I shall paint my nails red

Critical Appreciation
Title:
“I Shall Paint My Nails Red” is a poem written by the British poet Carole Satyamurti.
Satyamurti was a woman of many talents – a poet, translator, professor, and sociologist. She
was very interested in psychoanalytic theory and often talked about the connection between
poetry and psychoanalysis. She was born on 13th August 1939 and died on 13th August
2019. Satyamurti, along with Duffy, is hailed as some of the best women poets in
contemporary British poetry. Her subjects, therefore, deal with the lived experiences of a
woman, identity crisis, suffering, and social processes.

Theme:
The idea of femininity is a double-edged sword. It seeks to make a woman more desirable,
and yet she is also rebuked for any outward show of femininity. The red color has long been
associated with negative connotations, and Satyamurti subverts that idea in her poem.
A woman’s identity is traditionally tied to her relationships, for instance, her role as a mother
or her role as a wife or lover. Satyamurti writes about how her daughter will utter, “ugh,” if
she paints her nails red. This is because children do not want to see their parents as attractive
to the opposite gender, particularly their mothers. Besides, the poet’s lover will be surprised,
probably because he never expects her to assert her femininity.

Critical Analysis:
Satyamurti begins the poem “I Shall Paint My Nails Red” by stating that painting her
nails red is a sort of “public service.” This declaration is as bold as the choice of color.
It suggests that the speaker is unapologetic. She is proud of her choice, even though
readers can assume that this is the voice of a middle-aged woman speaking. Her
hands are probably wrinkled and traditionally not something that makes women
proud. Women try their best not to let these wrinkles glare through their skins.
However, the speaker’s hands remind her that she is a woman.
There is a certain heaviness in the third line, which speaks of the trauma that women
face because of their identity as a woman. However, Satyamurti’s line is powerful; it
firmly establishes the identity of the speaker as an unafraid, confident woman who is
not ashamed of displaying her red nails boldly.
The use of the word “survivor” in the fourth line hints at the trauma that comes with
the lived experience of a woman. It hints at a past filled with suffering that the
speaker had to overcome. However, it also suggests that the speaker is still affected
by lingering traces of her traumatic past. She immediately changes her tone to a
mere playful one, saying that she can admire red nails while waiting in traffic jams.
Here, the red traffic light image further stresses the use of the color red as a
recurring motif.
In the sixth line, Satyamurti writes that her daughter will say “ugh,” which suggests
that her daughter is young and does not want to think of her mother as desirable or
fashionable. Her daughter will probably find the carnal appeal in her mother an
anachronism, something that belongs in the past.
This is the natural “subject” that Satyamurti seeks to change by stating that women
have the right to control their appearance, regardless of age. Her lover will be
surprised, probably because the color red is unexpected for her age. Not just
because the poet is a woman, but perhaps her past self was not this unapologetic or
bold. Being a product of her past experiences, she learned the art of change for self-
preservation and upholding her femininity
Dyeing the hair is another way that women seek to either alter or hide their
authentic selves. The “dye” could either be read as a form of self-expression,
or a symbol of age, as older women are often associated with hair dyes.
Seeing as the speaker’s desire is for a temporary, reversible change, one can
assume that “dyeing” symbolizes both.

As the speaker is an older woman, she is encouraged to dye her hair but not
paint her nails red. In comparison, both are a form of self-expression. The
speaker prefers something more temporary, like painting her nails, than
dyeing her hair as she wants something “quicker.” Besides, she might want to
change her moldering identity, which brings us to the last two lines of the
poem.

The poem ends with the line, “Because it is reversible.” The need for a change
that is “reversible” stems from a shifting sense of identity common for women,
particularly modern women. As they make sense of contemporary
contradictions, they also feel the need to change their “self” from time to time.

Summary:
“I Shall Paint My Nails Red” is written in first-person and talks about the desire of a woman
to assert her femininity. By asserting her identity, the speaker (Satyamurti) challenges the
norms of a patriarchal society. She lists ten reasons why she “shall” paint her nails red.

