The Black Mountain poets were a group of poets in the mid-20th century centered around Black Mountain College, an experimental educational institution in Black Mountain, North Carolina that emphasize the study of art as central to a liberal arts education. Black Mountain College attracted various prominent intellectual and educational figures at the time, including Charles Olson, Robert Creely, and Denise Levertov. Black Mountain poets tended to focus on progressive themes and were also revolutionary in developing an innovative poetic form known as projective verse or "open field" poetry, which was espoused by Charles Olson in his 1950 essay "Projective Verse." Open field poetry was designed by Olson to replace more restrictive forms of poetry black Mountain poets believed limited the creative process.
For this blog, I chose to analyze the poem "News Report, September 1991" by Denise Levertov, one of the more renowned Black Mountain poets. In this poem, Levertov criticizes the rationale behind the Persian Gulf War--and in general, all war. Levertov was known throughout her life to be an adamant anti-war activist, and many of her poem, such this one, concerned the futility of war. Satirizing the death toll incurred by military operations in the Persian Gulf, Levertov remarks that the body count was "impossible" and also includes commentary from Lieutenant Colonel Hawkins: "Schwartzkopf's staff estimated fifty to seventy thousand killed in the trenches." Levertove concludes by mentioning the although U.S. military operations in the Persian Gulf resulted in massive human losses, it was "cost-effective," further condemning the actions of the U.S. military in pursuing war.
In addition to its exploration of progressive themes, a major characteristic of Black Mountain poetry, "News Report, September 1991" complex with the form often associated with Black Mountain poetry; that is, it employs the open field style of poetry devised by Charles Olson. As a result, the form of this poem is based around each line, with each line constituting a single though or "utterance." In summary, this poem is a highly appropriate example of a typical Black Mountain poem.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot
Symbolism was a middle to late 19th century artistic and intellectual movement than served as a link between the romantic and modernist movements. Originating in French, Russian, and Belgian poetry and other arts, most notably with the publication of poetry collection Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil, 1857) by Charles Baudelaire, symbolism was largely a reaction against naturalism and realism, advocating for the depiction of ideals and transcendence in the arts and literature as opposed to the harsh realities of daily life. In their yearning for transcendence, symbolists often stressed imagination and dreamlike, surrealistic settings and made extensive use of metaphors and symbols in their works, thus the name "symbolism." Renowned symbolists include Oscar Wilde, Arthur Symons, W.B. Yeats, and T.S. Eliot.
For this blog, I chose to analyze the poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot in the context of its overall meaning and its compatibility with symbolist ideas and motives. This poem, like many by Eliot, is extremely difficult to comprehend. This attribute is typical of symbolist works; after all, as previously mentioned, symbolists sought to imply ideas through symbols, so a great deal of their work is highly obscure in meaning. Nonetheless, from what I understand, I believe that "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" concerns humanity's social and psychological state in the modern world, more specifically men's social and psychological state in the modern world. This poem was written in either 1910 or 1911, during a transitionary period in which Americans began to renounce the puritanical morals of the Victorian Era in favor of the decadence and debauchery characteristic of the Jazz Age that would soon follow. The women's suffrage movement was also beginning to gain various successes across America at this time while the horrors of World War I would soon be unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. In essence, the United States in the early 20th century was undergoing dramatic societal change, which Eliot attempts to capture in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." The speaker of this poem, according to Eliot's perspective, is the ordinary modern man, educated (to at least some degree), conflicted, hesitant, and anxious of the change that is occurring around him, yet totally unable to prevent such change from coming to fruition. Throughout the poem, Prufrock seems to be addressing a woman he loves, a woman who apparently does not share his feelings of affection. Though he would like for his relationship to the woman to progress, Prufrock is afraid of possible rejection, stating his many inadequacies as evidence that there could never exist any sincere relationship between him and the woman: "Time to turn back and descend the stair, / With a bald spot in the middle of my hair-- / (They will say: 'How his hair is growing thin.' / ...(They will say: 'But how his arms and legs are thin.')." By the end of the poem, Prufrock concludes that he is only mediocre in status--that he is "not Prince Hamlet"--and is therefore unworthy of the woman's love.
Through Prufrock and other symbolic imagery, Eliot conveys the increasing fragility and emasculation of the modern American man in the early 20th century as a result of drastic society changes occurring during this time. The poem in its entirety embodies the characteristics of the symbolist movement due to its extensive sue of metaphorical imagery and idealistic lamentations.
