Explain the poem 'Instructions to Vampires' by Fleur Adcock.

Most vampire stories focus on the thrill of the hunt or the terror of the bite, but Fleur Adcock suggests that the real horror isn't found in a dark alley—it’s found in the polite, calculated way we use one another. In her poem "Instructions to Vampires," she treats the supernatural act of blood-sucking not as a gothic nightmare, but as a set of clinical, social rules. ## The Vampire as a Social Guest [Fleur Adcock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur_Adcock) is a celebrated poet known for her sharp wit and her ability to make the mundane feel slightly unsettling. In "Instructions to Vampires," she uses an **extended metaphor** (or a "conceit") to explore the nature of human relationships. The poem isn't actually about monsters with fangs; it is about **emotional vampires**—people who drain the energy, vitality, and "lifeblood" of those around them. The poem is written in a detached, instructional tone, almost like a manual for the social elite. Adcock advises her "vampires" on how to blend in and how to select their victims without causing a scene. By using this dry, ironic voice, she highlights how predatory behavior can be hidden behind a mask of sophistication and "good manners." ## The "Transfusion" of Energy Adcock focuses on the idea of the "transfusion." In the poem, the predator is cautioned not to take too much at once, as killing the host would end the supply. This mirrors toxic relationships where one person slowly depletes another’s emotional resources over years, rather than all at once. > "Be careful whom you bite; / choose your victims with some care. / Some are too thin; some have too much hair; / others are sour, or tough, or have bad blood." This passage suggests a cold, consumerist view of other human beings. To the speaker, people are not individuals with feelings; they are "vessels" or resources to be evaluated based on their quality. Adcock is critiquing the way we sometimes "consume" the people in our lives—friends, lovers, or family—for our own sustenance. ## Why the Irony Matters The brilliance of the poem lies in its **satire**. By giving "instructions" to a monster, Adcock forces the reader to look at their own social circles. We all know someone who leaves us feeling exhausted after a conversation, or someone who only calls when they need to "feed" on our sympathy. By framing these behaviors as "vampirism," Adcock strips away the excuses we make for people. She suggests that this kind of emotional scavenging is a deliberate, albeit hidden, choice. The poem serves as a warning: the most dangerous predators don't want your life; they want your energy, and they want it to last as long as possible. *** ### Explore Further 1. **The "Unsettling Domestic":** How does Adcock’s use of everyday settings in her other works, such as *High Tide in the Garden*, change the way we view "normal" life? 2. **The History of the Vampire Metaphor:** From Bram Stoker’s *Dracula* to modern "energy vampires," why has the vampire remained our primary symbol for social and economic exploitation? 3. **Gender and Power:** Read Adcock alongside [Sylvia Plath](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Plath); how do both poets use "dark" imagery to describe the constraints of 20th-century womanhood?

Imagine a predator that doesn’t just want to eat you, but wants you to wake up the next morning and miss them. While the standard vampire of folklore is a mindless glutton, Fleur Adcock’s poem "Instructions to Vampires" (the version beginning with "I would not have you drain") reveals a more terrifying, sophisticated strategy: the art of keeping the victim alive for the "pleasure of the chase." ## The Psychology of the "Game" In this version of the poem, Adcock shifts the focus from simple survival to a cruel form of psychological mastery. She advises the predator to show restraint, not out of mercy, but to ensure the "game" continues. > "I would not have you drain / Your victims of their last drop of blood; / No, leave them something, for the sake of the game, / Or so that they may walk / Back to their beds, and dream of you." This introduces the concept of **psychological colonization**. By leaving the victim with just enough strength to return home, the vampire ensures they remain a permanent part of the victim’s psyche. The goal isn't just to steal lifeblood; it is to transform the act of being "fed upon" into something the victim might actually romanticize or crave in their dreams. ## Intermittent Reinforcement From a modern psychological perspective, Adcock is describing a phenomenon known as [intermittent reinforcement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforcement#Intermittent_reinforcement). This occurs when a person (the "vampire") provides just enough affection or "mercy" to keep their partner hooked, despite the overall relationship being destructive. By not "draining" the victim entirely, the predator creates a cycle of dependency. If the victim died, the predator would lose their food source; if the victim were treated purely with cruelty, they might flee. By "leaving them something," the predator ensures the victim stays in the orbit of the relationship, confused by the mixture of pain and the "mercy" shown by the predator. ## The Intimacy of the Attack Unlike the gothic horror of [Bram Stoker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula), where the vampire is a foreign "Other," Adcock’s predator is someone who shares a bed or a home. The instruction to let them "walk / Back to their beds" suggests a chilling domesticity. This connects to what literary critics often call the **unsettling domestic**, a hallmark of Adcock’s work. She suggests that the most effective parasites are those who understand human desire. They don't just take; they negotiate. They leave the victim with just enough "blood" to feel a sense of gratitude toward their attacker. This creates a "Stockholm Syndrome" dynamic where the victim becomes a co-conspirator in their own exhaustion. ## Why This Version is More Dangerous While the "clinical" version of the poem (mentioned in the foundation) focuses on the vampire as a consumer, this version focuses on the vampire as a **manipulator**. It suggests that the highest form of emotional parasitism isn't about the quantity of energy stolen, but the quality of the control exerted. To Adcock, the ultimate victory for a predator isn't a dead body—it’s a living victim who goes to sleep dreaming of the fangs.

