“Why I Like the Hospital” : Important Themes – ISC English Rhapsody Solutions

   Why I Like the Hospital :  Themes 

The poem  “Why I Like the Hospital” is based on the poet’s experience and introspection within the setting of an hospital. The poem explores several themes some of the important themes are as follows :

1. Permission to express strong emotions
2. Acceptance of Vulnerability
3. Human suffering and pain
4. Self reflection
5. Loneliness and Isolation
6. Self – Compassion

1. Theme of Permission to Express strong Emotion in “Why I Like the Hospital” :

   The poem  “Why I Like the Hospital” is based on the theme of permission to express emotions. Generally, people don’t like hospital but the poet says in the very first line –  

“Because it is all right to be in a bad mood / there” 

 Here, the poet wants to tell us that he likes hospital because hospital is a place where being in a bad mood or sad, is just all right. Hospital is the only place which allows the free expression of passions.     In this contemporary materialistic world people have become so impersonal and self centred that in their life they allow no scope for expressing their feelings openly. In the western culture they are literally prepared to stifle their feelings or sentiments even in the face of personal loss or tragedy. And stifled feelings leads to depression and loneliness which in turn lead to physical and mental imbalance and many ailment, some of which include dementia, cardiac arrest, cancer etc.    But it is in the hospital that there is no restriction of any kind of expression or pathos. That is why  Tony Hoagland says: 

  “I Like the hospital for he way it grants/ permission for pathos”. 

 This is the most powerful theme of his poem “Why I Like the Hospital”.

 2. Recognition and Acceptance of Vulnerability :

   The poem explores the theme of recognition and acceptance of vulnerability. The poet says in the poem that in a hospital setting, individuals are given the allowance to their true emotions  – whether it is fear, sadness or anger. Hospital is a place that legitimises vulnerability, as incapsulated by the patient’s various emotional struggles.   Ordinarily, the hospital is not a place to be liked. When the poet visits the hospital, he feels that no one feels bad on seeing patients sad and depressed, not even when some terminal patient pouring out his sentiments without any shame through ceaseless sobbing and crying.

 “one sobbing without shame, / pumping it  all out from the bottom of the /self” 

   This emotional release signifies his acceptance of his helplessness and rage, and his refusal to rely on external sources for salvation. The image of the man holding his own hand in sympathy refers to his consoling himself and providing a sort of sympathy to himself as there was perhaps no one to do so.

   3. Theme of Human Suffering and Pain in  “Why I Like the Hospital” by Tony Hoagland :

  The poem explores the theme of human suffering and pain, by featuring characters experiencing physical and emotional distress and suffering. You can feel the air of pain and suffering of Various patients in the hospital. The poet says –

   “the mother with cancer deciding how to  /  tell her kids.”   

 Here, the  poet describes the situation of a mother with cancer, contemplating how to share the news, of her ailment, with her children.  

  “the bald girl gazing downward at the shunt  / installed above her missing breast”    This image create a powerful visual imagery of the girl with cancer, who has lost her hair and her breast after treatment. The girl looking downward, highlighting her vulnerability and physical impact of her illness. It also emphasises her emotional distress as a result of her illness. It shows her depression as she has to live with these changes in her body.
  “the crone in her pyjamas, walking with an /     IV pole.”
     Further the poet describes an elderly woman (crone) wearing  pyjamas walking with a stand, designed to hold a pouch of medicine or fluid for the patients.    These are snapshots of people grappling with life – altering situations, facing their fears and contemplating their own mortality.   All these characters presents the raw reality of human suffering and pain, making it a prominent theme of the poem “Why  I Like the Hospital”.

   4. Theme of Self – Reflection in “Why I Like the Hospital” :

The poet illustrates how hospitals often become spaces for self – reflection. In the face of life altering condition, individuals begin to evaluate their past actions and choices.

    “but I like the way some people on their   / Plastic chairs  break out a notebook and invent a  / Complex scoring system  /   to tally up their days on earth”. 

 The poet depicts people sitting on plastic chairs, developing a complicated scoring system in notebooks to keep track of their deeds, distinguishing between times they performed foolishly and times they acted virtuously.    Even in the midst of disease, this introspection demonstrates a desire for self – improvement, self – reflection and self – awareness.     This theme emphasises self reflection and introspection as a crucial step towards understanding oneself and reevaluating life’s priorities.

 5. Theme of Loneliness and Isolation in ” Why I Like the Hospital” :

  Endless waiting for the visitors is also a common picture which the speaker observes inside a hospital.     The lonely patients in the hospital are waiting for their near and dear ones to come to meet them and have some comforting words with them. The poet compare their long and continuous waiting with the  “long prairie of waiting”.     Each sick person is like a tree standing alone in the middle of the grassland, likely feeling disconnected from their usual lives and relationships.

 “the  forced intimacy of the self with the  / self “.

  As the hospital removes distractions and forces the focus inside, this might leads to forces self – exploration and a deeper awareness of oneself.

“like a tree wondering what happened to  /  the forest”. 

The poet says that each sick person is like  a lone tree in the middle of the field wondering what has happened to the forest. The patients feel alienated inside the hospital just like modern men in the society who despite being with people around feels deeply estranged everywhere.

 6. Theme of Self Compassion in  “Why I Like the Hospital” by Tony Hoagland : 

  In the last stanza of the poem, the poet recalls a man in a  “lime green dressing gown”  it shows a sad moment. Instead of yelling or trying to be strong like most patient are shown to do so, he was “hunched over in a chair” and  “sobbing without shame”.   His tears show that he feels powerless and angry and has lost all hopes that he will be “saved”.    This individual is not pretending to be fine or expecting to be saved. He is only expressing his emotions and  “pumping it all out from the bottom of the self”.But when you look carefully, you will find that he is soothing himself by  “holding his own hand in sympathy” and listening carefully to his own thoughts. This act of self -compassion and self – reflection shows that someone is willing to face and accept their his feelings and experiences.