Disclosure
In David Mason’s “Disclosure,” a poem about the divorce of two lovers, he examines the dualistic aspect of divorce. Through word choice, he establishes this dual nature as he thoroughly brings to light the difference between the legal proceedings and the emotions involved. Throughout this poem the speaker laments over the divorce. His words express that his focus is not on the legal, but on the difference between the legal and the personal. However, Mason’s word choice saturates the speaker’s vocabulary with legal terms. Consequently, both aspects are examined, as both are elemental to every divorce.
The saturation of the legal terminology is revealed immediately. The title, “Disclosure,” which will be examined more thoroughly, is itself a term used in the court system. In the first line of the first stanza, the speaker comments on the “blue official flap and legalese” (l. 1) in which the state carries out the divorce. He also mentions the lawyers and their “neat document” (l. 6).
Bearing in mind his focus, he also starts his commentary on the emotional aspect. The speaker finds himself, however, revealing his thoughts and emotions through the employment of the legal. As a sign of genius on Mason’s part, this intermingling of the legal and the emotional vocabulary creates the contrast of the poem. For instance, the speaker says, “What I remember of your voice is not an issue lawyers willingly address and I’ve avoided their neat document” (l.4-6). The speaker also contrasts the elements of the legal and the emotional by saying that the “state acknowledges an end to what began in privacy, in passing glances” (l. 2-3). The juxtaposition of the legal against the emotional in the same line serves to show just how stark the difference is between the two elements. It is quite evident that the speaker feels that the legal proceedings are a cold bailiff escorting the two former partners out of the courtroom of marriage.
In the second stanza, Mason focuses more heavily on the emotional aspects. The speaker remembers their nights together saying, “Many nights I raised my head from the pillow, watching you sleeping, wife in girl’s flannel, there by the bed your window open” (l. 9-11). He says that his rancor, or bitter resentment, cannot contain the images of their love; images of her “hair lightened to the roots” (l. 14) and of the “maps of married pleasure” (l. 15) that he left on her skin.
He returns to the legal aspect in the third stanza. Speaking about his marriage, he uses words such as memory, recrimination, errors, and bargain. These words, while not completely elemental of the legal, are however, mechanical and unfeeling descriptions of his marriage. They serve to show the difference between the love he spoke of in the second stanza and his opinion of where their love is after the divorce. His retrospective analysis of the marriage after the divorce is much different from the “many nights” (l. 9) that he spoke of in the previous stanza. Consequently, he speaks of how his memory saves images, but recrimination, or counter accusation, “uses every twisted syllable of the past” (l. 18-19). It is as if the legal decree of the divorce brings about a new and ugly experience for the two. However, he admittedly hangs on the past by saying, “Still with all the errors I acknowledge added to those I fail or refuse to see, I say our marriage was a gentle thing” (l. 20-22). The speaker, in a way, delights in examining his marriage before the divorce, trying to hold onto the treasured memories of the past.
However, “Lawyers put it another way” (l. 25). This line explicitly reveals the speaker’s thoughts on the legal system. If the lawyers put things differently, then they must not see things his way. For the speaker, there are countless emotions and memories collected over ten years. The lawyers do not know “how small exchanges still take place” (l. 26). In the midst of all of their legalities, the lawyers cannot feel the loss of those they represent. To the lawyers, a knitted scarf or signed book does not contain meaning. However, to whom the scarf or book belonged, an incomprehensible meaning may be attached.
Finally, the title “Disclosure” is intriguing as it is also a legal term. As such, to disclose is to reveal. As the title of this poem, it takes on a distinct meaning. By accepting the title of the poem to be “Disclosure,” on expects something to be disclosed or revealed. Could the title then be changed to “Revelation,” as in the sense of something being revealed? In essence, what is being revealed, or disclosed, are the thoughts and feelings of the speaker. As stated earlier, he is lamenting over his divorce, as if he wishes it did not happen. He speaks of how the lawyers and their legal system take such an emotional event and render it down to mere formalities devoid of feelings. If this, then, is his purpose, is he not attempting to disclose his feelings that may not have been disclosed in the legal proceedings? Due to the structure of the system, his heart was laid aside and a pen lifted, as he penned his signature on the divorce papers. In other words, being a poem about divorce, Mason could have titled it “Foreclosure,” as if they were foreclosing on their union. A simple title such as “Divorce” would have been functional. Instead, he chose to call it “Disclosure,” as it is an examination of the emotional aspect of divorce. It is not an explanation of how a divorce takes place, but rather, an examination of the distinction of the obvious legalities and the inherent, less obvious emotions. It is Mason’s word choice, or diction, that brings this element to the forefront.