Imagine a set of words that has survived for over 2,000 years, traveling from an ancient Greek scroll to a modern English book. When you encounter the lines about "draining victims of their last drop of blood," you aren't just reading a poem; you are reading a translation of an ancient **epigram**. While these specific English words were chosen by the celebrated poet [Fleur Adcock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur_Adcock), the original "ghost" behind the thought is an ancient writer named [Marcus Argentarius](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Argentarius). ## The Mystery of Ownership The confusion regarding whether this is "Adcock’s poem" highlights a fascinating tension in literature: the relationship between an original author and a translator. - **The Original:** Marcus Argentarius was an ancient Greek epigrammatist (likely living in the 1st century AD). He wrote short, sharp, and often witty observations about love and society. - **The Translator:** Fleur Adcock, a renowned New Zealand-born British poet, translated these lines for her collection titled *The Greek Anthology: Selected Poems*. When you read these lines, you are seeing a "collaboration" across two millennia. Adcock didn't invent the sentiment, but she crafted the modern English rhythm. This is why it may not feel like a traditional "poem" to some; it is an **epigram**—a brief, pithy statement designed to deliver a quick emotional or intellectual punch. ## Why "Not a Poem"? In the ancient world, the [Greek Anthology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Anthology) was a collection of thousands of such writings. Some were meant to be carved onto tombstones; others were meant to be recited at dinner parties. > "The epigram is a form of writing that occupies the borderland between literature and life." — [Peter Jay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Jay_(author)), Editor of *The Greek Anthology*. Because epigrams are so short and direct, they often lack the flowery language we associate with Romantic poetry. The lines about "the sake of the game" sound more like a cynical piece of advice or an observation of human nature than a verse from a sonnet. ## The Task of the Translator In his famous essay, [The Task of the Translator](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/69385/the-task-of-the-translator), the philosopher **Walter Benjamin** argued that a translation doesn't just copy the original; it gives the original "a continued life." Adcock’s translation of Argentarius is a perfect example of this. She takes a Greek thought about desire and "victims" and gives it a modern, slightly chilling edge. ### Questions for Exploration 1. If the ideas belong to Marcus Argentarius but the words belong to Fleur Adcock, who is the "true" author of the experience you feel when reading it? 2. Does the brevity of an epigram make it less of a "poem" than something longer, or is the "punch" at the end what defines the genre?

If the ancient epigrams of Marcus Argentarius were about the "game" of love and social wit, Jeni Couzyn’s poem **"I and Wolverine"** is about the raw, bloody reality of survival and the internal "beast." While an epigram is a polished diamond of thought, Couzyn’s work feels like a jagged piece of obsidian—sharp, dark, and volcanic. ## The Choice of the Wolverine In literature, poets often use animals as symbols: the lion for courage, the owl for wisdom, or the dove for peace. Couzyn makes a radical choice by identifying with the **wolverine**. The [wolverine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolverine) is not "beautiful" in a traditional sense. It is a solitary, fiercely territorial scavenger known for its disproportionate strength and its ability to drive bears away from a kill. By choosing this animal, Couzyn rejects the "pretty" or "domesticated" imagery often expected of women's poetry. - **The Mechanism of Identification:** Couzyn doesn't just watch the wolverine; she *becomes* it. This is a literary device sometimes called **theriomorphism**—the transformation of a human into an animal. - **The "Ugly" Power:** The poem embraces the wolverine’s "stink" and its "shaggy" nature. This is a celebration of the parts of ourselves that are not polite or socially acceptable. ## The Rejection of the "Civilized" Self While our earlier discussion on [Marcus Argentarius](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Argentarius) focused on the social art of translation, Couzyn is interested in what happens when we strip away the "social" entirely. In "I and Wolverine," the speaker finds a companion that does not judge, speak, or follow human laws. > "I and wolverine / we are the same / we are the same kind." — Jeni Couzyn, *Life by Drowning*. [Jeni Couzyn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeni_Couzyn) often explores themes of birth, blood, and the female experience through a lens of primal power. In this poem, the wolverine acts as a **mirror for the Shadow**. The psychologist **Carl Jung** defined the [Shadow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_(psychology)) as the unconscious side of our personality, containing the instincts and "darker" traits we hide from the world. Couzyn suggests that by befriending the wolverine, the speaker is finally embracing her whole self, including her capacity for rage and her will to survive. ## Tension: The Animal vs. The Human There is a productive tension in this poem between the **solitary nature** of the wolverine and the **shared identity** the speaker claims. 1. **Isolation:** The wolverine is a creature of the wilderness, existing on the fringes. 2. **Kinship:** The speaker uses the word "we" repeatedly, creating a "tribe of two." This creates a paradox: the speaker finds her deepest connection not with another human, but with a creature defined by its refusal to be tamed. It suggests that our truest "kin" might not be the people we sit with at a dinner party, but the wild, untamed forces within our own minds. Unlike the epigram, which seeks to explain the world to an audience, Couzyn’s poem feels like a private ritual—an unearthing of a prehistoric bond that existed long before words or translations were ever needed.