Dominion over the beasts of the Earth

Overview

• "Dominion over the Beasts of the Earth" by Tracy K. Smith is from her debut collection The Body's Question (2003).
• The poem reflects on adolescence, desire, and the complexities of young love.
• It draws on a Biblical reference from Genesis 2:19, examining themes of power, innocence, and control.
• Through vivid imagery and a confessional tone, Smith recounts a formative experience with a boy named Mauricio, exploring how such moments shape identity and emotional growth.
• The poem blends the physical and the spiritual, balancing sensuality with introspection.

Detailed Summary

Stanzas 1–2:

The poem opens with a vivid recollection of a teenage encounter at a hacienda in Mexico. The speaker and Mauricio engage in playful yet charged activities, "running back and forth, opening / All the sturdy doors, giddy / As kid goats that have learned / To dance on two hooves" (lines 6–9). The imagery of "dark rooms" and "exquisite dust" suggests both the physicality of the setting and the youthful excitement of discovery.

Stanzas 3–4:

The focus shifts to Mauricio's commanding presence, described with striking physicality: "Enormous Mauricio – / With the drunken legs / And hands as large / And white as magnolias" (lines 17–20). His repeated assertion, "Hazlo que te da La puta gana" (lines 14–15), reflects his carefree and dominant attitude, symbolising an unfiltered and raw approach to life. The stanza transitions to the speaker's internal reflection, pondering what might have changed had they acted on their desires, "What would we have changed, / Splayed together on that / Rotten mattress" (lines 22–24). This unromantic image highlights the tension between the idealised memory and the reality of youthful impulsiveness.

Stanzas 5–6:

As the narrative moves forward, the speaker recalls other boys from her adolescence, collapsing them into a singular memory: "I want to call them all Mauricio" (line 36). This suggests a loss of individual identity in these formative relationships, linking back to the Biblical idea of naming and dominion. The tone becomes nostalgic and wistful as she recalls Mauricio at age 13, his youthful beauty described as "like sunset over the Pacific" (line 37).

Stanza 7:

The speaker transitions into adulthood, reflecting on Mauricio as a teacher with "a spool / That would not stay wound" (lines 51–52). The imagery of "ordinary moths swarmed my eyes" (line 54) conveys her emotional response to burning their shared letters, a symbolic act of closure tinged with regret.

Stanzas 8–9:

The final stanzas explore the speaker's complex emotions about the relationship. The metaphor "the frayed thread of dreams" (line 62) captures the unravelling of youthful expectations. Mauricio's insistence, "I was his wife" (line 66), contrasts with the speaker's sense of emotional incompatibility, as she acknowledges that he is not the right person for her. The closing detail of a wedding band that was "Two sizes too loose" (line 70) encapsulates the theme of misfit relationships, leaving the poem on a bittersweet note.

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Themes

Adolescence and Desire

The poem vividly explores the turbulent emotions of adolescence, especially the speaker's fascination with desire and the discovery of physical attraction. The scene at the hacienda captures the heady mix of excitement and uncertainty: "Back and forth, opening / All the sturdy doors, giddy / As kid goats that have learned / To dance on two hooves" (lines 7–9). This imagery of playful movement mirrors the speaker's youthful energy and curiosity, while the questions later in the poem reveal her attempts to understand the emotional weight of these early experiences.

Power and Control

Drawing from the Biblical reference in Genesis 2:19, the poem reflects on the idea of having dominion over others and oneself. Mauricio's commanding phrase, "Hazlo que te da La puta gana" (line 15), suggests both recklessness and a sense of authority while the speaker grapples with how much control she had in the relationship. The question, "What would we have changed, / Splayed together on that / Rotten mattress" (lines 22–24), hints at regret and the power dynamics within their interactions. The Biblical allusion adds depth, connecting these themes to broader ideas of human nature and responsibility.

