Weeks 10-12: post-/modernism
Modernism
What does The Wasteland mean (Lol)?
OK, well, let's unpack that:
1. How has it been interpreted? Use citations.
2. What are some of its key features?
3. In what ways has it been influential??
PoMo
5. What kinda protest song/rap/other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
What does The Wasteland mean (Lol)?
OK, well, let's unpack that:
1. How has it been interpreted? Use citations.
2. What are some of its key features?
3. In what ways has it been influential??
PoMo
1. What common qualities do the "Beats" share? Why were they so-named?
2. On what grounds was Ginsberg's HOWL accused of being obscene, and on what grounds was it defended?
3. In what ways are Beat poetry and rap linked?
4. How was Bob Dylan's song Master of War involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
T.S. Eliot’s poem The Waste Land has attracted different interpretations from many disciplinary fields. The scope of its interpretation can closely be aligned to the key modernist features of its narrative construction as well as the context in which it was written.
ReplyDeleteA key interpretation aligns to the fractured personal environment of Eliot’s life in which the poem was constructed. With a failing marriage and concerns over his own mental health, critics have associated the poem with psychiatric analysis as “written by a man in the midst of a nervous breakdown” (Gold, 2000). The poem itself “stands as a record of his illness and his cure” (Gold, 2000) within the context of his treatment under Dr Roger Vittoz. Vittoz believed Eliot to be suffering from neurasthenia, a less serious condition than hysteria or insanity which was due to an insufficiency of control (Gold, 2000). This condition is illuminated within The Waste Land within its key feature of fragmented narration. “The poem's disjointed narration leads the reader to experience a neurasthenic state of mind; it is nearly impossible to be in a state of moral tranquillity while reading The Waste Land, because the poem's many languages and abrupt switches of tone jolt the reader out of conventional attitudes toward literature and disrupt the notion that narratives proceed in a logical or linear fashion” (Gold, 2000). Along with the narrative technique, Eliot’s use of symbolism and character personas utilises Vittoz’s text as an interpretive tool for understanding his poem (Gold, 2000). “Vittoz' therapy was designed to cure the kinds of neurasthenic ailments that plague characters in The Waste Land” (Gold, 2000). After Marie expresses neurotic fear she is told to “hold on tight” (16) and Tiresias as a patient with defective mind control who foresees that all effort is in vain (Gold, 2000). The poem is a record of Eliot’s wasted energy to bring himself under control however on conclusion of the poem Eliot uses the symbolism of a rudderless boat which “responded/ Gaily, to the hand expert with sail and oar/ The sea was calm, your heart would have responded/ Gaily, when invited, beating obedient/ To controlling hands” (419-422) to represent his attempt under Vittoz’s hand to bring himself under control (Gold, 2000).
A more recent construct of interpretation comes under the discipline of environmental crisis with The Waste Land as a source of eco criticism. The title alone lends itself to an eco-critical reading with “the awareness that very soon there will be nothing left in nature” (Parashar, 2015). Ecological criticism deconstructs the relationship between nature, culture and literature and Eliot’s The Waste Land contributed in not only exposing man’s callousness towards nature but also in raising a collective environmental consciousness among its readers (Parashar, 2015). Eliot presents the striking image of a decaying environment caused by man (Parashar, 2015)
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, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water (19-24)
The symbol of natural decay begins with an ecological concern and furthermore highlights the relationship between nature and man through the cultural signifier of water as a source of life (Parashar, 2015). “The river sweats/ Oil and tar” (266-267) “Ganga was sunken” (395) “Here is no water but only rock” (331) reverberates Eliot’s idea that lack of water is “connected with infertility, which conveys to us the sense that the modern world cannot produce anything new or beautiful” (Parashar, 2015). Ecocriticism is a new movement of study from around the 1990s however Eliot’s poem is considered relevant as it is a text of an earth centred approach concerning nature (Parashar, 2015). Ultimately, an eco-critical reading of The Waste Land supports the idea that “humans often from the positions of power are unaware of the effects of their actions on nature. They are part of ecological circle, and therefore are equally responsible for creating a sustainable planet” (Parashar, 2015).
