(love song, with two goldfish) Commentary

(love song, with two goldfish), by Grace Chua, is a humorous take on the kind of stereotypical romance that is
often represented in popular music. In Chuas version of the love song romance, goldfish seem to replace
actual humans which gives her an opportunity to poke gentle fun at the genre as well as use some particularly
fishy clichs and puns. In the poem we meet two young lovers who seem to be hitting it off. The male of the
pair makes the first move and the female responds to his advances. He makes promises and plans but before
long (the fourth stanza), she loses interest and he is left in despair. In the last stanza we learn, through yet
another common turn of phrase, that she wanted more from life than he could give her. While the poem
features witty wordplay, a light, humorous tone and a visually creative use of parentheses, the central idea,
that love can be undermined by limited circumstances and a desire for broader life-experience, is a serious one
that leaves the reader in a solemn, reflective place.

Chuas use of puns is the first thing that strikes the reader. In the first stanza the male is described as a
drifter, always/ floating around her (1, 2), which is a reasonable metaphor until you get to his desire that she
sing the scales (4) and give him the fish eye (5). Then you remember the odd title and the notion that
goldfish somehow play a part in this love story. Suddenly the fishbowl comes into view and any hope of taking
this love story seriously is off. It is a love song, after all. The fish eyes are repeated and joined by kissy
lips (8, 9). By the end of the second stanza, she is hooked, and we realize that the love and fish metaphors
are not actually new to us. Hook, line and sinker (11) is a metaphor familiar to anyone who has described
someone falling for a line. At this point it is the reader who has fallen for Chuas easy tone.

By the third paragraph we see our protagonist (most of the poem is from the males perspective) falling hard
and making plans to [d]ive for pearls like stars (16). In a clever turn of phrase, Chua shows us that for her
goldfish, up is really down; their version of the sky is actually the depths of the ocean where the oysters hide
their riches. Diving for pearls is a notoriously risky affair that depends on good fortune. It turns out that our
female goldfish is not interested in promises like empty oyster shells.

When her love goes belly-up (19) in the fourth stanza we have an ugly image that describes an ugly reality.
She is not interested in his hope-filled romantic notions, presumably. Staying true to the stereotype of the
spurned lover, our protagonist turns to drink except that, in Chuas upside-down world, even the clichs can
be inverted. His heart sinks/ like a fish and [h]e drinks/ like a stone (19, 20). Mixing these metaphors keeps
us on our toes and gives us another chuckle when our brain works through the muddle.

By the time we get to the final stanza, the strange use of parentheses finally makes sense. The previous
stanzas were entirely bounded by the brackets so that we hardly notice them, but now, in the final stanza,
phrases are separated by parentheses and we realize that the separation is metaphorical as well as
grammatical. He and she are no longer in the same parenthetical world. Then we see the one phrase in
the poem that is not bounded by brackets and we realize that a life/ beyond (26, 27) is what our female was
after. The (bowl) (28), on the last line by itself, makes the visual metaphor unmistakeable and we begin to
think about that place where they live in a different way. Maybe she has her own dreams? Maybe he was too
content, too comfortable in their fishbowl of a town? Maybe she knew it would never work out in the long run.

As clever and satisfying as Chuas use of parentheses is on the surface (pardon the pun), she does bring an
element into her love story parody at the end that leaves the reader with something real to ponder. What does
happen when two people truly love each other but have radically different ideas about how life should be led?
Can one easily give up ones dreams to make love work? The reader is left to ponder the real-life tragedy of
love that can not work, and suddenly, we are not smiling anymore.
(Love Song, with Two Goldfish) Commentary
(love song, with deuce goldfish) Commentary

