Modernism:
What does 'The Wasteland' mean?
1) how has it been interpreted? (cite examples)
2)what are some of the key features
3) In what way has it been influential
Post-Modernism
1) What common qualities do 'the beats' share? Why 'beats'?
2) How is beat poetry linked to rap?
3) How was Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
4) On what grounds was 'Howl' accused of being obscene - grounds for the defense?
5) What kind of protest song/rap other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
What does 'The Wasteland' mean?
1) how has it been interpreted? (cite examples)
2)what are some of the key features
3) In what way has it been influential
Post-Modernism
1) What common qualities do 'the beats' share? Why 'beats'?
2) How is beat poetry linked to rap?
3) How was Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
4) On what grounds was 'Howl' accused of being obscene - grounds for the defense?
5) What kind of protest song/rap other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
The Wasteland
ReplyDeleteHow has it been interpreted?
The Wasteland is a poem that goes into vigorous detail of the effects of World War 1, it focuses on the cultural and physiological impact of the War. The poem itself was very rare of the time as it was addressing a lot of issues that had not previously been addressed much, due to this it has been named one of the “most important poems of the 20th Century” (Shmoop). I. A Richard states that the poem shares a “sense of desolation, of uncertainty, of futility, of the groundlessness of aspirations, of the vanity of endeavour, and a thirst for a life-giving water which seems suddenly to have failed.”
This poem was written by Elliot due to his passion for the world of great culture and art, he was frustrated that people did not care and were constantly dumbing down their lives and light with alcohol.
What are some of the key features?
This poem was made up of four sections, each from a different perspective and are taking the reader through a different story. This was a key feature as it is one singular poem that takes the readers on four different journeys, all showing the impact or addressing issues related to the aftermath of WW1. Another key feature was the formality used throughout the poem, which was significantly ahead of its time.
In what way has it been influential?
Overall, this piece influenced many writers through the raw emotion throughout this poem and in his futuristic way of writing from the time. Although many critics have pointed out that The Wasteland is possibly one of the first poems that can be categorised in modernism. Therefore, it can be said that this poem influenced many other poets and writers to move toward writing modernist poems.
How does Beat poetry link to rap?
Rap music is defined as a form of vocal delivery in which typically rhymes, it is set to a beat. Rap was used in many traditions to deliver a story particularly in West African cultures, often to the beat of a drum. Later, in the 1970’s rap hit the United States, and was very popular with African American teenagers. From the 1970’s rap moved from telling stories, to telling stories of injustices, racism, sex and violence. Beat poetry became popular in the 1940’s, a key influencer of beat poetry was World War 2, in that it left many people confused or questioning their government and other issues in society. Simply from describing the two art forms, it becomes apparent that the two are similar, besides from the obvious in the way that they sound- both will rhyme for the most part, making the piece flow. They both also follow a set rhythm throughout the rap/poem, and most importantly both rap and beat poems were used to convey an important message, most often about social injustices or socio-political issues. Therefore rap and beat poetry clearly share a link.
References:
https://www.enotes.com/topics/waste-land
http://modernism.research.yale.edu/wiki/index.php/The_Waste_Land
http://www.plasticlittleraps.com/history-of-rap-music.html
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-beat-poets
http://www.ehow.com/info_8508048_similarities-differences-between-poetry-rap.html
ReplyDeleteModernism:
What does The Waste Land Mean?
It is difficult with any from or art to define a distinct meaning as art is entirely subjective. The artist themselves may have meaning in their works but when art is released to the public meaning becomes subjective. There is no more strength in the meaning of the artist then there is in the meaning of the audience. It is almost impossible to attach a purely correct meaning to this poem and both audience and artist’s definitions are important; however, there is understandably more interest in the game of trying to piece together what the artists focus was and the meaning they were trying to convey. The majority seem to believe The Waste Land is about spiritual and intellectual deterioration within the modern world (Lewis, 2007).
How has it been interpreted?
As wholly correct definition is out of reach, many have searched for this poem’s meaning and have interpreted it in many ways (Shmoop, 2008). The Waste Land is viewed as an obscure poem through ways of its many differing perspectives and strong application of symbolism (Shmoop, 2008). People have interpreted The Waste Land to mean many different things, some believe it tells the stories of solider in the great war, others think it loosely follows the hunt for the holy grail and the fisher king, while others believe it incorporates these themes whilst juxtaposing them with elements of daily life in the modern world; reaching the culmination of decay in the modern society (Fedorova, 2007).
What are some of it’s key features?
As with much poetry, a key feature of The Waste Land is its symbolism. Symbolism is such a key feature to this work that it is the main factor which causes so much discussion as to the meaning of the poem (Lewis, 2007). Another key feature of The Waste Land is its written perspective. The Waste Land applies a dramatic monologue, using very little rhyme and lacking consistent metre; the perspective also changes often between characters (Shmoop, 2008). The changing of characters is also another key feature to The Waste Land as it plays heavily with structure and perspective.
In what ways, has it been influential?
The Waste Land has been considered to be one of the most influential works in the modern age and the fact it is still read and debated reinforces this perspective (Lewis, 2007). It is so influential as it gave a voice to the feelings of disenchant following on from the world and the social future that was to follow. It allowed a perspective which many did not have. Combining social and political awareness into strong literary skill and understanding have made The Waste Land remain so influential all this time (Fedorova, 2007).
