Lulu Gay
Lulu Gay - meaning Summary
Performance Provokes Exotic Desire
The poem depicts a singer, Lulu, performing for eunuchs by recounting encounters with supposed "barbarians." Her vivid, sensual descriptions—kissing, wide mouths, gum-tree breath—provoke constant ululation from the listeners. The scene examines theatrical display, exoticized desire, and audience response: Lulu’s storytelling creates an eroticized image of the other while the eunuchs’ repetitive cries register both fascination and distance.
Read Complete AnalysesLulu sang of barbarians before the eunuchs Of gobs, who called her orchidean, Sniffed her and slapped heavy hands Upon her. She made the eunuchs ululate. She described for them The manners of the barbarians What they did with their thumbs. The eunuchs heard her With continual ululation. She described how the barbarians kissed her With their wide mouths And breaths as true As the gum of the gum-tree. “Olu” the eunuchs cried. “Ululalu”
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