For this blog, I chose to analyze the poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot in the context of its overall meaning and its compatibility with symbolist ideas and motives. This poem, like many by Eliot, is extremely difficult to comprehend. This attribute is typical of symbolist works; after all, as previously mentioned, symbolists sought to imply ideas through symbols, so a great deal of their work is highly obscure in meaning. Nonetheless, from what I understand, I believe that "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" concerns humanity's social and psychological state in the modern world, more specifically men's social and psychological state in the modern world. This poem was written in either 1910 or 1911, during a transitionary period in which Americans began to renounce the puritanical morals of the Victorian Era in favor of the decadence and debauchery characteristic of the Jazz Age that would soon follow. The women's suffrage movement was also beginning to gain various successes across America at this time while the horrors of World War I would soon be unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. In essence, the United States in the early 20th century was undergoing dramatic societal change, which Eliot attempts to capture in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." The speaker of this poem, according to Eliot's perspective, is the ordinary modern man, educated (to at least some degree), conflicted, hesitant, and anxious of the change that is occurring around him, yet totally unable to prevent such change from coming to fruition. Throughout the poem, Prufrock seems to be addressing a woman he loves, a woman who apparently does not share his feelings of affection. Though he would like for his relationship to the woman to progress, Prufrock is afraid of possible rejection, stating his many inadequacies as evidence that there could never exist any sincere relationship between him and the woman: "Time to turn back and descend the stair, / With a bald spot in the middle of my hair-- / (They will say: 'How his hair is growing thin.' / ...(They will say: 'But how his arms and legs are thin.')." By the end of the poem, Prufrock concludes that he is only mediocre in status--that he is "not Prince Hamlet"--and is therefore unworthy of the woman's love.
Through Prufrock and other symbolic imagery, Eliot conveys the increasing fragility and emasculation of the modern American man in the early 20th century as a result of drastic society changes occurring during this time. The poem in its entirety embodies the characteristics of the symbolist movement due to its extensive sue of metaphorical imagery and idealistic lamentations.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Amiri Baraka - "Ka 'Ba"
A closed window looks down
on a dirty courtyard, and black people
call across or scream or walk across
defying physics in the stream of their will
Our world is full of sound
Our world is more lovely than anyone's
tho we suffer, and kill each other
and sometimes fail to walk the air
We are beautiful people
with african imaginations
full of masks and dances and swelling chants
with african eyes, and noses, and arms,
though we sprawl in grey chains in a place
full of winters, when what we want is sun.
We have been captured,
brothers. And we labor
to make our getaway, into
the ancient image, into a new
correspondence with ourselves
and our black family. We read magic
now we need the spells, to rise up
return, destroy, and create. What will be
the sacred words?
Amiri Baraka was the founding artist behind the Black Arts Movement, a largely literary movement which emerged from the reaction to Malcolm X's assassination. The Black Arts Movement (or BAM) has been characterized at times as the aesthetic equivalent of Black Power - indeed many of the works of the movement are very explicitly in favor of black power & black seperatism. Ishmael Reed, an artist often associated with the movement but who never formally joined it, characterizes BAM as the beginning of a political multiculturalism which rejects the assimilation of marginalized groups in favor of "doing your own thing."
In "Ka 'Ba", Baraka clearly reflects on these themes. The title immediately elicits a connection to Islam, as the Kaaba is the most sacred place in Islam, a shrine in the religion's most sacred mosque. Islam was often associated with Black Power, as the Nation of Islam provided much of the leadership for this movement. Baraka thus agrees with the Nation of Islam in that he seems to view Islam as integral to the development of a black seperatist identity.
BAM works are also often defined by their open celebration of blackness and black people, and this is clearly evident in Baraka's work - he says that black people "[defy] physics in the stream of their will" and that their "world is more lovely than anyone's / tho we suffer." This radical celebration of blackness, even whilst acknowledging the hardships of black people in America, is fully characteristic of the concept of Black Power endemic to BAM. Baraka closes the poem by asking "What will be the sacred words?" that will free his people from bondage. Given the title of the poem, we may be led to believe that these "sacred words" are Islamic, but perhaps the words he has just used are indeed the words he speaks of - BAM could then fulfill its ambition as the literary wing of black liberation.
on a dirty courtyard, and black people
call across or scream or walk across
defying physics in the stream of their will
Our world is full of sound
Our world is more lovely than anyone's
tho we suffer, and kill each other
and sometimes fail to walk the air
We are beautiful people
with african imaginations
full of masks and dances and swelling chants
with african eyes, and noses, and arms,
though we sprawl in grey chains in a place
full of winters, when what we want is sun.
