Tattoo

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2003

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

Heart & Dagger

Hearts are often symbolic of love, and a heart with a dagger through it is often seen as a sign of heartbreak or betrayal, especially in tattoo iconography. The fact that the “dagger” (Line 1) is “held in the fist / of a shuddering heart” (Line 1) shows that as much as the heart “shudder[s]” (Line 1), it still grips the implement wounding it. Symbolically, this suggests the man holds onto that which wounded him. He can’t let go of the betrayal, so it becomes a “bruise” (Line 3) where “vanity once punched him hard” (Line 5). This is echoed in the last line, where the speaker describes the man with “his heart gone soft and blue” (Line 15). Here, the “heart” (Line 15) could also literally refer back to the faded tattoo, which is “soft and blue” (Line 15) like a “bruise” (Line 3), or the “heart” (Line 15) of the man, which is “soft and blue” (Line 15) with emotional damage. The heart is both a real description of a design on the man’s skin and a symbol of his inner life.

Stallion

A stallion is a male horse which has not been gelded. Stallions are noted for their virility and their mean, aggressive behavior, resulting in a tendency to dominate other horses. While these attributes do not always hold true in real life, the traditional symbolism is used in the description of the man by the speaker. The notation that the man was “strong as a stallion, fast and ornery” (Line 8) implies many things about the man in his youth. First, he, like the stallion, was a leader, potentially physically aggressive, and surrounded by several women as a stallion would be surrounded by a herd of mares. “Ornery” (Line 8) suggests he was ill-tempered and combative and “fast” (Line 8) suggests either promiscuity or the ability to outrun censure or training, i.e., being broken. This suggests that the man might have been rejected by the object of his affection because of meanness or violence.

Broken Tools

The speaker heavily implies that the old man insists on carrying the wound of heartbreak and cannot find the tools to fix it. The tattoo has faded into “just a bruise” (Line 3), but it is a memento that proves “the ache lingered on” (Line 6). The speaker feels that the old man insists on still making “a statement’” (Line 1) about his heartbreak, even though it is long past, shown by him showing off his faded tattoo, even on a cold day. The old man needs his tattoo to remain ever present, to explain the reason his strength faltered. However, the speaker describes him as “only another old man” (Line 13) who is “picking up / broken tools and putting them back” (Lines 13-14), showing that there is little to be done to relieve his burden of heartbreak because he willfully carries it as a symbol. The tools to fix it—humility, kindness—are shown symbolically to be useless, or “broken” (Line 14). He’s looking for things second-hand rather than seeking out the best tools for his project (himself). The speaker lets us know that the man’s attitude and posturing show how his heart has “gone soft and blue” (Line 15) with the “stories” (Line 15) he tells himself. In other words, he wants to believe that the youthful heartbreak has inevitably altered the course of his life.