During the Poetry Writing classes this semester I have been exposed to so many new poets and poems I’ve never heard of before. One of the poems that particularly caught my attention was “Museum” by Richie Hofmann. I researched Hofmann and discovered many more of his poems that really spoke to me: “Lamb,” “Night Star (A poem for Sunday),” and “Breed Me.” He often talks about gods, stars in the sky, love, and references classical art and literature. Through language, raw honest imagery, and contextual juxtaposition in “Breed Me,” Richie Hofmann illustrates with playful and heart-felt self-awareness the complicated and conflicting desires in intimate relationships that often result in both pain and pleasure.
LANGUAGE
There’s a playfully honest and self-aware nod in the line “Angelic Richie with bite marks…” because the writer refers to his own possible fall from grace in the third person, almost in the tone of a parent scolding a naughty child (Hofmann). When cleanliness is referenced, “…in such a clean room,” it’s not clear if this line is facetious or not (Hofmann). The next line seems to lead the reader to believe the room might actually be clean because of the reinforcing sentiment of the writer that he “deplores clutter” (Hofmann). A lot of people’s clutter comes from meaningful objects they’ve collected to preserve memories, indicating the writer may not want to remember the past. It’s like the writer is saying he only wants the present moment, a reflection that may be supported by the observation that he likes flowers. Whether the flowers are cut and in a vase or a potted little bush, flowers don’t have a long life span and also are the plant’s sexual organs, again possibly indicating a fleeting sexual encounter. In addition, the focus on the singular element of the flowers allowed in the clutter-free room, indicates that the flowers (sexual relationship) may be fleeting but meaningful. The phrases Hofmann uses in the description of the cut peonies in the “tall drinking glass” evokes a reference to the commonly used term for a tall good-looking man: A “tall glass of water” (Hofmann). In case the reader still wasn’t sure if the writer was referencing the “nether regions” in symbolic and epithetic language, he directly compares the flowers to underwear. Peonies, very full and voluptuous flowers, are named after the Greek “physician of the gods” (P.). Additionally, peonies, the roots, seeds and petals, were used as medicine in ancient times. They also have a history of symbolizing bashfulness, in additional to happy marriages, good fortune, and good luck. I like the association of peonies with underwear, rarely anyone unexpectedly caught in their underwear is not even a little bashful. This nod to self-awareness again adds a realness to the poem that makes the topic of intense sexual relationships more grounded and heart-felt.
When the writer makes the statement that he likes “hard and classical,” I interpret this line two ways: his preference for art and men (Hofmann). This also makes me think of marble statues like David. In the context of pain experienced in relationships, the hard and classic traits might refer to emotional unavailability as well, as so many men can be in intimate relationships. Hinting at emotional complexity again, the line “ceiling being black, like the wine,” draws attention to the deep thoughtfulness that not only went into the wine, but the description and symbolism of the room as a symbol of body, identity, and physical relationships (Hofmann). The specific name “Caravaggio’s Wine” is an insightful detail to the writer’s sophisticated and involved tastes: the results of intoxication from crushing and fermenting grapes, another nod to the layered relationship between pleasure and pain. The consistent tone in the poem extends into the branding of the wine on their website. Here’s a quote from Caravaggio’s homepage: “Shadows, light, nature, realism. Caravaggio represents the subtle meeting the dramatic, the moment where wine becomes an artform itself” (Caravaggio Wine). Then the next line has such a ring to it, perhaps in part due to the rhyme of “wine” and “shine,” but also the epithet of “obscure gods shined” (Hofmann). The sun has been seen as a deity in various cultures around the world for thousands of years. The play on lightness and darkness and the shadowy grey areas between supports the poem’s theme of tension between conflicting desires.
