Photograph of me by Atwood

What is the implied irony or paradox of the title, and of the poem itself? What does the irony inherent throughout indicate about poetry, or about the meaning, or about anything else that you think might be the subject of the poem? What do you make of the open form of the poem, its arrangement of lines, and its lack of regular punctuation or traditional form? Discuss the two different parts of the poem, with their dominant images and contrasts – does the poem seem to lack focus or direction, or does it build to its own unique direction? In addition, how do you interpret the parentheses, and what do they contribute to the tone or attitude of the poem?