DeleteThe symbol of water can be connected to another area of interpretation regarding fractured spirituality and water as an agent for spiritual regeneration (Parashar, 2015). Post World War One and with the Industrial Revolution, the occidental was considered a spiritual wasteland. Eliot’s The Waste Land attempts to discover an answer to the cultural dislocation, and spiritual fragmentation of religion during this era (Jacobson, 2014). Within the poem is three layers of religious doctrine; Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism, and is a metaphorical pilgrimage across the spiritual landscape of the world (Kuriakose, 2016). Alluding to Eliot’s knowledge of Hinduism is the translocation of Sanskrit and the inclusion of santih. “Vedic recitations strictly end with the chant of the Santih mantra, which is a verse invocation seeking the blessings of gods and sages in one's pur- suit of spiritual wisdom” (Chandran, 1989). “The poet's irony in matching "shantih" with the mind shoring fragments and the tongue raving imprecations is hard to miss: "shantih" here is not so much wished as wished for” (Chandran, 1989). The Fire Sermon serves as inevitable reference to the mantras of Buddhism which Eliot was so interested in. The Four Seals of Buddhism served as a spiritual guidance both at a personal level for Eliot and as a societal teaching. These seals are; 1) all compounded things are impermanent, 2) all emotions are painful, 3) all phenomena are empty, 4) Nirvana is beyond extremes (Kuriakose, 2016). “The idea that life is fleeting and filled with suffering is at the core of Buddhist thought” (LeCarner, 2009). “With The Waste Land, the vision spreads and deepens, and suffering seems to become a universal characteristic” (McCarthy, 1952). The Christian symbol of the church, namely The Church of St Magnus the Martyr, represents Eliot’s contested relationship with Christian religion. “The church represents the possibility for a spiritual tradition and a meaningful connection with the past as well as the modern loss of tradition and the death of God” (Atkins, 2012). “It is a place where people go to seek spiritual fulfilment and peace, but it is also associated with civil strife, political intrigue, violence, and war” (Atkins, 2012). Ultimately, Eliot’s utilisation of individual religious ideas, symbols, and images appearing seemingly unconnected is a metaphor for humans being spiritually disconnected during this era (Jacobson, 2014).
Finally, Eliot’s The Waste Land can be interpreted as a work of translation. “Eliot sought to transcend time and space by bringing to The Waste Land scores of literary, cultural, and artistic allusions from a variety of sources including the Upanishads, Greek mythology, the Bible, Chaucer, Dante, Spenser, Shakespeare, and Leonardo Da Vinci” (LeCarner, 2009). The field of translation has expanded beyond mere linguistic considerations, approached in the terms of cultural exchange, transfers of meaning, inter-systematic relations or interpretations which range from adaptation to complex recontextualisations (Bîrsanu, 2014). In this regard, Eliot’s The Waste Land can be considered an elaborate work of translation with its translation at the language level through an abundance of quotations, as well as various cultural transmutations of semiotics (Bîrsanu, 2014). Eliot takes fragments of world literature’s literary names, writers and works that were forgotten or neglected by contemporary literary tastes and endeavours to bring them to the attention of modern readers (Bîrsanu, 2014). Eliot constructs an intricate web of cultural reference displayed in the form of allusions, quotations, partial translations, which spread over a wide array of time periods and spaces (Bîrsanu, 2014). Translation is the most powerful type of rewriting, manipulating material in such a way so as to suit the ideological trends or aesthetic purposes of a certain time period or writer and the life of a work of art is the sum total of its derivations and interpretations which embrace a variety of forms (Bîrsanu, 2014).
DeleteReferences
Atkins, H. (2012). WAYS OF VIEWING CHURCHES IN "THE WASTE LAND" AND "LITTLE GIDDING". Religion & Literature,44(1), 167-173. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23347067
Bîrsanu, R. Ş. (2014). T.s. eliot’s the waste land as a place of intercultural exchanges : a translation perspective. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Chandran, K. (1989). "Shantih" in The Waste Land. American Literature, 61(4), 681-683. doi:10.2307/2927003
Gold, M. (2000). The Expert Hand and the Obedient Heart: Dr. Vittoz, T.S. Eliot, and the Therapeutic Possibilities of "The Waste Land". Journal of Modern Literature, 23(3/4), 519-533. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3831673
Jacobson, R. (2014). TS ELIOT: Modernism and Religion in The Waste Land, Ash Wednesday and The Hollow Men. Metaphor, (2), 11.
