Fox by Adrienne Rich
"Fox" by Adrienne Rich is a poignant poem that encapsulates the themes of self-recognition and the significance of historical context in understanding one's identity. The poem's title metaphorically represents the primal aspects of human nature rather than an actual animal, suggesting a deeper exploration of the human experience. Rich's work reflects a desire for recollection, where she emphasizes the importance of looking back into history to achieve self-awareness.
The imagery of birth plays a crucial role, conveying the transformative and sometimes chaotic process of personal development. Rich articulates a sense of loss and longing in her quest for the "fox," which symbolizes the elusive elements of self that are intertwined with memory and experience. Notably, the poem adopts a past tense narrative, indicating that Rich has achieved a certain understanding of her identity through this journey. Despite the challenges depicted, "Fox" maintains an underlying optimism, suggesting that recognition and the ability to confront one's history can lead to a richer understanding of oneself. This poem serves as a reflection on the complexities of memory, identity, and the interplay between past and present.
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Subject Terms
Fox by Adrienne Rich
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 2001 (collected in Fox, 2001)
Type of work: Poem
The Work
Rich’s signature themes spring up throughout Fox. The collection’s title poem reflects a longing for recognition and recollection. To have the latter, she must acquire the former. Recognition of self and identity, Rich has taught her readers, can be ascertained through history and self-exploration. She warns her reader, “I needed history of fox” and moves into the symbolic nature of birth to emphasize how formative recollection can be to self-awareness: Go “back far enough it blurts into the birth-yell of the yet-to-be human child/ pushed out of a female the yet-to-be woman.” Though Rich has discovered the secret to attaining her recognition, and thus recollection, it is lost—born into the world, but lost nevertheless. It is important to note that the “fox” is not an animal, but symbolic of the animal-like nature of human beings.
In this poem, Rich revisits the promises of birth set forth in Of Woman Born, yet she finds herself unable to fulfill them without the fox. However, “Fox” conveys an optimistic tone not shared by the poems surrounding it because it is written in the past tense: “I needed fox.” This signifies that she has does find the lost symbol, fox, enabling her to depict accurately the “tearing and torn endless and sudden” haunting effects of memory.
Sources for Further Study
Booklist 98 (October 1, 2001): 295.
Library Journal 126 (September 15, 2001): 85.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 9, 2001, p. 13F.
The Washington Post Book World, November 11, 2001, p. 4.