Snow White's Acne
by Denise Duhamel
Mileana Fields
About the Author
Denise Duhamel is an American poet, born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Emerson College and MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. Ms. Duhamel has authored many collections of poetry. She currently resides in Hollywood, FL and teaches Creative Writing and Literature at Florida International University. (Poets). Photo: (Poets)
Literal Meaning
Snow White's Acne by Denise Duhamel basically talks about how Snow is a teenager and is developing acne as any other teen girl would. Snow's dwarf friends aren't in this poem and her evil stepmother, the Queen is portrayed as nice rather than mean as she is in the Disney Classic.
Situation
The poem tells a story about how Snow's acne develops as she's an adolescent. Initially, Snow thought the red spot on her face on her face was dried strawberry juice or her mother's (the Queen) red polish. In stanza 2, the Queen and Snow have hopes that the bumps on Snow's face isn't chicken pox or measles. Moreover, in the third stanza, the basic necessities for a teen girl are mentioned, like a razor and deodorant. It concludes with the way Snow acts with the family she comes from. The speaker's tone in the poem is anxious. This is seen because there's a sense of concern for the acne on Snow's face. Photo: (Wordpress)
Structure
The poem is very informal. The speaker intentionally does this to tell a story. "Snow White's Acne" shifts from a voice of concern to giving reasons as to why the acne is present, such as being a rebel. Denise Duhamel uses commas to express exaggeration for the clause that follows after it. She uses periods to show the importance of the line. The title of the poem itself relates to the poem because the context of the poem is about Snow White's acne.
Musical Devices
The poem follows no rhyme scheme. The reason is because the poem is telling a story. Most stories don't rhyme but rather try to tell a series of events. Photo: (Buzz Feed)
Language
Words like hope, pin cushion, 'safe room' and invisible, show that Snow was a young, concerned teenage girl. Throughout the poem, Denise Duhamel alludes to the Disney Classic, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in lines 5 and 23. The simile, "like pins in a pin cushion" gives an image of how the pimples were appearing on Snow's face.
Works Cited
Brantz, Loryn. "If Disney Princesses Were Their Real Ages". Buzz Feed. Web. 8 March 2015.
"Denise Duhamel". Poets. n.d. Web. 8 March 2015.Oltmann, David. "Proactiv Solution". Wordpress. Web. 8 March 2015.