Monday, February 4, 2008

Repitition in "In Paris With You"

The repitition in "In Paris With You" displays the obsession the speaker has for his love. Having been "bamboozled", "marooneded", "wounded", and taken as a "hostage", the speaker has obviously been troubled by his lover. The speaker has had an earful of her talking and doesn't feel like listening to any more. All that matters to the speaker is that he is "in Paris with you". This is made extremely clear by the constant use of the phrase and the way the phrase is integrated into every idea in the poem.
Love is not what interests the speaker. It is thrown out immediatley: "Don't talk to me of love". We know that Paris cannot mean love because the speaker wishes to speak of Paris instead of love. Paris does seem to be a form of desire, as seen in the last stanza: "Im in paris with the slightest thing you do. I'm in paris with you eyes, your mouth...". The speaker uses the term "Paris" to describe an infatutation and judging by the things the speaker is "in Paris" with, it seems to be a lustful infatuatation.
The repitition used in the poem makes the speaker sound like he is making his final speech, almost like foreplay. At the end of nearly each stanza, the speaker reminds his lover that he is "in Paris with you". Every idea that is raised during the poem is drowned by the thought of being in Paris. And at the end, the speaker's last chance, over and over again the speaker is in Paris with his lover. The speaker stutters when he reaches the climax of being in Paris, as if to say, what the heck, its true, and then wonders if he has messed up. Quickly and abruptly the speaker ends in Paris yet again.

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