When continued research into The Waste Land I learned that Greek Mythology was one of the key driving forces behind the poem. I was thinking maybe that these stories were doors that extended the poem more into forbidden love tragedies. In class today we were told about the story of the blinding of Tiresias. We learned that he became woman, then transformed back into a man, and later received power to know the future to help ease the blinding. Maybe the key that Eliot wanted us to get from this story is the art of transformation in society. The modern culture and how he viewed it seemed to increasingly become important as I researched the poem. In culture there are different social classes and Ancient Greece during the sixth century BC had a hand in the formation of the different classes. Early in the sixth century struggle for power between the aristocrats and the people resulted in the appointment of a citizen called Solon. He was a politician and poet that acted as chief magistrate with powers to settle the differences. This person helped show the importance of wealth from birth. This ideal person in Eliot's eyes could have been the cause of the so called waste land. Wealth shouldn't be the main driving element in a person's life it should be knowledge, kindness, and understanding.
But I view another important part into the understanding of this poem is what it did for the culture of poetry. This was one of the first steps into modernism. A revolt against all the poetics of its time, and everything before it; a step into a new world of poetry that would speak to the coming generations.
Modernism was defined from Dictionary of Poetic Terms as a period commonly thought to begin with World War I (1914), offering a dazzling array of invention in both English and American literature and criticism. It is said that it began with Ezra Pound, funny we see his name here because he was the mentor and editor of this piece of literature. By stepping away from traditional writing styles of this time T.S. Eliot approached areas of poetry undiscovered. He did however seemed to show he was from this time by adding a lot of history, and elements of this time within the scope of his poem. One part of the poem that stands out to me is The Fire Sermon, which was a sermon given from Buddha and encourages his followers to give up earthly possessions. He wanted them to seek freedom from traditional items of this time. He spoke of counting your breath, and being one with nature maybe this is represented in the poem. The worldly things are given up, and forbidden love is matured. Today we also learned that all the women in this poem are one woman and all the men are one man. Maybe these ties back in Greek Mythology I am not sure.
Also around the second section of the poem the tarot cards are used to represent the character's identity, but the identity into what? Society? To me this would reflect back into the modern culture and the way Eliot believed that modern culture is in a downward spiral from the past. Everything goes into the person's worldly possessions and not the soul of the individual. Whatever the case maybe the timeline including World War I is important to understanding this pieces, as well as the stories of Tiresias since it is included throughout the entire poem. More to come later.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
The Waste Land Continued..
After continued research into The Waste Land I realized that our class isn't alone--many people don't completely get what Eliot was going for either. With our discussion over this poem we have pointed out more than once the recurrence of images of lovers that can't be with each other. For example, one of the essays I had to read from the back of the book on page 51, "That Shakespearean Rag." In this reading it came on the page as a song with music. I was curious of the reasoning of our book having a song it in to help the reader understand the poem by T.S. Eliot. Then I remember a few things from the poem itself; it had parts of different songs from the times within itself. So this could reflect the rhyme of different parts of it or maybe the jingle that he was going for, I don't know. Examples of this was London bridge is falling down, falling down.
Also in class we pointed out the way religion, and sex carry an important role in the way we understand the poem. These I believe are the keys to understanding it completely I just haven't reached that position quite yet. I do see however images laced with references toward Christ. Especially at the end of the first section with the line "The Hanged Man. Fear death by water." I mentioned in class how I thought it was a way for some villages near the ocean to place hung men to scare away pirates or people in the community that was looked down on. But either way I see it could be a sign of God or a sign of townsmen placing fear in the hearts of criminals.
I believe the footnotes are extensions from the poem that are necessity for the reader to understand and maybe see what he was trying to show. But what we have to realize is that Ezra Pound, and T.S. Eliot both reflected their style within the poem, and they both cut a lot of the poem out that maybe could have helped the understand of it a little more. You have to understand though that both of those famous poets mainly imaged based, so why wouldn't they cut all the narrative style pieces from it. In class some people believed that parts of the poem could be looked upon with queer criticism and to show that he had gay intentions. Personality I get sick and tired of people jumping to those conclusions. I think that the voices of the poem changing to much for anyone to know exactly who is saying what. Also this brings up the point that The Waste Land wasn't the original title it was said that T.S.Eliot picked another title first and then changed his mind. The first title was said to have been "He do the Police in Different Voices" but later changed it.
