If I had a shiny gun,
I could have a world of fun
Speeding bullets through the brains
Of the folk who give me pains;

Or had I some poison gas,
I could make the moments pass
Bumping off a number of
People whom I do not love.

But I have no lethal weapon-
Thus does Fate our pleasure step on!
So they still are quick and well
Who should be, by rights, in hell.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Dorothy Parker's poem Frustration

5 Comments

  1. Aimee says:

    It’s not about just being teased or annoyed. It’s about tired of being judged, tired of people in your life betraying you, tired of all those who have in some way ruined a part of your life. Annoyed and being teased isn’t even half of it. When you become an adult you aren’t tease, you’re judged. People annoy you but you get over that. This poem is about the stream of consiousness of Parker. She if fed up with all the bullshit she has lived through and thinking to herself if only she had that gun she could releive the aggrivation people put on her on a everydday basis. I’m sure many people, me even, get so angry and frustrated at others to the extent you wish they were just dead. Yeah its satire and a little humorous, but if you truly look at it, it’s not funny at all, it’s just the real world and the aggrivations that come a long with it.

  2. chelsea berenstein says:

    even though most people may think this poem is unhealthy for teenager minds, I find this poem to be a good show of what everyone feels at some point in their lifetime. I also found it strangely hilaRIOUS!(:

  3. Jay Orin says:

    I don’t think it is about getting teased as it is about times when people really annoy you. They don’t even have to tease to be annoy; sometimes, all they have to do is merely exist. I think that point of the poem.

  4. frank hernandez says:

    this poem lits you go inside the mind of people the get made fun of where ever they go.It let you know what they like to do to the people that hurt them.It’s a good poem

  5. melinda lamb says:

    I don’t know if such was the goal but I thought this poem was hilarious! And my grandma liked the “poison gas” part.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Do you have any comments, criticism, paraphrasis or analysis of this poem that you feel would assist other visitors in understanding the meaning or the theme of this poem by Dorothy Parker better? If accepted, your analysis will be added to this page of American Poems. Together we can build a wealth of information, but it will take some discipline and determination.