ENCW 205 Fall 2021
Posted in Bellocq's Ophelia on Dec 15th, 2021
Natasha Trethewey uses the figure of Ophelia to create a story that reflects on the dynamics of power and agency for prostitutes in the early 1900s. The opening poem in the sequence begins with the viewer reading a description of both versions of Ophelia; in a way, this transcribes the voyeuristic behavior of the artist […]
Posted in Bellocq's Ophelia on Dec 15th, 2021
After the publication of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the name Ophelia has coincided with the idea of both tragedy and despair throughout, arguably, all media platforms. The acknowledged significance and premise behind the name compels any reader to assume that the protagonist will, like their predecessor, have a life filled with obstacles, turmoil, and strife. Bellocaq’s Ophelia presents […]
Posted in Bellocq's Ophelia on Oct 30th, 2021
[posted on behalf of a student] When reading Bellocq’s Ophelia by Natasha Trethewey I kept thinking about the book Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes in regards to their similarities with photography. In Camera Lucida, Barthes defines a few different terms related to photography. There is the operator, which is the photographer, and the spectator, who is […]
Posted in Bellocq's Ophelia on Oct 29th, 2021
Since Hamlet, the name Ophelia has been pseudonymous with despair and tragedy in every form of media which makes Bellocq’s Ophelia all the more interesting. The ideas of discomfort, hiding oneself, objectification, race, and gender are prevalent throughout the piece. Within the book, Ophelia is not her own until she herself becomes a photographer and […]
Posted in Bellocq's Ophelia on Oct 28th, 2021
Natasha Trethewey’s book, Bellocq’s Ophelia, is full of so much pain and each poem shares a different story, some similar stories, some not. There is a deeper meaning of identity and escapism, one or both being reflected in each and every poem. The main character, Ophelia, seems to have no “real identity.” She is a […]
Posted in Bellocq's Ophelia on Oct 28th, 2021
“A picture is worth a thousand words,” coined by Henrik Isben, according to Google, is the phrase that comes to mind when reading “Bellocq’s Ophelia” because Natasha Tretheway proved him wrong. She gave meaning to Bellocq’s images; without her creating narrative, we’d just believe that he was a man with a weird hobby who just […]
Posted in Bellocq's Ophelia on Oct 28th, 2021
Belloq’s Ophelia, is a character that is trapped between society’s limitations and who she can be if she were afforded the same opportunities as white men at this time. Lacking the opportunities and jobs afforded to white women and discriminated against for being a woman of color, she is forced to turn to prostitution to […]
Posted in Bellocq's Ophelia on Oct 27th, 2021
In Bellocq’s Ophelia, the group of prostitutes from New Orleans ‘ redlight district in the early 20th century are represented by Ophelia. Her character functions as an everywoman that encompasses the story told in E.J. Bellocq’s Portraits. Bellocq’s Ophelia is a poetic analysis of perception at its core. The action is all driven by perception, even the inspiration […]
Posted in Bellocq's Ophelia on Oct 26th, 2021
In Bellocq’s Ophelia, we aren’t told a lot about the character writing, but rather we have to piece together the clues ourselves. One entry I keep coming back to is January 1911. In this, Ophelia is writing in response to her friend Constance. In this letter, she reveals that being unable to find a job […]
Posted in Bellocq's Ophelia on Oct 26th, 2021
In Bellocq’s Ophelia, race plays a strong role as it plays a much bigger role in comparison to The Awakening, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Moviegoer. Upon first glance, anyone could say “It’s because the main characters in the other three stories are white, while Ophelia is white-passing.” While that is true, it speaks […]
Posted in Bellocq's Ophelia on Oct 26th, 2021
For me, one of the most interesting parts about reading Bellocq’s Ophelia was the differences in perspective throughout the collection of poems. The collection starts with a poem that doesn’t seem to have a set perspective. In fact, it almost seems like the reader is watching from outside the scene, watching as if we were a wallflower, […]
Posted in Bellocq's Ophelia on Oct 26th, 2021
Here’s the caption to this painting at the Tate Gallery in London: This work shows the death of Ophelia, a scene from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. Many Victorian painters like Millais used Shakespeare’s plays as inspiration. Hamlet murders Ophelia’s father, and she is so upset she falls into a stream and downs. The flowers she is […]