I Shall Paint My Nails Red Analysis

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I shall paint my nails red The poem, ‘I shall paint my nails red’ by Carole Satyamurti is a 10 line description of the powerful reasons for why she should paint her nails red and how it is a bold statement. The significant colour red symbolises moods such as love, danger, power and passion. This suggests that this woman wants to be noticed; therefore we are led to believe that she isn’t already. This links to the use of the powerful verb “shall” which shows her determination to get recognition by painting her nails. In this poem, Satayamurti uses different relationships to the woman: her daughter, lover and society and how they would react to red nails. “Because my daughter will say ugh”, the use of onomatopoeia relates to ‘societies unwritten rules’, her daughter will think that it’s unacceptable as if it’s a disgrace for her to paint her nails red, she cannot be herself.…show more content…
This infers that she is trying to persuade herself to paint her nails and forget what others will think because she is allowed to do what she wants. The poem reads as though the woman is trying to come up with a good enough reason to paint her nails which makes the reader think that she is asking them for acceptance. Furthermore the poem highlights the role of a mother, “because a bit of colour is public service” this could link to how her job as a mother is professional and painting her nails red will be pleasurable for her and whoever sees; she is doing her part for
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