We have been captured,
brothers. And we labor
to make our getaway, into
the ancient image, into a new
correspondence with ourselves
and our black family. We read magic
now we need the spells, to rise up
return, destroy, and create. What will be
the sacred words?
Amiri Baraka was the founding artist behind the Black Arts Movement, a largely literary movement which emerged from the reaction to Malcolm X's assassination. The Black Arts Movement (or BAM) has been characterized at times as the aesthetic equivalent of Black Power - indeed many of the works of the movement are very explicitly in favor of black power & black seperatism. Ishmael Reed, an artist often associated with the movement but who never formally joined it, characterizes BAM as the beginning of a political multiculturalism which rejects the assimilation of marginalized groups in favor of "doing your own thing."
In "Ka 'Ba", Baraka clearly reflects on these themes. The title immediately elicits a connection to Islam, as the Kaaba is the most sacred place in Islam, a shrine in the religion's most sacred mosque. Islam was often associated with Black Power, as the Nation of Islam provided much of the leadership for this movement. Baraka thus agrees with the Nation of Islam in that he seems to view Islam as integral to the development of a black seperatist identity.
BAM works are also often defined by their open celebration of blackness and black people, and this is clearly evident in Baraka's work - he says that black people "[defy] physics in the stream of their will" and that their "world is more lovely than anyone's / tho we suffer." This radical celebration of blackness, even whilst acknowledging the hardships of black people in America, is fully characteristic of the concept of Black Power endemic to BAM. Baraka closes the poem by asking "What will be the sacred words?" that will free his people from bondage. Given the title of the poem, we may be led to believe that these "sacred words" are Islamic, but perhaps the words he has just used are indeed the words he speaks of - BAM could then fulfill its ambition as the literary wing of black liberation.
Alexander Pope - "Argus"
When wise Ulysses, from his native coast
Long kept by wars, and long by tempests toss'd,
Arrived at last, poor, old, disguised, alone,
To all his friends, and ev'n his Queen unknown,
Changed as he was, with age, and toils, and cares,
Furrow'd his rev'rend face, and white his hairs,
In his own palace forc'd to ask his bread,
Scorn'd by those slaves his former bounty fed,
Forgot of all his own domestic crew,
The faithful Dog alone his rightful master knew!
Unfed, unhous'd, neglected, on the clay
Like an old servant now cashier'd, he lay;
Touch'd with resentment of ungrateful man,
And longing to behold his ancient lord again.
Him when he saw he rose, and crawl'd to meet,
('Twas all he could) and fawn'd and kiss'd his feet,
Seiz'd with dumb joy; then falling by his side,
Own'd his returning lord, look'd up, and died!
Alexander Pope was an Augustan poet. Augustans were early-18th century poets marked by their political themes, satire, and revivals & translations of classical texts.
In "Argus," Pope draws on the story of Odysseus and his dog, Argus. When Odysseus returned home after many years at sea, he went unrecognized by everyone he once knew, even his own wife. Only his faithful old dog, Argos, recognized him. Argos mustered the last of his strength, walked over to his master (who could not acknowledge his old friend, as he was undercover) and died.
Pope takes a new, witty spin on the story by dedicating the second stanza to recounting Argos' viewpoint. Much of the irony and wit of this stanza comes from the dramatic & overwrought style in which the viewpoint of a dog is recounted - "longing to behold his ancient lord again" is absurdly grandiose language & in fact obscures the simplicity of Odysseus and Argos' relationship which is frequently viewed as central to the story's significance. Pope thus implicitly satirizes the tropes of his medium, applying its styles in a way which reveals what it lacks. There is also a possible political satire here - Argos sacrifices all of his strength & life for his "ancient lord", who barely acknowledges him. The directness with which Pope describes Argos' death - "look'd up, and died!" - satirizes the idea that such a death for a higher noble would be honorable and worthwhile. Indeed, this death is unglamorous and sudden. It seems Pope sees no honor in the sacrifice of self for an uncaring lord.
Stylistically the poem matches the patterns of Augustan poetry - it is written with heroic couplets in iambic pentameter.
Long kept by wars, and long by tempests toss'd,
Arrived at last, poor, old, disguised, alone,
To all his friends, and ev'n his Queen unknown,
Changed as he was, with age, and toils, and cares,
Furrow'd his rev'rend face, and white his hairs,
In his own palace forc'd to ask his bread,
Scorn'd by those slaves his former bounty fed,
Forgot of all his own domestic crew,
The faithful Dog alone his rightful master knew!
