Umpierre & Ortiz 1

Ivan A. Umpierre, Janpierre Ortiz

Professor Ellen Pratt
INGL3104
April 13, 2015
Le sporting-club de Monte Carlo (for Lena Horne)
The lady is a tramp

a camp
a lamp

The lady is a sight

a might
a light
the lady devastated
an alley or two
reverberated through the valley
which leads to me, and you

the lady is the apple

of Gods eye:
Hes cool enough about it
but He tends to strut a little
when she passes by

Umpierre & Ortiz 2

the lady is a wonder

daughter of the thunder
smashing cages
legislating rages
with the voice of ages
singing us through.

Explication of Le sporting-club de Monte Carlo (For Lena Horne)

According to the title, Baldwin wrote this poem for singer, actress, and fellow civil rights
activist Lena Horne. It is safe to assume that Baldwin and Horne were friends, as he dedicated
this poem for her. The poem begins with the line The lady is a tramp. The word tramp has
various meanings, but here he refers to Horne as a tramp because of her dancing, since she
tramped, or walked heavily, onstage. The lady is a tramp is also a reference to a Broadway
musical that Horne performed in. The next line in the poem is a camp. The word camp could
mean someone who wears bright colors and makes loud noises, which could be referring again to
Hornes onstage persona. The word camp can also be used to refer to effeminacy, which is
interesting since Baldwin was homosexual. He might have seen himself in Hornes feminine
movements. The line a lamp could be a metaphor to describe once again Horne when she
performs, being bright like the light from a lamp.

The next three lines continue to describe Horne. The lady is a sight is quite literal and it
simply means that shes a spectacle to behold. a might most likely refers to her power onstage.

Umpierre & Ortiz 3

a light metaphorically describes yet again how she shines onstage, and is related to the line a
lamp as lamps emit light. These last 6 lines have shown a rhyme pattern. In the line the lady
devastated, the lady refers to Horne and devastated could mean that she shocked or
overwhelmed an alley or two which is probably a metaphor for stages. reverberated through
the valley is a metaphor to explain how word of Hornes voice and dancing became well
known. which leads to me, and you explaining how Hornes performances reached me as in
Baldwin and you as in the reader.

The next two lines read the lady is the apple and of Gods eye:. The lady once
again being Horne is referred to as the apple of Gods eye which is a religious metaphor that
means that God was proud of Horne. The next three lines talk about how even God wants to
impress Horne. In the line Hes cool enough about it, He refers to God and by cool about it,
Baldwin means that God acts nonchalantly about Horne, but in the lines but He tends to strut a
little and when she passes by, Baldwin explains that God struts, or walks pompously, when he
sees Horne. It is clear that Baldwin sees Horne as such an amazing human being that she would
be someone that even God wishes to sway. These lines also possibly reflect Baldwins religious
upbringing, as he mentions God various times.

The last six lines of this poem once again describe Horne. The line the lady is a wonder
is quite literal and simply means that Horne is something to see. The line daughter of the
thunder is a metaphor that describes how Hornes singing is loud like thunder. The lines
smashing cages and legislating rages probably refer to her civil rights activism, as she
helped smashing the cages of discrimination and silenced rage, or anger. Baldwin finishes the
poem with the lines with the voice of ages and singing us through. Voice literally referring

Umpierre & Ortiz 4

to Hornes voice in both her singing and her activism, and describing her voice as the voice of
ages because her words will be heard by people long after her passing. singing us through
means that her voice is still heard in the present in the form of her music.

This poem is a descriptive poem, and its Baldwins description of Lena Horne. Being a
descriptive poem, Baldwin makes extensive use of metaphors in order to explain how he views
Horne. The poem has a somewhat inspired tone, as Baldwin speaks very highly of Horne, even
going as far as saying that God himself is proud of her, and the mood of the poem could be
described as passionate and maybe even playful while he refers to Horne as a camp and a
lamp, but taking a slightly more serious mood towards the end when he begins to refer to her as
daughter of the thunder. The poem contains some allusions, such as The lady is a tramp
which is the name of a song and musical, and The apple of Gods eye which is a metaphor
from the Bible. Baldwin wrote this poem so readers understood how special Lena Horne was as a
performer, musician, activist, and human.