Significant Re-Arrangement: A Close Reading of “Pity the Beautiful” Bekah Carter College

When conducting a close reading of Dana Gioia’s “Pity the Beautiful,” the odd number of stanzas stands out; this observation is accentuated by the fact the third (and middle) stanza acts as a turning point in the poem. Sometimes, poets do this with the intent of creating a comparison between the lines at the beginning and end. It creates a sort of hidden secret to the poem. After trying this in several different ways, the code was cracked. When the first line is compared with the 20th, the 19th with the second, the third with the 18th, and so on; it adds a different dimension of understanding Gioia’s words.

The original poem is broken up into five stanzas that all bring up something to be pitied. The first stanza concerns childlike and feminine beauty, the second stanza describes a masculine beauty, the third stanza lists types of people that non-beautiful people usually envy, the fourth stanza details those who have lost their beauty, and the fifth stanza discusses the loss of purpose. Something that all five stanzas have in common though, is a sense of someone's success or purpose as being a result of their beauty. Beautiful girls gain success by “daddies / granting their wishes” (stanza one); “pretty boys” and “golden lads”...