Southeast Corner
Southeast Corner - meaning Summary
Beauty's Decline and Conversion
The poem depicts a former School of Beauty turned tavern and its madam who now lies buried among the graves. It emphasizes how her worldly trappings have been converted into funeral accoutrements—steel, velvet, silk—so that the dignity of death contrasts with the diminished, repurposed life she once led. The tone registers irony and quiet resignation about change, material value, and mortality within an urban setting.
Read Complete AnalysesThe School of Beauty’s a tavern now. The Madam is underground. Out at Lincoln, among the graves Her own is early found. Where the thickest, tallest monument Cuts grandly into the air The Madam lies, contentedly. Her fortune, too, lies there, Converted into cool hard steel And bright red velvet lining; While over her tan impassivity Shot silk is shining.
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