I am still searching for more on The Shakespearian Rag and will post more about it soon.
Also in class we pointed out the way religion, and sex carry an important role in the way we understand the poem. These I believe are the keys to understanding it completely I just haven't reached that position quite yet. I do see however images laced with references toward Christ. Especially at the end of the first section with the line "The Hanged Man. Fear death by water." I mentioned in class how I thought it was a way for some villages near the ocean to place hung men to scare away pirates or people in the community that was looked down on. But either way I see it could be a sign of God or a sign of townsmen placing fear in the hearts of criminals.
I believe the footnotes are extensions from the poem that are necessity for the reader to understand and maybe see what he was trying to show. But what we have to realize is that Ezra Pound, and T.S. Eliot both reflected their style within the poem, and they both cut a lot of the poem out that maybe could have helped the understand of it a little more. You have to understand though that both of those famous poets mainly imaged based, so why wouldn't they cut all the narrative style pieces from it. In class some people believed that parts of the poem could be looked upon with queer criticism and to show that he had gay intentions. Personality I get sick and tired of people jumping to those conclusions. I think that the voices of the poem changing to much for anyone to know exactly who is saying what. Also this brings up the point that The Waste Land wasn't the original title it was said that T.S.Eliot picked another title first and then changed his mind. The first title was said to have been "He do the Police in Different Voices" but later changed it.
I am still searching for more on The Shakespearian Rag and will post more about it soon.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Waste Land.
Just the reading of this poem is enough to amaze you. The way T.S. Eliot uses sensual devices, different languages, and imagery to propel the reader through the poem is amazing. When we read it in class I noticed that some knew how to speak Latin, but Latin wasn't the only language in the poem; there was different languages other than English and Latin, I believe there was also German and French. The stanza would shift from one language to the other with no middle ground. Some people didn't know how to approach it, while some would trip up others passed it over and read the footnotes. Not reading the footnotes was a hard thing for me not to do mainly because I wanted to know what the hell i was reading. Plus the used book I own was marked up with stupid comments from somebody who didn't understand it either, and pointed out things that were very easy to pick up. That person didn't need to mark that stuff so i had to travel through the fields of their mess too.
Anyways I believe one person said the wrong word when he was reading, he used the word "person" instead of the correct word "prison." What is so interesting is not that he said the wrong word but why exactly did he say the incorrect version. Perhaps he unconsciously saw that word, I don't know but I do feel it was important. I am sure somebody else did the same thing but that is one that i noticed.
The imagery Eliot uses just makes you feel it. He puts you on a blank canvas and as your breathing he paints around you; he is amazing. I enjoy reading lyrical poems, it is the same style I write, or so I am told. It is like you see an image and you par it with something else so different and create this world of imagination that some get and some don't. He used repetition in the poem, along with rhyme. What i found interesting was the changes in form throughout, I don't know exactly why he did it but i thought it seemed important. He used images, and ideas from historical cultures, for example the Greek culture when he said "Tiresias." Most of the poets of that time did the same thing, so that just kept along with the style and timeline.
I wonder if he was speaking toward an audience or is this some kind of journal entry. The usage of footnotes would say otherwise, because he would know what he was saying, but it speaks about his life it seems. With parts of it depressing and others having a jingle to it. Either way I want to say that it carries the reader to different locations, possibly different atmospheres of understanding the life and death of a person. Was this a way for him to understand his own personal death and life?
Anyways I believe one person said the wrong word when he was reading, he used the word "person" instead of the correct word "prison." What is so interesting is not that he said the wrong word but why exactly did he say the incorrect version. Perhaps he unconsciously saw that word, I don't know but I do feel it was important. I am sure somebody else did the same thing but that is one that i noticed.
The imagery Eliot uses just makes you feel it. He puts you on a blank canvas and as your breathing he paints around you; he is amazing. I enjoy reading lyrical poems, it is the same style I write, or so I am told. It is like you see an image and you par it with something else so different and create this world of imagination that some get and some don't. He used repetition in the poem, along with rhyme. What i found interesting was the changes in form throughout, I don't know exactly why he did it but i thought it seemed important. He used images, and ideas from historical cultures, for example the Greek culture when he said "Tiresias." Most of the poets of that time did the same thing, so that just kept along with the style and timeline.