The poetry (love song, with dickens goldfish), by Grace Chua, depicts the experiences of two fish in a fishbowl.
The poem chronologically depicts the contrasting stages of the relationship between the two fish. Chua pitchs
these goldfish as a metaphorical representation for a man falling in love with a woman, and occasions this
metaphor to present a perturbing ending to a relationship in a tripping way. Just as the poem is very
chronological, it is most tardily analyzed stanza by stanza.
The title of the poem introduces us right(a) away to metaphor that will be presented throughout the all told
poem. The words love song give us the initial impression the poem will be about a relationship between to
people. It introduces a theme, typically attributed to love songs, of appetite for someone or expressing hearts
for another that will be present throughout the whole poem. The second phrase in the title, with two goldfish,
lets us know that Chua will be using goldfish to tell this love story, and that the reader should be aware the
poem is not literally talking about two goldfish. Also, the use of parenthesis is the first instance of a technique
employ throughout the whole poem that gives a reader the feeling of being trapped in the fishbowl much like
the two goldfish in the poem.
This techniques effect becomes more observable by the end of the poem.
The first stanza introduces the male fishes longing for the female fish that is in the same bowl as him. Chua
presents an flesh of the fish floating most, describing him as a drifter and unceasingly floating around her. The
enjambment in the first stanza makes the strike very choppy, and gives an uneasy nervous feeling associated
with the male fish as if he is swimming around the bowl in this way. The image of a fishbowl is again presented
with parenthesis around the whole stanza, but also when Chua writes, has nowhere else to go (3).

PAPER NUMBER 1 EXAMPLE (A)
Grace Chuas poem, (love song, with two goldfish) describes a basic love story that yields no happy
ending. In this song, male wants female, but the female wants more than what the male can provide. A
difference in desires is established. Although the characters of this song are both goldfish, I believe this story
represents and can act as a metaphor for numerous relationships in which a female feels trapped or closed in
and the male that loves her if not capable of satisfying her desires. Through Grace Chuas use of punctuation
and hints of theme, the reader can sense why this song has no happy ending. It can be seen through the
perceptions and desires of the characters involved.
In this passage, I think the use of parenthesis have several meanings. Each of the meanings pertains
to one of the two characters. My initial assumption was that the parenthesis supported the idea of the male
fishs shyness. Chua does not let the reader whether or not the male fish has told his love of all he would do.
He would take her to the ocean, they could count the waves. By doing this, I receive the impression that his
fish does not have a robust personality. Also, through phrases and sentences like He wishes she would sing,
not must just the scales; or take some notice, and swallows his charm hook, I see a timid male fish. By
saying take some notice, its almost as if the female fish doesnt know he exists. In addition, by the use of the
work hook in the second phrase given, not only is he trying to catch her, but he also attempts to catch her at
a distance. When casting a sinking line, the hook is very far from the fisher. When using parenthesis in the
text, the words enclosed are normally just side notes not meant to be said aloud or not as important as the
other text. Seeing that this poem is mostly the male fishs thoughts through third person, I took the sue of
parenthesis as the male fishs thoughts that he felt were not worth saying aloud and only thoughts to keep to
himself.
On the other hand, I feel the parenthesis symbolize how the female fish felt in the bowl. She felt
enclosed and trapped. The parenthesis enclose words just as the wish bowl does to her. The shape of the
parenthesis also support the idea of the shape of the fish bowl. In the poem, the goldfish are bounded by
walls and in this poem the words are bounded by round brackets.
There are only four words unbound by the round brackets, a life beyond. These words are not closed
in and that is where the female goldfish wants to be. After analysis up to this point, the desires of each goldfish
has been made clear. The male loves the female, but the female just wants to get out. She is ready to move
up and explore what is beyond her boundaries. Hes a drifter, always floating around her . . . and seems
content with where she is. Here is a conflict in desires. He wants her, but she wants someone who can offer
her a way out. These conflicting interests are also shown through a theme of dimension. Numerous times up
and down are referred to. Up represents the female and down represent the male. In the poem when referring
to the male or his thoughts, the following phrases are used: submarine silence, dive for pearls, and his
heart sinks. All these phrases involve some form of going deeper into the water, deeper into the bowl in which
they live. However, when the female is mentioned, words like darts or belly up are used. Darts implies
that she is ready to move fast into a new life, moreso than a drifter and although belly up in context refers to
her love towards the male (that has died), it still means moving upward.
This story has no happy ending because the two characters in this love song do not end up together.
Neither of the desires each goldfish has is satisfied. The female has not found a way out and the male does
not get the female. Through Chuas use of punctuation and theme it is easy to assume that the goldfish
wanted different things. Due to these different desires and perceptions, I have come to find out why this cure
love song has no happy ending.