I Shall Paint My Nails Red

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I Shall Paint My Nails Red by Carole Satyamurti
(pg 29)
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I Shall Paint My Nails Red

• This is a short poem written in one complete
  stanza. The title forms the opening to each line
  and the poet responds by justifying why she wants
  to paint her nails red. Each line begins with
  because and gives a full response to the title.
  
• The red nails are supposed to represent all the
  different ideas in the poem femininity,
  excitement, surprise, sex, embarrassment to her
  children. These different ideas address what it
  means to be a modern woman professional, strong,
  attractive, proud, a mother, a lover.

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Subject Themes

• Femininity
• Appearance
• Pride
• Stereotypes

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she thinks a womans role is to look good and
brighten her environment
she has self-respect
because a bit of colour is a public
servicebecause I am proud of my hands.because
it will remind me I'm a woman.because I will
look like a survivor.
symbolises her femininity
the red is a symbol of strength and resilience
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slightly humorous, but also indication that she
is independent
because I can admire them in traffic jamsbecause
my daughter will say ugh.because my lover will
be surprised.
sweet and funny, she is fulfilling her role as a
mother
role as a lover
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another option she has the poem is about being
able to adapt to different situations
emphasised in the final line
because it is quicker than dyeing my
hair.because it is a ten-minute
moratorium.because it is reversible.
moratorium meaning break it is something
she can do to occupy herself
this final line is key reversible means she
can always remove the varnish unlike a tattoo or
surgery. She can change her appearance in a
subtle way to please herself, others etc. but the
results are always reversible
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Links to other poems

• The defiant feminist tone makes Warning its
  obvious comparison.
• Both poems are concerned with stereotypes what
  people expect of us. Satyamurti does not battle
  with expectations in the way Jenny Joseph does.
  She is a strong woman but seems content.
• Not My Best Side is also linked in this way.
• Still I Rise is another one for comparison as
  it is another strong female voice.

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Hints and Tips

• I would avoid writing about this poem in an exam
  as it is too short and simple to make lots of
  effective PEE statements about. If it comes up,
  or you do choose it as a comparison point, you
  will need to comment on its straightforward, bold
  style one stanza with each line making a
  powerful statement about what it is to be a
  woman. There is a pattern to the use of the
  words used shall in the title, will,
  can, my, is in the later lines reveal
  definite statements about her life.

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Example Questions

1. Look again at this poem and another poem in the
   anthology written by a female poet. What do
   these poems reveal about what it means to be a
   woman?
2. Both I Shall Paint My Nails Red and Still I
   Rise are poems full of self-confidence. In
   which ways are they similar and in which ways do
   they differ?