Creating and Defining the Theoretical Lens

The two lenses I am bringing together are queer theory and deconstructive criticism. They find themselves intertwined specifically on account of their common interest in the fragmented, fluid human identity. Deconstructive criticism, if defined by such an interest, would be this: “If language is the ground of being, then the world is infinite text, that is, infinite chains of signifiers always in play. Because human beings are constituted by language, they, too, are texts. In other words, deconstruction’s theory of language has implications for subjectivity, for what it means to be a human being” (Tyson 243). Queer theory boils down to some key points as well as to its connection with deconstructive criticism: “The word queer … as an inclusive term, seeks to heal … divisions by offering a collective identity to which all LGBTQ people can belong … However, for queer theory, categories of sexuality cannot be defined by such simple oppositions as homosexual/heterosexual. Building on deconstruction’s insights into human subjectivity (selfhood) as a fluid, fragmented, dynamic collectivity of possible ‘selves,’ queer theory defines individual sexuality as a fluid, fragmented, dynamic collectivity of possible sexualities” (Tyson 320). 

In light of the intertwined definitions, it is important to note some of the concepts that make queer deconstructive criticism an applicable lens. Heteropatriarchy, or the familial structure made of up a heterosexual couple (man and woman) and dominated by the male figure, and compulsory heterosexuality, or the way in which society treats individuals as heterosexual until proven otherwise, are forces acutely felt by the speaker of “Edge,” but it is the unique subjectivity of this speaker that brings a sense of resistance and transcendence. The chains of signifiers associated with specific moments in the poetry as well as the female pronouns reveal a hollowness in the womanhood and thus a hidden, unarticulated gender identity and fluid, unexplored sexuality. Moreover, the collapse of binaries associated with the “female” condition illuminates “queerness” that would otherwise be written off as sheer depression.