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Van Gogh's Ear Referenced
Bukowski’s short free-verse poem briskly invokes the famous episode in which Van Gogh severed his ear to spotlight the gap between artistic sacrifice and everyday desires. Using blunt, colloquial lines, the speaker reports the ear’s rejection by a prostitute and concludes that Van Gogh’s greatness came from not understanding ordinary needs—money over symbolism. The poem reframes a historical fact as a critique of romanticized suffering in art.
Read Complete AnalysesVan Gogh cut off his ear gave it to a prostitute who flung it away in extreme disgust. Van, whores don't want ears they want money. I guess that's why you were such a great painter: you didn't understand much else.
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