of a line at an unnatural pause, where it does not end with a comma, a period, or another form of punctuation that forces the reader to pause or stop. Levertov wrote and spoke extensively on the poetic line. She said on numerous occasions that she considered an enjambed line break to be a minor pause in the reading rhythm, something like a half-comma.

Using her rule, then, we notice that the majority of lines in the poem include a pause in places we would not normally add one. The effect breaks up our natural rhythm by disrupting single thoughts. As two women exist within the consciousness of one mind, two ideas often exist within one thought. Notice places in the poem where enjamb- ment creates almost conflicting ideas. For example, Levertov divides “but she has / no imagination” so that reading the first part we assume that the woman has something. The second half of the sentence, however, turns to describe something that she does not have.

A similar tension characterizes the entire poem, which dramatizes the conflict between contrasting but similarly incomplete women. Levertov does not seek to resolve the conflict or the tension. She constructs a relationship between these women and leaves the reader to ponder why they are entangled and what the entanglement means. As Levertov herself always encouraged social involvement, “In Mind” encourages reader involvement by provoking a desire to understand the relationship it describes.

For Discussion or Writing
1. Levertov’s poems “Earthwoman and Water- woman” and “The Woman” use similar imagery to create a separation between two types of women. Read all three poems and compare the effect such divisions have on each poem. Do all three create the same sort of tension? Does such a persistent tension have larger implications for Levertov’s depiction of women in poetry?

2. Assuming that Levertov made conscious and careful decisions about the imagery she uses in “In Mind,” write a paper about her intentions. What particular type of women did she want readers to imagine? Where have you encountered women like these in literature before? Do you consider her descriptions archetypical or specific to Lever- tov’s mind?

3. Knowing that Levertov pays particular attention to lineation, notice how she groups lines in “In Mind.” What do the patterns and indentations suggest about the poem as a whole?