TOW #10: Warning by Jenny Joseph

            The English poet Jenny Joseph attempts to foresee her future of old age as she describes the behaviors and characteristics that may embody who she will become. Her best known poem, Warning, was labeled as UK’s most popular post-war poem years after it came out in 1961. This poem is focused on the options available to the elderly, specifically older ladies, as they begin to age and lose their sensibility. By the use of her bold language and originality of topic, Joseph is successful in displaying her message that old age is not only when behaviors that were once off-limits are explored but also when social pressures that were so heavily forced upon relax.

In honor of Joseph's poem. The famous lines goes: "When I am an old woman,
I shall wear purple with a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me."

            Joseph begins her poem in a bold contradiction from the clothing she is more familiar with. From wearing more conservative and reserved colors from her youth, Joseph states that when she becomes an old woman, she “shall wear purple with a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit [her]” (lines 1-2). Her declaration of self-assertion suggests that this poetry will focus on how the concept of old age follows the tendency to stand in opposition to conformity. The lines that come after precede with an “and” at the beginning: “And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves, And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter” (lines 3-4). This anaphora and parallel structure remains consistent throughout Joseph’s piece. This technique heavily accentuates the verbs, emphasizing the originality of the content that follows. It represents Joseph’s vitality of mind despite the bodily deterioration due to old age. By utilizing these rhetorical devices, Joseph is able to relay her purpose to a wide range of audience, regardless of age.