I wonder if he was speaking toward an audience or is this some kind of journal entry. The usage of footnotes would say otherwise, because he would know what he was saying, but it speaks about his life it seems. With parts of it depressing and others having a jingle to it. Either way I want to say that it carries the reader to different locations, possibly different atmospheres of understanding the life and death of a person. Was this a way for him to understand his own personal death and life?
Thursday, February 5, 2009
About Psychoanalytic Paper.
When deciding which one of the many short stories to begin writing about I reflected on my life and picked the one that most spoke to me. I ended up picking the short story by Daniel Orozco, "Orientation." I just felt that this story reminded me of the orientation i had for my serving job at TGI Friday's. They tell you a lot of things, about where things are, who people are, and things that you are not allowed to do. Plus it reflected the way that management or people above the servers feel as if they are in control and have the say in what you know and don't know. You know what i mean if you went to a shift meeting, they focus in on the goals, and possible ways to avoid conflicts, and the corporation ultimately letting you go.
But as you read the story it you hear the sarcastic almost ridiculous tone that Daniel Orozco is making when he states some of the situations that the reader is placed into. It reminds me of a video that was posted on funnyordie. com that is making fun of the way the corporation of TGI Friday's works. It can be crude for some audiences, but i think ultimately if you have ever worked at a TGI Friday's it is pretty spot on. So i attached the video if anyone wanted to visit the site to check it out.
Anyways back to the story I found many different issues going on with the characters of the story, maybe because of the number of characters included in the story. Some of the issues or imagery that i found were male imagery with the printer blade, possible sexual aggression in the workplace, female imagery with the man sitting in the women's bathroom stale, the fear of death has a vibe in the story, and so does the fear of betrayal and abandonment. Another way of looking at the story, which I didn't notice the first time I read it was the fear of intimacy that the narrator had because he knew almost everything in the story yet he didn't seem to close to anybody in the entire piece. He was more like a tree that is surrounding a house, nobody really knows it is there and it has a surreal closeness to everything else around it.
So the plan is to discuss that story and the paper is due 2/9/09. And also I found a few mistakes I made in the last one and will be correcting that too, which is also due on the same day.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Psychoanalytic Criticism.
When i was going through the different core issues of psychoanalytic criticism, i realised that one core issue can be caused or affected by another core issue and it can go and go. And when i was learning about fear of abandonment, fear of betrayal, low self-esteem, insecure or unstable sense of self. I think when learning these terms at the beginning you start to notice similarities between yourself and the core issues, but what you have to understand is that you can't self-diagnose. But it is helpful in understanding the way you have been effect by things in your life, and learn the common defenses, and anxiety issues. I think also when i first began writing this chapter i focused in on my dream and what they meant, but dreams are funny, you can't always remember all the things you need to remember to help you completely understand the problem. Once you can understand the issues, you can transform the knowledge toward the way you read text.
I will be stating more in my paper due, and i will discuss the paper with Hollingsworth on Friday at 11:20a.m.
I will be stating more in my paper due, and i will discuss the paper with Hollingsworth on Friday at 11:20a.m.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
about Yusef Komunyakaa.
In class on Friday we went over a few different poems and poets, but the one poet that stood out to me and spoke to me the most was Yusef Komunyakaa. First your overwhelmed by this man's last name, its a mouth full. But the poem that was discussed in class was the poem Blackberries. Like i say all the time i believe to truth understand what the poet is saying in his poems you have to know some information about his past history. After looking over notes of his man's life i discovered he was born in Bogalusa, LA in 1947. He is an American poet that teaches at New York University, and is a member of Fellowship of Southern Writers.
Along with his list of awards his subject matter ranges from his African American experience through rural Southern life before the civl rights and his experience as a soldier during the Vietnam War. He served a tour in the Army during the war where he acted as a journalist for a military power, covering major actions, interviewing fellow soldiers. Once he returned to the states he turned toward poetry, and became an important icon for American writers in his generation. He was also married to an Australian novelist, Mandy Sayer for ten years (1985-1995) and was engaged in a long-term relationship with poet, Reetika Vazirani, who killed herself and their child Jahan Vazirani Komunyakaa in 2003. Both of their wrist was slashed, which was thought to be suicide. Supposely, this was because their marriage was having some possible troubles.
He describes poetry as "a kind of distilled insinuation. It’s a way of expanding and talking around an idea or a question. Sometimes, more actually gets said through such a technique than a full frontal assault."
