Young Writers Society

I am not very fond of poetry or very talented at analyzing it, but I thought I'd get outside my comfort zone. So I choose How Beastly The Bourgeois Is by D.H. Lawrence mostly because the title caught my eye. I wasn't sure what a bourgeouis was, so I looked it up. Webster defines a bourgeois as:


1. Relating to, or characteristic of the middle class
2. Marked by a concern for material interests and respectability and a tendency toward mediocrity.


I believe that it is this second definition that Lawrence focused on in his poem with lines such as "Isn't he handsome? Isn't he healthy? Isn't he a fine specimen?" and "Nicely groomed, like a mushroom, standing there so sleek and erect and eyeable."


I think the reason I enjoyed this poem so much was because of the negative focus Lawrence put on being ordinary. We sometimes find ourselves slipping into a routine, an average existence, and we then become stale. We cacoon, expecting everyone else to conform to our needs, instead of reaching out and making a difference. We were created to lead lives of purpose, that is how history and mankind progresses. While Lawrence wanted these mediocre people to fade into the background, I want the ordinary to realize their potential and become extraordinary.


I know it's a bit rough, but I hope you enjoyed my analyzation and feel free to leave your own perspective on D.H. Lawrence's poem.

I think you're pretty much spot-on.

For me, the entire idea behind Lawrence's poem is summed up in the line:
"Nicely groomed, like a mushroom"

To Lawrence, the Bourgeois and the mushroom are one in the same; both respectable from the outside, but both in fact leeches. A mushroom leeches off the decaying remains of others to ensure its existence; the bourgeois do much the same. Neither contributes much of anything to its environment.

I actually didn't like this poem that much. The word "bourgeois" made me think of French or Russian and when it was English, I was rather confused. Yes, it can be used to describe them, but really?

However, there were certain things that I did like. For instance, I liked the description of the bourgeois meeting something new and different that, because of his stubborn spirit, wouldn't change his mind. I just wish he dealt with this conflict more!

Also, I wished he would address the ladies. They can be awful.