I wrote created this found poem from Chapter Five to capture what I think to be the essence of it. In my opinion, it is a powerful illustration of the life of isolation Hester is being forced to live. As I read this chapter, I highlighted key words and formatted them into the following poem:
the scarlet letter
condemned her.
(Woman's frailty and sinful passion may seem marvelous, irresistible, and inevitable)
She hid
did not flee.
In this little, lonesome dwelling, a mystic shadow of suspicion
With a strange, contagious
FEAR characterized sin.
She stood apart
a martyr.
The insidious whispers
were
red-hot with infernal fire.
I staggered the lines of my poem to mimic the sense of Hester's disconnect from Boston in this chapter. Even though the people still let her embroider for them, they see her as a pariah and treat her as such. In writing this poem, I found that paying attention to Hawthorne's diction can reveal much about his tone towards the Puritans and towards Hester. You definitely see sympathy for Hester and ridicule of the Puritans for perpetuating nonsensical, extremist Christian beliefs. Based on Hawthorne's characterizations, who do you think he believes is the real "sinner" here?
I hope you liked this poem and remember: pay attention to the words!
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