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  • Essay / The poet talks about art: The street by Stephen Dobyn

    Stephen Dobyns' poem "The Street" on Balthus's painting The Street asserts his belief "that no man can see his neighbor" due to people's concern for their personal duties in their ordinary path of life (1). Balthus illustrates the compulsion of people to perform menial tasks as blinders obstructing their view of the outside world. He positions each subject of the painting to symbolize their inherent dexterity and purpose within society. However, we take up his theory that individuals indulge in their selfish activities, forming weak and divided communities. Dobyns expands on Balthus's painting to transparently elucidate the deliberation behind the work of art. The structure of Dobyns' poem reflects the systematic steps of the characters in the painting as he clearly interprets their motivations. In separate stanzas, he tells the story of each person in the painting to reveal their deliberate duties. This emphasizes the artist's worldview. Through poetry, Dobyns brings the different individuals to life, allowing the reader to enter more fully into the vision of the painting. Balthus' simplistic painting highlights people's daily tasks, allowing Dobyns to observe the importance and value of the many components of a society. Balthus's painting, The Street, illustrates an inflexible and captivating society mixed with multiple roles that prevent the reader from focusing on a single person. Hughes considers that the majority of Balthus's themes are set within a meticulous and particular framework (Marks 49). In accordance with the order of the stanzas, the reader is introduced to the central character in Balthus's painting. The carpenter's stark white clothing ironically contradicts the story Dobyns deduces. Blue collar women...... middle of paper ......ves. Dobyns uses expressive images and words to reiterate the highlighted features of the painting. We can conclude from Dobyns' simple words that individuals within a society must connect and communicate in order to successfully build relationships and community. Ed. Chris Murray. New York: Facts on File, 1994. 42. Print. “Dobyns, The Street.” Dobyns, The Street. Np, and Web. May 16, 2014.King, Janna. "Dobyns, Stephen 1941–." American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies, Supplement 13. Ed. Jay Parini. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 73-92. Scribner Writers on GVRL. Internet. May 16, 2014. Marks, Claude. World Artists, 1950-1980: A Biographical Dictionary of HW Wilson. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1984. 48-49. Print."Stephen Dobyns." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, nd Web. May 16 2014.