Stories Told Through Pantoums
Pantoums exhibit a unique structure including both repetition and rhyming. What I believe to be one of the most unique parts of a pantoum is that it must start and end with the same line. I think this brings the “story” or message of each pantoum full circle, and it makes it easier to follow. Repetition in pantoums also occurs with specific lines repeating themselves in multiple quatrains. There is no length limit for the pantoum, however, each stanza is a quatrain.
We begin to see this structure in the poem titled, Chain-Letter Pantoum, by Vince Gotera. I find this pantoum relatively easy to follow as it is conveying a story of a man named Jeff Slaymaker, along with a series of other individuals. Within the pantoum, Jeff receives a letter telling him not to throw it away otherwise there will be horrible consequences. We gather this from the first line (which is later repeated as the last line) stating, “Don’t throw this letter away! Horrible consequences” (Gotera 260)! The exclamation points clearly emphasize the importance of the message the poem is trying to convey. The letter then instructs Jeff to mail a copy of it to five of his closest friends. As a reader myself, the silly nature of this pantoum makes me want to continue reading to understand what is going to happen next. We can tell the nature of this poem is meant to cause us to laugh based off of the little ironic touches that are added from the author. For example, the names used throughout the poem, such as Jeff’s last name being “Slaymaker,” almost all sound made-up.
In contrast to these horrible consequences and ironic humor, the motif of love is represented in the letter, “love reveals it all, makes it all possible” (Gotera 260). Anyone who comes in contact with the letter is told to send it to 5 of their closest friends. In other words, five people they love. These people will then become rewarded if they follow these steps. If not, the opposite will occur and they will face consequences. What repeatedly happened throughout the entirety of the pantoum, is that each person who was confronted with the letter did not follow the steps thoroughly and did not send a copy to five of their loved ones. Some only sent it to a few or some didn’t send it to any. In these cases, these individuals were either faced with a consequence right off the bat, or were teased with an award that was later taken away from them consequently.
Through the use of the repetitive pantoum structure, we are able to easily follow the juxtaposed story lines. In this specific pantoum, there were even mini stories within the larger story as it honed in on how the letter specifically affected each individual and how the three themes of rewards, consequences, and love were each clearly displayed within each individual’s story line. While each one of these three themes is slowly incorporated in the pantoum, it is when we take a step back and look at the pantoum as a whole that they are clearly noticeable.
Gotera, Vince. “Chain-Letter Pantoum.” An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art. Edited by Annie Finch and Kathrine Varnes, U of Michigan P, 2002, pp. 215.