RAW HONEST IMAGERY
I am drawn to Hofmann’s rooted realness in the moments that can be touched with hands while drawing those moments up to elevated themes. Hofmann’s brutal and raw imagery is intensified when Hofmann softens the edginess with luxury details and appreciation of culture and beauty. When he paints the scene of the whole room, bed, flowers, wine, and shut blinds, he then overtly states his body is empty, and it’s like he was using the room’s minimalist interior description to portray the emptiness of his exterior body. The line “…and other men tried to put death into my mouth” is a vivid epithet, pulling context cues from 4 lines above when he referenced the pain experienced in his teeth (Hofmann). I feel there is a relationship to the French word for orgasm too, which is “le petit mort,” literally translated as “the little death.” The brutal placement of death in his mouth, that we already know has experienced some pain, is viscerally evocative and helps create an empathetic response from the reader.
CONTEXTUAL JUXTAPOSITION
Throughout “Breed Me,” there is a consistent theme of juxtaposing the mundane and the grand (Hofmann). There are many examples of dualistic juxtaposition, drawing attention to the tension between two unlike but connected things. The relationship between the title and the first line of the poem juxtaposes with an animalistic term “breed” and an intimate view between bed sheets not often expressed publicly. “Breeding” is mostly associated with farm or competition animals, but the title suggests a request is actually being made by the writer: Thus elevating the term from animals being forced to breed to consciously choosing to be “bred.” This subtle but profound juxtaposition creates self-aware debasement that sets the tone for the whole poem’s description of the struggle of intimate but sometimes painful desires. As the beginning of the poem progresses, several lines describe how the writer was hurt by someone. A disconcerting use of parenthesis that indicate a relationship between the writer’s pain and their fingers and teeth, but with no explanation as to how those body parts were harmed. The juxtaposition between the specific body parts identified as problematic without a greater explanation adds to the unsettling feelings the writer is describing. The massive pivot in the next line when the narrator admits to craving the hurtful behavior, again juxtaposes to the empathy that the reader felt in the previous line, adding to the confusion. The sentiment seems to indicate the writer feels that sometimes being mistreated by the one whom you love is better than being ignored. But this sentiment doesn’t last very long because his emotional stance shifts again to boredom, indicating more confusion, indecision, or impermanence.
The light play streaming through the window described as “obscure gods” that makes Hofmann’s body feel empty simultaneously contrasts and connects the divine to the mortal (Hofmann). The writer’s body is referenced almost every other line: sweat, fingers, teeth, mouth, bite marks, underwear, and body. “Breed Me” then details the stark difference of temperature of the heat inside the room and the cold snow outside the window. The differences that the poem explores between the inside and the outside temperatures is symbolic for the writer’s internal desires and the cold realities that exist outside. Creating a juxtaposition between desires like loving another man, and the anxiety of internalized shame that societal norms can imprint could be interpreted as well. There’s a strain indicated between the body and mind too, the lusty desires of the body and the desire for order of the mind. Contextually, “You forgave my love of surfaces” relates to more than his desire for clutter-free surfaces and rooms but is a symbol for a desire for a clutter-free life and mind, and also detached from the judgements, societal or his own (Hofmann).
CONCLUSION
Throughout “Breed Me,” Richie Hofmann’s talents are displayed through his language, raw honest imagery, and contextual juxtaposition. The last line of the poem deepens pain in me too as it does not give the reader relief from the narrator’s depths of lament: “I had a pain inside me and I needed you to deepen it” (Hofmann). This is the brutal honest ending, that doesn’t really end on a positive note, just pushes out a instinctual “UGH.” However, it is a satisfactory ending to the poem because it clearly shows the writer’s deep and intricate relationship to pain and pleasure in relationships and drives home the poet’s theme of dramatic self-awareness.
Works Cited
“Caravaggio Wine.” Caravaggio Wine, 2018. https://www.caravaggiowines.com/en
Hofmann, Richie. Breed Me, 2023.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/160519/breed-me
P., Rebekah. Peony Flower Meaning, Symbolism and Cultural Significance, 2023.