Kuriakose, J. (2016). "The Waste Land": Eliot's Expiatory Pilgrimage from Church to Pagoda. Advances In Language And Literary Studies, 7(4), 158-166.
LeCarner, T. M. (2009). T. S. Eliot, Dharma Bum: Buddhist Lessons in The Waste Land. (2), 402. doi:10.1353/phl.0.0061
McCarthy, H. (1952). T. S. Eliot and Buddhism. Philosophy East and West, 2(1), 31-55. doi:10.2307/1397461
Parashar, A. (2015). Reverberations of environmental crisis and its relevance in managing sustainability: an ecocritical reading of T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land. Decision (0304-0941), 42(2), 159-172. doi:10.1007/s40622-015-0081-5
Interesting and thorough dissection of the work! Enjoyed it. Out of curiosity, what would be the meaning/interpretation that arrives first and foremost to yourself as the reader? What do you receive as face value from the text?
DeleteBeat poetry of the 1950s could be considered a predecessor to the genre of rap in contemporary society. Features of Beat poetry include surreal juxtaposition of chains of images, use of organic speech rhythms, and predominance of improvisatory rambling poetic forms, and making the personality the centre to their work (Kruger, 2007). Features of rap can be closely aligned to that of Beat poetry however similarities traverse beyond mere rhythmic structure to that of social concepts addressed. Beat poetry was a rebellious questioning of conventional American cultural values post WWII (Kruger, 2007). Concurrently, rap is considered to be a counter-discourse and form of resistance against dominating majority groups (Hunnicutt & Andrews, 2009). At the birth of rap in clubs and studios of inner-city New York in the 1970s, Early rappers were regarded as storytellers, disturbers of the peace, and cultural historians who were ‘‘testifying’’ to the lived experiences of urban blacks during a period of political backlash, urban neglect, and stigmatization as a criminal underclass (Hunnicutt & Andrews, 2009). Therefore, in this regard Beat poetry and rap are linked to their socio-cultural prerogatives as forms of rebellion against dominant cultural groups. Ginsberg’s Beat poem Howl in particular is considered a counterhegemonic resistance against social control and dominance of a particular group and its ideologies, contesting the view that society was a monolithic entity, rather celebrating plurality and diversity (Kruger, 2007). Concurrently, rap allows subordinate groups to define core values and identities apart from the mainstream (Hunnicutt & Andrews, 2009). Another feature that links rap and Beat poetry is the positioning of the narrator as the tragic hero who possess dreadful knowledge of society that others lack (Riley, 2005). Along these lines, Beat poetry and rap attempt to educate the public on issues that are often so deeply imbedded in the national psyche that any formal portrayal of them elicits a “shock factor” (Hunnicutt & Andrews, 2009). Beat poetry emphasised freedom of expression and experience (Kruger, 2007) which was often met with adverse reactions. For example, Ginsberg’s Howl was taken to trial due to its obscenity through graphic reference to illegal drugs and sex however was later dismissed on the grounds of its redeeming social importance (Sterritt, 2013). Concurrently in rap, artists push the boundaries of creativity and self-expression as a form of freedom (Travis, 2013). There were however concerns over representations of violence, misogyny and substance abuse (Travis, 2013) elicited adverse reactions among moral entrepreneurs and legislators (Hunnicutt & Andrews, 2009). Sociologists however have regarded these representations to not be celebrations but rather interpretations of already existing phenomena (Riley, 2005) and actually major obstacles within the subordinate community in which they were conceived (Travis, 2013). Another feature that links Beat poetry and rap was that they were both largely denied their literary status at their time of conception. The Beats were viewed as “Know Nothing Bohemians”, social misfits, misanthropes (Schumacher, 2017) whereas prior to the 1990s rap was not considered a serious area of study (Hunnicutt & Andrews, 2009).
