Enter Ophelia, Distracted

Abstract

Enter Ophelia, Distracted began as an attempt to enter a discourse about the iconic women of William Shakespeare's work. Initially I sought to interact with some of the Bard’s richest female characters to provide a new context for their roles and experiences - to assume their identities, in some cases. As the project progressed, however, I was so moved by deeply conversing with these women that my own perspective was forcibly altered. Thus many poems in this collection are introspective, reflecting my own struggle to contextualize myself in the world. Enter Ophelia, Distracted explores how we women relate to our environments and interpret life's deluge of images and sensations, while navigating what is "expected" of us. I chose to weave poems that consider Shakespeare’s women with poems that echo my own interior monologue. All pieces revel in rich, synesthetic images - many of which are reverent allusions to Shakespeare’s original language - and often ask disjointed questions. Enter Ophelia, Distracted magnifies the intense moments of life - of any life - and use Shakespeare’s women to underscore the timeless universality of experience. Ophelia's grievous loneliness is also mine.