Gretel in Darkness (Reflection)

Response to “Gretel in Darkness” When beginning a poem or any other type of writing, the first thing a person must do is observe the title. ... The title of the poem I chose is “Gretel in Darkness,” written by Louise Gluck. I assumed by the title that the author is talking about the famous tale “Hansel and Gretel,” as this is the only “Gretel” that comes to mind. The second part of the title mentions Gretel in some sort of darkness. I could only question why Gretel was in the dark. ... As one remembers the tale, Gretel stops the witch from eating Hansel by pushing her into the oven. ... In line seven, Gretel talks about how perfect her life is after the incident, “We sleep, are never hungry.” In line one, Gretel starts the poem with “This is the world we wanted. ... In Gretel’s past, evil, killing and wickedness are the only things that she has experienced. ... Even you, my brother” Gretel tells how Hansel has forgotten the past, but more than that, has not experienced what she has. ... Gretel says “But I killed for you” in line thirteen. This line is a reference to the tale of Hansel and Gretel. In the tale, Gretel is the one that killed the witch while Hansel was safe in his cage.