Unfed, unhous'd, neglected, on the clay
Like an old servant now cashier'd, he lay;
Touch'd with resentment of ungrateful man,
And longing to behold his ancient lord again.
Him when he saw he rose, and crawl'd to meet,
('Twas all he could) and fawn'd and kiss'd his feet,
Seiz'd with dumb joy; then falling by his side,
Own'd his returning lord, look'd up, and died!
Alexander Pope was an Augustan poet. Augustans were early-18th century poets marked by their political themes, satire, and revivals & translations of classical texts.
In "Argus," Pope draws on the story of Odysseus and his dog, Argus. When Odysseus returned home after many years at sea, he went unrecognized by everyone he once knew, even his own wife. Only his faithful old dog, Argos, recognized him. Argos mustered the last of his strength, walked over to his master (who could not acknowledge his old friend, as he was undercover) and died.
Pope takes a new, witty spin on the story by dedicating the second stanza to recounting Argos' viewpoint. Much of the irony and wit of this stanza comes from the dramatic & overwrought style in which the viewpoint of a dog is recounted - "longing to behold his ancient lord again" is absurdly grandiose language & in fact obscures the simplicity of Odysseus and Argos' relationship which is frequently viewed as central to the story's significance. Pope thus implicitly satirizes the tropes of his medium, applying its styles in a way which reveals what it lacks. There is also a possible political satire here - Argos sacrifices all of his strength & life for his "ancient lord", who barely acknowledges him. The directness with which Pope describes Argos' death - "look'd up, and died!" - satirizes the idea that such a death for a higher noble would be honorable and worthwhile. Indeed, this death is unglamorous and sudden. It seems Pope sees no honor in the sacrifice of self for an uncaring lord.
Stylistically the poem matches the patterns of Augustan poetry - it is written with heroic couplets in iambic pentameter.
Gregory Corso was the man
Gregory Corso was a poet of the Beat period that really resembled the spirits of that generation. Fulfilled by the anti-establishment spirit, he wrote on many topics that seemed to be satirical and angry of societal norms. I read "Marriage", one of his most famous poems, and actually really enjoyed it. The whole poem is focused on his different imaginations of marriage and different situations of who he would marry and imagining the life he would have someday. He asks many rhetorical questions, common with the Beat characteristic of sharing a "sense of personal frankness". This can be expressed through his frank questions, an example being the opening line and theme throughout the whole thing: "Should I get married? Should I be Good?" The entirety of the poem goes into these thoughts of his almost cynical attitude towards marriage and all of his doubts of meeting her parents. There's a significant shift between the second to last stanza when he brings up the topic of love. Obviously, love is, or should be, the basis of marriage, but Corso is taking a cynical look on it because he talks about how he's forgotten about love going into a marriage. This is incredibly significant to the Beat period, as the tone of this period, according to the site, is "satirical, angry, and ranting as well as tender and meditative". Corso completely demonstrates these characteristics in his poem, Marriage.
Jack Nicholson with longer hair??
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Adrienne Rich
"Aunt Jennifer's Tigers"
Adrienne Rich
Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.
Aunt Jennifer's finger fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.
When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.
This poem by Adrienne Rich addresses many issues but the main issue addressed would be women and feminism. The poem is about a woman who's life is dominated by the man in her life. Everything she owns is still his, for example, "The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band" demonstrates that it is the man dictating her marriage because she refers to her ring as his property. Also, I'm not positive that the tigers in this poem are, but I am sure that they are Aunt Jen's and only Aunt Jen's. I think when the speaker says that once Aunt Jen dies "the tigers...will go on prancing, proud and unafraid" this shows that Aunt Jennifer's property can only be free and hers, once she is free of her marriage--so when she's dead. I enjoyed this poem because it wasn't too hard to grasp the meaning and I'm always a sucker for a good rhyme scheme.
Adrienne Rich
Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.
Aunt Jennifer's finger fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.
When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.
This poem by Adrienne Rich addresses many issues but the main issue addressed would be women and feminism. The poem is about a woman who's life is dominated by the man in her life. Everything she owns is still his, for example, "The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band" demonstrates that it is the man dictating her marriage because she refers to her ring as his property. Also, I'm not positive that the tigers in this poem are, but I am sure that they are Aunt Jen's and only Aunt Jen's. I think when the speaker says that once Aunt Jen dies "the tigers...will go on prancing, proud and unafraid" this shows that Aunt Jennifer's property can only be free and hers, once she is free of her marriage--so when she's dead. I enjoyed this poem because it wasn't too hard to grasp the meaning and I'm always a sucker for a good rhyme scheme.
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