Leslie Marmon Silko is a Laguna Pueblo Indian who has written many novels and
poems in her lifetime. One of these poems, "Storytelling," is very
interesting to me. This poem excites me because it tells of the impact that
storytelling has on people in Laguna culture. I will analyze and explore many
parts of this poem. One of these subjects is theme. The theme of
"Storytelling" is actually the art of storytelling. Another aspect of
the poem I will look at is tension. There is a specific tension between the
husband and the wife in this poem. Next, I will explore how imagery helped Silko
strengthen her writing. Then, I will look at how the form of
"Storytelling" is different from that of other poems. Finally, I will
compare "Storytelling" to another poem, written by Luci Tapahonso
entitled, "Blue Horses Rush In." All these aspects put together will
enable me to do a complete textual analysis of "Storytelling." Larson
2 To start, I will begin with the theme of "Storytelling." The theme
of the poem is the art of storytelling, hence the name. At the end of the poem
the author says, "My husband left after he heard the story and moved back
in with his mother. It was my fault and I don’t blame him either"(Silko
424). As the reader, you think that the woman is feeling bad about lying to her
husband and she doesn’t blame him for leaving her because she has sinned. Then
the next line reads, "I could have told the story better than I
did"(Silko 424). This surprises the reader because the ending's not
expected. This shows that the woman isn’t really feeling bad about what she
did, or what happened; she only wishes that she could have told a better story
so her husband would stay with her. These quotes prove the theme of the poem;
that storytelling is very important in the Laguna culture. It is what the people
pride themselves on and the woman in the poem could have done a better job.
Earlier on in the poem the husband says, "You better have a damn good
story"(Silko 423). It is almost as if the husband is expecting a better
story than what he receives, so not satisfied with the lines his wife feeds him,
he leaves. From these lines it is obvious that the stories told, and how the
people tell them is the theme of the poem "Storytelling". This is not
only a theme in the poem, but I Larson 3 believe that it also represents a very
prominent theme in the Laguna culture. Other themes in the poem are adultery and
lying, but these also portray the main tensions in the poem in addition to
themes. The tension is between the husband and the wife. A mysterious being
shows up and kidnaps the wife. When she returns she tries to tell her husband
what happened in terms that he would understand. The husband, now very upset,
believes that his wife committed adultery. The tension starts when the husband
says, "You better have a damn good story about where you have been for the
past ten months and how you explain these twin baby boys"(Silko 423). You
can tell from this quote that the husband is not happy and wants an explanation;
and it better be a good one. The wife retaliates by saying, "No! That
gossip isn’t true"(Silko 423). The wife feels that she needs to defend
herself against the false accusations that her husband made. The rest of the
poem the wife tells her story in order to try to persuade her husband of the
truth. She wants to resolve the tension. Her attempts to persuade her husband
are unsuccessful. So the tension is never really resolved because the husband
leaves. Therefore, there is probably still tension surrounding the subject.
Larson 4 There are many images in "Storytelling" that help set the
scene and develop a mood. A couple images that help to set the scene are,
"…the sun came over the long red mesa"(Silko 422) and, "She
looked into the shallow clear water"(Silko 423). This gives an image of how
mystical and magical the scene was when the "Buffalo Man" came to get
the woman in the story. This image gives the reader the impression that this is
a mysterious event. The images are also calm and soothing which relay those
feelings over to the reader. This way the reader can understand what the woman
in the poem is feeling at the time. However, I don’t think she feels that way
for too long. Another image produced later on in the poem sets up a very
different scene, "…in a red `56 Ford and the F.B.I. and state police hot
on their trail of wine bottles and size 42 panties hanging in the bushes and
trees all along the road"(Silko 423). This image is a very graphic one. The
wife is using this picture in her story to try to explain to her husband what
she went through. When you picture men driving in a `56 Ford with police chasing
them with wine bottles all over, it is not a great image. You picture dirty,
menacing guys, probably not guys that you would enjoy being with. The wife is
trying to get across the point to her husband that this was not a good
experience. As you can see, images used in "Storytelling" portray
certain types of moods and set explicit scenes. Larson 5 The form of the poem
adds to the imagery. The form is not like that of a normal poem. Instead,
paragraphs divide the text like a story. The lines break up the sentences into
what appears to be fragments. I think that this enables the writer to emphasize
certain words. For example, "left"(Silko 424) is in a line of it’s
own. This really draws attention to the word. It seems much harsher than,
"My husband left.."(Silko 424), all in the same line. The author of
"Storytelling" really used form to her advantage to make the story
more interesting. The form of this poem is very different compared to other
poems; it is almost more like a story. On the other hand, it has many
similarities to other poems. "Storytelling" is like the poem by Luci
Tapahonso, "Blue Horses Rush In." They both tell stories that are now
very important to the culture that they originated in. "Blue Horses Rush
In" is of Navajo origin and "Storytelling" is from the Laguna
Pueblo culture. Both started out a long time ago and are now being passed down
from generation to generation. They also both tell of the importance of
storytelling in their cultures. The form of both the poems differs from that of
a normal poem. Both tell a story in little paragraphs with sentences breaking
off mid-line. Both of the poems deal with occasions in peoples everyday lives.
This is why I think that of all the poems that I have read in this chapter,
"Storytelling" and "Blue Horses Rush In" are most alike.
Larson 6 "Storytelling" is a unique poem that has a lot of meaning.
This is why I chose to analyze it. I have analyzed the main aspects of the poem.
I looked in-depth at the theme of the poem, which was the art of storytelling.
Then I went over the tension between the two players in the poem. Next, I
explained how imagery played a big part in Silko’s writing. Finally, I
explored the form of the poem and compared it to the poem, "Blue Horses
Rush In." Looking this closely at a poem helps to understand it more and it
gives insight to other works of literature that one might read along the way.