Red – the symbol of strong, powerful emotions and feelings. Red evokes feelings of passion,
aggression, love, lust, and hatred. Carole Satyamurti’s poem “I Shall Paint My Nails Red”
conveyed a tone of self-confidence and an “I’ll do whatever the heck I want so deal with it”
attitude. I loved the speaker in this poem, she is so strong, so individualistic, yet not rude, all
at the same time. Every line of poetry is a distinct statement filled with self expression. It is
almost as if she’s begging the reader to question her, trying to make the reader tell her she
can’t do something and in return she’ll prove us all wrong. One of my favorite lines was
“Because I am proud of my hands.” Red nail polish is quite flashy and easily noticeable on
the hands of anyone and will definitely draw attention. Being proud of hands shows
confidence and self esteem in my opinion, and if living a satisfying life, who wouldn’t be
proud of the hands that provide? Another line that I found interesting was “Because my
daughter will say ugh.” That actually made me laugh since my mother paints her nails red all
the time and my brother always disdainfully asks if she thinks she’s a waitress. However, I
was surprised in the fact that she was a mother. At first I had imagined a young woman, but
the fact that she is a mother makes this woman all that more interesting. The only line that
tripped me up was the last one, “Because it is reversible.” There can be several meanings
behind this last statement – ever changing personality? Knows she can always start
something new? Afraid of permanence? Yet since she came across so strong to me in the
previous lines, I’d like to think she is trying to tell the world that now she wants to paint her
nails red, but if she wants to paint them purple, green, or orange tomorrow… well she’ll just
do whatever she wants and no one will be able to stand in her way.

Tone:
The tone of the poem is personal and sometimes it is romantic.
Structure:
Satyamurti does not follow a regular rhyme scheme, but there is an interesting rhythmic
pattern in “I Shall Paint My Nails Red.” The poem is short, yet every line is a complete
sentence in itself. Satyamurti, like her contemporaries, ditches the formal rhyme scheme.
Instead, she adds rhythm to the poem by using the poetic device, anaphora. She uses the first
person singular “I,” which suggests that the poem is personal. However, in the realm of
feminist theory, the personal is political, and Satyamurti’s take on gender thus makes her
poem political.
The poem consists of ten lines and is written in free-verse. She does not mention red nails
explicitly in the poem. Rather, she asserts her reasons for choosing the color and the reactions
it elicits from her daughter and lover. This creates a deliberate dramatic effect but makes the
poem accessible.

Sense:
Sound:
Language & Imagery:
The visual image of red nails is striking. It stays with the reader throughout the
poem, even though Satyamurti uses the image only in the title. This is aided by
the deliberate repetition and refrain that adds to the rhythm of the poem.

Literary Devices
In “I Shall Paint My Nails Red,” Satyamurti makes use of the following literary devices
that make her ideas seem more forceful and appealing to readers.
 Repetition: Every line, except for the title of the poem, begins with the
word “Because.” The word “Because” explains the reason why the poet
wants to paint her nails red. However, the repetition puts more
emphasis on the lines, gives them a rhythm, and thus creates a more
significant impact on the reader.
 Alliteration: This usage of this device can be found in “look like” and
“ten-minute moratorium.”
 Simile: Satyamurti makes a direct comparison to a survivor with the
word “like” in “Because I will look like a survivor.”
 Assonance: To create an internal rhythm, Satyamurti uses assonance in
the following phrases: “Dyeing my hair,” “it will remind me I‘m a
woman,” etc.
 Sarcasm: Satyamurti uses sarcasm to lighten the tone of the poem. In
the first line, she says that using color is a sort of public service.
 Symbolism: The color “Red” in the poem symbolizes passion, boldness,
desire, and femininity.
 Imagery: The visual image of red nails is striking. It stays with the reader
throughout the poem, even though Satyamurti uses the image only in
the title. This is aided by the deliberate repetition and refrain that adds
to the rhythm of the poem.
 Anaphora: Satyamurti uses the word “Because” to begin every line for
the sake of emphasis. This repetition further drives home the conflict
about identity in the poem.