Love Blog Post #4

Delight in Disorder by Robert Herrick

OXYMORON: a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase
2. The phrase "wild civility" (12) is an example of oxymoron, a compact paradox in which two successive words seemingly contradict each other. Discuss the effectiveness of this device in this phrase and examine the poem for other examples.

 I also liked this poem because it was simple, but very complex at the same time. I think the main point the author was trying to get at was that he liked the disorder in a woman rather than for her to be completely put together and perfect. I believe that although it is very cheesy, there is perfection in imperfection. This poem made me think about the evolutionary idea of our planet. There were so many imperfect factors, like meteors coming together to form, but also destroy, the surface of the planet, that went into the creation of this perfect planet that is Earth. It is just the right amount of everything that makes it capable of sustaining life. This author applied the same thought, I believe, to his attraction to certain women. He uses contradictions and oxymorons such as wild civility to convey his point. The writer says, "A careless shoestring, in whose tie I see a wild civility; Do more bewitch me than when art Is too precise in every part." (Herrick 979). When he sees an untied shoestring, he doesn't see disorder, but he sees a wild civility. He loves that and sees in it the untamed graciousness of a woman. He realizes that nothing is perfect and instead of looking for perfection, he focuses on the imperfections and loves them.