Memory and Reflection

The speaker revisits her teenage years with a mixture of nostalgia and self-awareness. She reflects not only on Mauricio but also on her own feelings and insecurities, like when she recalls envying another girl, "Kathy, with the wild limbs, / That made music on her wrists" (lines 45–46). This theme reminds us that memory can reshape the past, blending feelings of wonder, regret, and humour. The closing image of a wedding band, "Two sizes too loose" (line 70), symbolises how relationships from youth can leave lasting but imperfect impressions on our adult lives.

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Structure and Form

1. Free Verse

The poem is written in free verse, meaning there is no fixed rhyme scheme or meter. This mirrors the raw and unfiltered nature of the speaker's memories, allowing her reflections to flow naturally, like thoughts or conversations.

2. Stanza Length and Shape

The poem is divided into uneven stanzas, shifting between longer and shorter sections. This reflects the non-linear way memories unfold—some vivid and detailed, others brief and fragmented. For instance, the descriptive energy in the earlier stanzas about the hacienda contrasts with the quieter, more reflective tone in later sections.

3. Enjambment

Smith makes extensive use of enjambment, letting lines run into the next without pause. For example: "We ran / Back and forth, opening / All the sturdy doors" (lines 6–8).

This creates a sense of momentum as if the speaker is rushing to capture the excitement and chaos of her memories.

4. Shifts in Time

The poem moves fluidly between past and present, mirroring the speaker's process of reflection. Early stanzas focus on the teenage encounter with Mauricio, while later sections, such as "Years later you were tall, / A teacher, a spool / That would not stay wound" (lines 50–52), bring the reader into adulthood. These shifts give the poem a reflective and layered quality.

5. Open-Ended Conclusion

The poem ends with the detail of the wedding band being "Two sizes too loose" (line 70). This small but significant image leaves the reader with a sense of unresolved tension—symbolising the speaker's lingering questions about love, identity, and control.

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Poetic Techniques

1. Imagery

• "Dark rooms. Floors lain / With exquisite dust" (lines 4–5): Smith uses vivid sensory imagery to immerse the reader in the hacienda's physical setting. The description creates a contrast between the romance of memory and the gritty reality of the experience.
• "Rotten mattress / While the buses slept" (lines 23–24): The stark, unflattering image of the "rotten mattress" underscores the unglamorous nature of youthful encounters, adding a layer of realism to the memory. Effect: The imagery draws readers into the speaker's experience, blending the sensual and the gritty to reflect the complexities of adolescent desire and memory.

2. Allusion

• The poem's title and the opening Biblical reference to Genesis 2:19 reflect on humanity's dominion over animals, symbolising control, power, and responsibility. This allusion ties into the speaker's reflection on power dynamics in her relationships and her struggle for agency in moments of youthful vulnerability. Effect: The Biblical allusion adds a layer of depth, connecting the poem's personal themes to broader philosophical and spiritual ideas about human nature.

3. Metaphor

• "Mauricio at 13 with skin / Like sunset over the Pacific" (lines 36–37): Mauricio is compared to a sunset, symbolising the fleeting beauty and emotional intensity of adolescence.
• "A spool / That would not stay wound" (lines 51–52): Mauricio is likened to an unravelling spool, representing his unpredictability and emotional instability as an adult. Effect: These metaphors capture the fleeting nature of youth and the emotional turbulence of relationships, deepening the reader's understanding of the speaker's reflections.

4. Repetition

• "Hazlo que te da La puta gana" (line 15): Mauricio's repeated phrase reflects his dominant personality and carefree attitude, contrasting with the speaker's more reflective tone.
• "I want to speak now / To the ones I've said / Meant nothing" (lines 34–36): The repetition of "I want to speak now" highlights the speaker's regret and unresolved feelings about her past relationships. Effect: Repetition emphasises key emotional moments in the poem, drawing attention to the speaker's internal conflict and longing for closure.

5. Symbolism

• "Wedding band... Two sizes too loose" (line 70): The wedding band symbolises a misfit relationship that was not destined to last. It reflects the speaker's awareness of incompatibility and the lingering impact of youthful love. Effect: The symbolic wedding band leaves the reader with a bittersweet sense of regret, reinforcing the theme of how early relationships shape our emotional growth.