But instead of Blackberries my favorite poem was "Venus's Flytraps." After reading his poem i felt a quick connection with him. He talks about struggles during his life when he was five. My parents went through a divorce when I was young, and his mother said he was a mistake.Both a powerful things to happen to a young boy. Lines from the poem that supports his emotions are "I wonder what death tastes like" and "My mama says I'm a mistake/ that i made her a bad girl./ My playhouse is underneath/ our house, & I hear people/ telling each other secrets." These two quotes from the poem show the solitude that he was feeling when he was young and makes the reader feel uneasy. I believe another quote that symbols how the emotional scars of a young boy will stay with him when he is an adult is "I wish I knew why/ the music in my head makes me scared." The poem symbolizes as a whole the lost of innocence that he went through as a young five year old boy. A venus flytrap holds its prey and traps them inside. I believe this supports the way he feels he had no option when he was younger but to suffer, and possibly die. I also beleive that Komunyakaa wants the reader to feel almost trapped when they are reading the poem, and remember the upsetting memories of their own youth.
Along with his list of awards his subject matter ranges from his African American experience through rural Southern life before the civl rights and his experience as a soldier during the Vietnam War. He served a tour in the Army during the war where he acted as a journalist for a military power, covering major actions, interviewing fellow soldiers. Once he returned to the states he turned toward poetry, and became an important icon for American writers in his generation. He was also married to an Australian novelist, Mandy Sayer for ten years (1985-1995) and was engaged in a long-term relationship with poet, Reetika Vazirani, who killed herself and their child Jahan Vazirani Komunyakaa in 2003. Both of their wrist was slashed, which was thought to be suicide. Supposely, this was because their marriage was having some possible troubles.
He describes poetry as "a kind of distilled insinuation. It’s a way of expanding and talking around an idea or a question. Sometimes, more actually gets said through such a technique than a full frontal assault."
But instead of Blackberries my favorite poem was "Venus's Flytraps." After reading his poem i felt a quick connection with him. He talks about struggles during his life when he was five. My parents went through a divorce when I was young, and his mother said he was a mistake.Both a powerful things to happen to a young boy. Lines from the poem that supports his emotions are "I wonder what death tastes like" and "My mama says I'm a mistake/ that i made her a bad girl./ My playhouse is underneath/ our house, & I hear people/ telling each other secrets." These two quotes from the poem show the solitude that he was feeling when he was young and makes the reader feel uneasy. I believe another quote that symbols how the emotional scars of a young boy will stay with him when he is an adult is "I wish I knew why/ the music in my head makes me scared." The poem symbolizes as a whole the lost of innocence that he went through as a young five year old boy. A venus flytrap holds its prey and traps them inside. I believe this supports the way he feels he had no option when he was younger but to suffer, and possibly die. I also beleive that Komunyakaa wants the reader to feel almost trapped when they are reading the poem, and remember the upsetting memories of their own youth.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Continued Levine.
With no class on Monday, we began our week on Wednesday were we continued to discuss the poems that we were assigned in class. With continued research in Philip Levine I found out his sarcastic voice didn't end with his poems, but extended into his daily routine. Dr. Hollingsworth mentioned that he had a twin brother. Maybe in his poem "What Work Is" when he talked about seeing his brother, he possibly could have been looking inward to himself, instead of another person. Maybe he was making a bigger connection between his working self and his lazy self, I don't really know. This could be similar to the comparison between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide.
Or Levine could be discovering the hard working people from his hometown Detroit, Michigan compared to others in their trades from different locations. Again something to think about. Levine didn't only use enjambment, and repetition of lines, he also used anaphora, and a sarcastic voice make a particular part of the poem shine, and highlight a change of tone.
So far we have discovered New Criticism, and now we are beginning to discuss Psychoanalytic Criticism. For Monday 1/26 a short paper on a close reading of one of the poems is due. I will be choosing Philip Levine's "What Work Is."
Or Levine could be discovering the hard working people from his hometown Detroit, Michigan compared to others in their trades from different locations. Again something to think about. Levine didn't only use enjambment, and repetition of lines, he also used anaphora, and a sarcastic voice make a particular part of the poem shine, and highlight a change of tone.
So far we have discovered New Criticism, and now we are beginning to discuss Psychoanalytic Criticism. For Monday 1/26 a short paper on a close reading of one of the poems is due. I will be choosing Philip Levine's "What Work Is."
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