Mason Embeds legal terminology into the speaker’s argument. However, the appearance and employment of such legal terms is not to explain how the legal system works, as one might expect. On the contrary, the speaker’s words provide a distinction between that which is legal and that which is emotional.
The saturation of the legal terminology is revealed immediately. The title, “Disclosure,” which will be examined more thoroughly, is itself a term used in the court system. In the first line of the first stanza, the speaker comments on the “blue official flap and legalese” (l. 1) in which the state carries out the divorce. He also mentions the lawyers and their “neat document” (l. 6).
Bearing in mind his focus, he also starts his commentary on the emotional aspect. The speaker finds himself, however, revealing his thoughts and emotions through the employment of the legal. As a sign of genius on Mason’s part, this intermingling of the legal and the emotional vocabulary creates the contrast of the poem. For instance, the speaker says, “What I remember of your voice is not an issue lawyers willingly address and I’ve avoided their neat document” (l.4-6). The speaker also contrasts the elements of the legal and the emotional by saying that the “state acknowledges an end to what began in privacy, in passing glances” (l. 2-3). The juxtaposition of the legal against the emotional in the same line serves to show just how stark the difference is between the two elements. It is quite evident that the speaker feels that the legal proceedings are a cold bailiff escorting the two former partners out of the courtroom of marriage.
In the second stanza, Mason focuses more heavily on the emotional aspects. The speaker remembers their nights together saying, “Many nights I raised my head from the pillow, watching you sleeping, wife in girl’s flannel, there by the bed your window open” (l. 9-11). He says that his rancor, or bitter resentment, cannot contain the images of their love; images of her “hair lightened to the roots” (l. 14) and of the “maps of married pleasure” (l. 15) that he left on her skin.
He returns to the legal aspect in the third stanza. Speaking about his marriage, he uses words such as memory, recrimination, errors, and bargain. These words, while not completely elemental of the legal, are however, mechanical and unfeeling descriptions of his marriage. They serve to show the difference between the love he spoke of in the second stanza and his opinion of where their love is after the divorce. His retrospective analysis of the marriage after the divorce is much different from the “many nights” (l. 9) that he spoke of in the previous stanza. Consequently, he speaks of how his memory saves images, but recrimination, or counter accusation, “uses every twisted syllable of the past” (l. 18-19). It is as if the legal decree of the divorce brings about a new and ugly experience for the two. However, he admittedly hangs on the past by saying, “Still with all the errors I acknowledge added to those I fail or refuse to see, I say our marriage was a gentle thing” (l. 20-22). The speaker, in a way, delights in examining his marriage before the divorce, trying to hold onto the treasured memories of the past.
However, “Lawyers put it another way” (l. 25). This line explicitly reveals the speaker’s thoughts on the legal system. If the lawyers put things differently, then they must not see things his way. For the speaker, there are countless emotions and memories collected over ten years. The lawyers do not know “how small exchanges still take place” (l. 26). In the midst of all of their legalities, the lawyers cannot feel the loss of those they represent. To the lawyers, a knitted scarf or signed book does not contain meaning. However, to whom the scarf or book belonged, an incomprehensible meaning may be attached.
Finally, the title “Disclosure” is intriguing as it is also a legal term. As such, to disclose is to reveal. As the title of this poem, it takes on a distinct meaning. By accepting the title of the poem to be “Disclosure,” on expects something to be disclosed or revealed. Could the title then be changed to “Revelation,” as in the sense of something being revealed? In essence, what is being revealed, or disclosed, are the thoughts and feelings of the speaker. As stated earlier, he is lamenting over his divorce, as if he wishes it did not happen. He speaks of how the lawyers and their legal system take such an emotional event and render it down to mere formalities devoid of feelings. If this, then, is his purpose, is he not attempting to disclose his feelings that may not have been disclosed in the legal proceedings? Due to the structure of the system, his heart was laid aside and a pen lifted, as he penned his signature on the divorce papers. In other words, being a poem about divorce, Mason could have titled it “Foreclosure,” as if they were foreclosing on their union. A simple title such as “Divorce” would have been functional. Instead, he chose to call it “Disclosure,” as it is an examination of the emotional aspect of divorce. It is not an explanation of how a divorce takes place, but rather, an examination of the distinction of the obvious legalities and the inherent, less obvious emotions. It is Mason’s word choice, or diction, that brings this element to the forefront.
Mason Embeds legal terminology into the speaker’s argument. However, the appearance and employment of such legal terms is not to explain how the legal system works, as one might expect. On the contrary, the speaker’s words provide a distinction between that which is legal and that which is emotional.
Labels: Academic Papers
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