Myth and Recreation in Louise Glück’s “October”

Abstract

Louise Glück’s “October” is the first poem in her poetry collection Averno (2006). The poem can be read in terms of Persephone’s myth and it directly places the reader in the context of some major event that is taking place. It often alludes to a world that has been abruptly altered, both personally and societally, by violence. The speaker in the poem constantly refers to traumatic effects that recur and prevent her from recuperation. The physical pain she feels is hindering even her ability to create poetry. Glück indirectly suggests, through Persephone's myth, the existence of a continuous traumatic episodes in the postmodern society. Just as the myth explains the cycle of life and death in nature, Glück shows that recreation is possible as a means of survival.