Hypocrisy
This poem is entirely composed of words written by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. What makes it a poem is that certain passages have been edited—though nothing has been added—which alters the context of the meaning. It is important to remember that this is the document in which Jefferson asserts that it is a self-evident truth that all men are created equal. Using that standard, he then produced a list of grievances addressed to King George III which complained about the rule of British monarch was not treating colonists equally as loyal British subjects. This poem is constructed from that section of the Declaration and has been edited into a series of grievances that reveal the hypocrisy of the founding fathers of America complaining about not being treated as equals and then turning around and creating a country that failed to abolish slavery.
Erasure
“Declaration” is a type of literature called erasure poetry. It is created by taking an existing text and removing some of it to create new context, but in this particular case (and well as many others) the point is also to highlight how the text is an example of erasure literature. Structurally, the format of the poem includes gaps in the text where Jefferson’s words have been edited out. This makes the erasure quite literal. The Declaration of Independence essentially established the creation of brand-new nation in which everyone who was not a man and did not own property did not share all the rights immediately conferred upon all white men who owned property. If America remained the country as it was originally conceived by the writer of the Declaration, at least three-fourths of the population would today not be extended the right to vote. That erasure is the real theme of the poem.
Editorial Power
As an example of erasure poetry, an underlying theme is related to medium rather than the message. By using only words written by an author other than the poet, and with no additions of text composed by the poet, the entire point of the poem is ultimately one of the power of editorial control. The most obvious element of erasure poetry is, appropriately, the part of the original text that has been erased. Arguably, however, the most important thing about this form—and certainly about this poem in particular—is that nothing has been added. The entire poem remains literally the work of Thomas Jefferson as it pertains to the text. The most significant thing about the text, however, is what has been removed and how that alters the original context so that the meaning becomes completely different. It is a visceral example of how an original creation by one person is subject to the editorial control of another in conveying meaning. Declaration” is a declaration of the power of the editor to manipulate the meaning of a text.