References
Fedorova, A. (2007). The motif of decay in "The Waste Land" by T. S. Eliot. Hanover: University of Hanover.
Lewis, P. (2007). Cambridge Introduction to Modernism. London: Cambridge U.P.
Shmoop, E. T. (2008, November 11). The Waste Land. Retrieved from http://www.shmoop.com: http://www.shmoop.com/the-waste-land/
How was Bob Dylan’s Masters of War involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
ReplyDeleteFor context, a portion of Bob Dylan’s song reads like this “And I hope that you die and your death will come soon I will follow your casket In the pale afternoon and I’ll watch while you’re lowered down to your deathbed and I’ll stand on your grave til I’m sure that you’re dead” The song is blatantly against militarism and war and has been used as a protest song. That being said, a school in Boulder Colorado that had protested Bush’s election. The protests had already made news and had many right-wing conservatives upset. However, when the school band was rehearsing for a talent show, a student misunderstood the meaning of the song and told their parent that the school was threatening George Bush’s life. The Secret Service got involved and questioned the people involved. When the story went public is when the song became affiliated with Bush even though it was written some 40 years prior to the Bush administration.
What kind of protest song/rap other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
The most memorable protest song that has happened in the past decade became public on Saturday, January 21st during the world wide Woman’s March during President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The song titled I Can’t Keep Quiet by MILCK has lyrics such as “I can’t keep quiet, for anyone, anymore.” The song was originally performed during the march to protest Trump but then soon took to the internet and took off.
I think with the rise of Trump there has defiantly been a resurgence in the spirit of protests. I think the Women’s March demonstrated exactly that. The fact that the entire world stood up in protest against the President of the United States of the America proves there is still a spirit of protest out there. Also the massive protests during the immigration ban also proves that the spirit of protest is still alive and well especially in America. As a citizen of America I can say that the general population is angry. People are pissed off, especially younger people. While I know Auckland participated in the Woman’s March, I have yet to experience that atmosphere of animosity that is an everyday part of living in America. Kiwi’s, while there are many outliers, tend to be complacent and I haven’t felt a spirit of protest here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9lond4SXgk
In order to address some of the key features of T.S. Eliot’s 1992 poem ‘The Waste Land’ I have decided to discuss some key themes that can be seen throughout the poem, each of which is also influential to all who read the poem. The Key themes I will discuss are Religion, Isolation and loneliness and also the ugliness of society. Eliot’s poem is still one of the most influential pieces of work in modern literature, and there are many links between his poem and modern society.
ReplyDeleteThe first theme to be discussed is the theme is religion. ‘The Waste Land’ highlights the decline of Christian Religion, the move from Modernism to Post-Modernism came a decline in religion as it didn’t have as much of an influence on people as it did once upon a time. For the people before modernism religion held all the questions about life, god had all the answers to the questions of life and people always knew what it was that they had to do. The quote “What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow. Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man, You cannot say, or guess, for you know only, A heap of broken images” highlights this and alludes to religion being an image that is shattered by the modern world. However, in the modern world, and as Eliot highlights, the power of religion was declining and this decline left many people feeling like they were experiencing spiritual crisis and they weren’t sure where to turn or where to go or what to do with themselves.
The second theme to be discussed is the theme of Isolation. Eliot highlights the theme of loneliness however he believes that we create our own loneliness because we constantly think about ourselves and we constantly strive to achieve our own personal and selfish goals. However, people in society believe that it is not themselves causing this loneliness and there is an outside influence that causes them loneliness, and due to the ongoing decay of society after World War One this gave people in society even more reason to put the blame elsewhere. Also due to the decline of religion this meant people were unaware of where to go and so took advice and direction from themselves, but this meant that people spent their lives trying to be better than everyone else and getting ahead by putting others down and then turned around but then they weren’t prepared to take the blame when they felt lonely, the disconnection from each other can be seen through the quote “Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled, And each man fixed his eyes before his feet.”
Continued.
ReplyDeleteThe third theme focuses on characteristics of people and the appearance of society. Eliot uses imagery that is ugly and makes references to characters who are ugly, to represent the ongoing decay of Urban society, but it also represents the figure that individuals are becoming, they have forgotten who they are and who they should be. Although Eliot focuses on physical appearance in the poem he aims to highlight the ugliness of society as a whole and the people in society. The quote You ought to be ashamed, I said, to look so antique. (And her only thirty-one) I can't help it, she said, pulling a long face, It's them pills I took, to bring it off, she said,” is quite brutal as a woman tells her friend to improve her physical appearance before her husband leaves her, this highlights what is important to people now. Eliot also comments on two characters’ appearance directly commenting about the two-thousand-year-old Tiresias, with his "wrinkled dugs" and the pimply-faced "young man carbuncular.”
References.
Crawford, R. (2015, January 10). TS Eliot: the poet who conquered the world, 50 years. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/10/from-tom-to-ts-eliot-world-poet
Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). The Waste Land Theme of Religion. Retrieved June 12, 2017, from http://www.shmoop.com/the-waste-land/religion-theme.html
Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). The Waste Land Theme of Isolation. Retrieved June 12, 2017, from http://www.shmoop.com/the-waste-land/isolation-theme.html
Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). The Waste Land Theme of Appearances. Retrieved June 12, 2017, from http://www.shmoop.com/the-waste-land/appearances-theme.html