Through imagery and word choice Rupert Brooke is able to weave a poem of both beauty and sadness regarding death. The poem, called "The Dead", isn't even 15 lines long yet in such a short space Brooke is able to convey several emotions and talk about a subject that is so foreboding and menacing in a way that actually evokes beauty and reverence.
The first two lines of the poem have a very melancholy tone as Brooke outlines the intricacies of the heart and the ways in which it has been affected over time. He writes that, "These hearts were woven of human joys and cares, /Washed marvelously with sorrow, swift to mirth." This imagery shows the heart as being like an old worn blanket, used often through the years. These are the hearts that will be no more when death takes them but Brooke immediately sets out to show that when death comes all the subtleties of the old hearts will be gone. Like a well used shirt being thrown out, the owners of these hearts will die, but only after they have been washed with sadness and joy. Overall these first lines present imagery that is beautiful yet sad.
The first stanza follows in a similar fashion, juxtaposing the happiness of life with sadness like, "Slumber and waking" and, "proudly friended" with, "sat alone." Brooke spares no feelings by referencing both the good and the bad parts of life, but always does it a way that can only be described as having poetic beauty. Finally the first stanza completes with, "All this is ended," a sudden shock back into the reality that death is final and that all past experiences are gone, whether they were of pleasure or pain, they are no more.
In the second and last stanza of the work, Brooke moves into the actual death. In this poem death is represented as "Frost" and when it comes it stays the winds with only a gesture. At last in the last three lines death truly comes and leaves behind only a "white unbroken glory" and a "gathered radiance" where there was once a person. This is especially beautiful in that Brooke doesn't just say that what's left behind is the shell of what was once a person, he says that death leaves behind "a shining peace," something untainted, a final manifestation of all that is good in life.
Brooke uses a surprisingly short amount of space to convey an image, and an emotion that death is not just a sad ending, it is a beautiful release. And while all the nuances of life may be gone, they lived through those nuances (like the used up shirt), and have come out full of memories and understanding. Death in this poem is simply beautiful.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Sunday, September 15, 2013
The Meaning of Hands
Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio explores a great many subjects, one especially significant being hands. By describing the hands in different ways, Anderson reveals the attitudes of the characters and the emotions that they are feeling. This concept is a focal point in the chapter called "Hands".
Anderson typically refers to hands as either hands or fists. Classically a fist represents anger and passion, while the open hands represent hospitality and understanding. This is taken to the next level in the character of Wing Biddlebaum, a schoolteacher with constantly moving hands. Instead of fists symbolizing merely anger, in Wing they represent his frustation and timidity. In his hands he feels he has the power to inspire, but because of some very unfortunate circumstances he clenches his hands into fists, trapping the dreams inside of them and cutting off their 'powers'.
Wing is constantly in an emotional struggle to control his hands because he is worried that once again they will bring him trouble. Anderson uses Wing's hands to represent him as a whole person, for instance each time Wing thrusts his hands quickly into his pockets it shows that he is trying to hide something. The immediate action of putting his hands in his pocket is symbolic of guilt, a guilt that Wing feels over his past. Wing even shows a sort of anger at his hands, constantly beating them against stumps and doors while he talks to keep them busy. It's as if the hands must be brutalized while he talks or else they will take control of him and he will be punished because of what his hands did.
Hands are a very important fixture in Winesburg, Ohio and reappear throughout the novel. In their own way, the hands of the characters are the physical manifestation of the characters inner state. When Wing is scared he puts his hands in his pockets and hides them, but when he is excited and talking of dreams his hands are active and alive. The way the characters use their hands in this book is incredibly important and can help to bring a new perspective to each of them.
Anderson typically refers to hands as either hands or fists. Classically a fist represents anger and passion, while the open hands represent hospitality and understanding. This is taken to the next level in the character of Wing Biddlebaum, a schoolteacher with constantly moving hands. Instead of fists symbolizing merely anger, in Wing they represent his frustation and timidity. In his hands he feels he has the power to inspire, but because of some very unfortunate circumstances he clenches his hands into fists, trapping the dreams inside of them and cutting off their 'powers'.
Wing is constantly in an emotional struggle to control his hands because he is worried that once again they will bring him trouble. Anderson uses Wing's hands to represent him as a whole person, for instance each time Wing thrusts his hands quickly into his pockets it shows that he is trying to hide something. The immediate action of putting his hands in his pocket is symbolic of guilt, a guilt that Wing feels over his past. Wing even shows a sort of anger at his hands, constantly beating them against stumps and doors while he talks to keep them busy. It's as if the hands must be brutalized while he talks or else they will take control of him and he will be punished because of what his hands did.
Hands are a very important fixture in Winesburg, Ohio and reappear throughout the novel. In their own way, the hands of the characters are the physical manifestation of the characters inner state. When Wing is scared he puts his hands in his pockets and hides them, but when he is excited and talking of dreams his hands are active and alive. The way the characters use their hands in this book is incredibly important and can help to bring a new perspective to each of them.
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