I was very pleased to see that Clive had selected this poem for comment, because it is one that I had found striking and memorable, but I couldn't articulate exactly why. It seemed to me during the active workshopping of this piece, that I was not alone in this reaction - it is my recollection that several of us kept coming back to this piece, unable to explain what was drawing us.
Clive's structural analysis of the poem has helped me identify what it is that works for me, even though I respectfully disagree with his conclusion, although not all of his points.
The key to this piece, for me, is that it is neither comical (Clive) nor nonsensical (Kate) -- it is surreal. I am not well read in surreal poetry, (perhaps someone who is could post some examples for comparison, here or in mastery?) but it seems to me that in surreal literature, some of the considerations of normal, everyday logic (such as that the townspeople would see her, and of course they would tell the husband, and how would the husband react; or what could possess the woman, might she be mentally disturbed, and so on) are suspended, so as to focus only on the picture that is presented.
Given that, then, I see the "While" of the second stanza as being primarily coincidental, and secondarily contrasting - not causative at all. "Running around like a chicken with its head cut off" indicates frantic, graceless action that accomplishes nothing. In contrast, we are presented with the woman's dance - clearly deliberate, apparently making a statement (during the Angelus), and graceful.
I say "graceful" because of the hat. The hat makes the poem for me. Others have commented on the protective properties of the "wide brimmed hat", but I see that as quite secondary. If the point were protection from the sun, it might have been "but never without her sunblock" or "but never without her parasol".
But a hat -- a hat is stylish. It makes a fashion statement. It completes an outfit. I can picture this hat - black with a wide rigid brim, and a colorful ribbon tied in a bow with the ends dangling onto the brim, or just a bit over it. A woman dancing naked, wearing nothing but a hat, has quite deliberately accentuated her state of undress.
It's also true that women were for centuries required to cover their hair (their "crowning glory"), often with a hat, when entering a church. Even today, many women have special Sunday go-to-meeting hats and Easter bonnets - so here the proximity to the church is relevant.
I am also intrigued by the mention of the Angelus, which is a retelling of the story of the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appears to Mary and says to her, "Hail, highly favored one!" This is the music to which the butcher's wife is dancing.
I notice with pleasure the use of the word "baking" to describe the sun, since "butcher" and "baker" are often opposed.
So the butcher is presented as wrapped up in his conventional ordinary job, and perhaps as fairly passive (after he cuts off the chickens' heads, he just sits back and watches them). In contrast, the butcher's wife is presented as very active (it's slightly unusual for a woman to be portrayed as the actor, rather than the recipient, in the phrase "make love to") and bursting out of conventional ordinariness.
Hm. One last thought. It is possible, I suppose, that this is a very devout village, and that no one sees her dance because they are all either at home (keeping cool, away from the baking sun), or *in* church for the Angelus. I would be interested to know, Al, how you envisioned this scene: Were there other people in the square? people peeping out their windows at her? Or was she, in your mind's eye, unobserved? I think the scene is more compelling if she is unobserved, and I wonder if you might clarify that in the poem.
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