You Said That I
You Said That I - meaning Summary
Self Shaped by Another
The speaker addresses someone who defines her identity. She accepts being called "Great" or any size, offering to become whatever role or stature pleases the addressee—stag, wren, rhinoceros, mouse, queen, page—stressing adaptability and self-erasure. The poem explores identity as responsive performance, the tension between autonomy and pleasing another, and the paradox of being both multiple and reduced to whatever fits the beloved's needs.
Read Complete AnalysesYou said that I was Great one Day Then Great it be if that please Thee Or Small or any size at all Nay I’m the size suit Thee Tall like the Stag would that? Or lower like the Wren Or other heights of Other Ones I’ve seen? Tell which it’s dull to guess And I must be Rhinoceros Or Mouse At once for Thee So say if Queen it be Or Page please Thee I’m that or nought Or other thing if other thing there be With just this Stipulus I suit Thee
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