Confused Success

In the book 180 More Extraordinary Poems for Every Day by Billy Collins, a poem has captured my attention because of its repetitive words and sentences. The poem "Denial" by David Lehman, is about how the author denies the hangover he is experiencing. I do not understand the intentions behind the author’s reason to write this poem because it is confusing and exaggerated.

The poem “Denial” was written using the same words, but in many different ways. I think that the author wants the readers try to imagine how he feels a day after he drank a lot. The author says, “I am not hungover” (1). He cannot forget the experience of discomfort and sickness he feels when he drinks. He also pays emphasis on repetition because he does not want to repeat the same experience. By pretending he is not feeling hung over; he probably starts believing he is not hung over the longer he is in denial. He starts to believe his own lies. He may also want to remind himself that he is hung over so that he can say he is better than that.

I think that the poet exaggerates in the poem because he feels confused while he writes it. He wants to demonstrate to himself that he is not so sure about his hung over state because he does not how many beverages he ingested to put him in that way. Too, he is as any other drunk that know they drink a lot, but they pretend that nothing is happening. They say that they are right and that they can do many things that they should not. Many times when people are drunk, they behave stubbornly and talk a little too much.

The author creates the poem as a past time because he wants to write all the ways he can say the same thing in different syntax. He probably does this more so because he is trying to change the reality by saying the opposite of what he is really experiencing. When he does not admit he is hung over, he feels he is in control of his situation to lessen the feeling of being hung over because perception is reality.

The author wants to create something different than the conventional. This poem says a lot about his personality because he wants to be unique and spontaneous. He wants to be remembered for creating something different. The author also wants to capture the readers’ attention, and he gets it because his creation is unusual. He is not worried for other people criticizing his art. He might not sound like a professional poet, but he does not care. He is trying to connect with the audience even if it is controversial. He is being more human and easy to relate since his audience probably have experienced being hung over or have been in denial of the consequences of their actions.

I do not know why the author wrote the poem, but I think that he should have written more instead of being repetitive to the point where he begins to confuse me. He could have specified he was talking to a significant other, trying to behave as if he is not hung over. Maybe it was the first time in a long time in his life that he is actually not hung over and he is incredulous and proud of his accomplishment.