ReplyDeleteReferences
DeleteHunnicutt, G., & Andrews K. H. (2009). Tragic Narratives in Popular Culture: Depictions of Homicide in Rap Music. Sociological Forum, (3), 611. doi:10.1111/j.1573-7861.2009.01122.x
Kruger, H. (2007). 'Confessing out the soul to conform to the rhythm of thought': a reading of Allen Ginsberg’s Beat poetry. Literator, Vol 28, Iss 1, Pp 23-46 (2007), (1), 23. doi:10.4102/lit.v28i1.149
Riley, A. (2005). The Rebirth of Tragedy out of the Spirit of Hip Hop: A Cultural Sociology of Gangsta Rap Music. Journal Of Youth Studies, 8(3), 297-311. doi:10.1080/13676260500261892
Schumacher, M. (Ed.). (2017). First thought : conversations with allen ginsberg. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Sterritt, D. a. (2013). Beat poetry and more: Ginsberg, Corso, and Company. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/actrade/9780199796779.003.0004
Travis, R. (2013). Rap Music and the Empowerment of Today's Youth: Evidence in Everyday Music Listening, Music Therapy, and Commercial Rap Music. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 30(2), 139-167. doi:10.1007/s10560-012-0285-x
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ReplyDelete4. How was Bob Dylan's song Masters of War involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
ReplyDeleteBob Dylan’s song, “Masters of War” took the music industry by storm in 1963. The nation squirmed as its fierce and angry tone against the “military industrial complex” caught the attention of many opinionated and shocked Americans. It claimed that the state was out of control by declaring a useless war and then simply shirking the responsibility it was supposedly obliged to address. “Masters of War” is a compelling protest song (even though Dylan says it isn’t a protest song), “This here ain’t a protest song or anything like that, ‘cause I don’t write protest songs…I’m just writing it as something to be said, for somebody, by somebody.” (Dreier, (2011) The song stands against the government’s tyrannical misuse of its ever powering military.
“Masters of War” is on the top shelf of the most significant protest songs ever written. The song was released on the album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan in 1963. Dylan was fairly knowledgeable about the time period he was living in. In this time the Cold War was in full effect and the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the United States and the USSR to the verge of nuclear disaster. In one verse of the song, Dylan exclaims “I hope that you die, and your death’ll come soon. I’ll watch while you’re lowered down to your deathbed, and I’ll stand over your grave ‘til I’m sure that you’re dead.” In response to this part of the song, Dylan said, “I don’t sing songs which hope people will die, but I couldn’t help it with this one.” (Schlansky (2009). Although this song was directed towards the rapidly increasing conflicts of the 1960s, such as Americas progressive building up of arms in the early 60s.
Dylan still receives praise for this song to this day. In 1991, after receiving a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys, he performed “Masters of War,” this was when the United States was in the middle of the Persian Gulf War. A useful factor of this song is that we can still relate this song to previous wars and conflicts, and the wars of the present. As an example of the songs dateless nature and addressing the question given, 39 years later Bob Dylan performed the hit at Madison square garden as he saw the relationship and affect his song might have on the Bush’s recent declaration of the second war on Iraq. During the fall of 2002, November 11th, George Bush publicly announced the launch of the second Iraq war. One of the controversy’s around Dylan playing this song publicly in this highly strung political administrative time, was the song was actually held responsible for cultivating the minds of the youth to make them “want Bush dead” (Marcus, (2006). The song itself is said to have had a major influence on people, which heavily influenced the opinions and beliefs of (mainly) the youth which would subsequently lead to multiple versions and performances of Dylan’s classic by others as a genuine form of protest against the decision to ignite a new war. Speculatively speaking, this could may well have being a contributing factor as to why Bush went eight years without giving Dylan an award. Strangely enough, within 2 years of Obama’s being in power, he awarded Dylan with the presidential medal of freedom.
References
DeleteDreier, P. (2011, May 24). The Political Bob Dylan. Dissentmagazine. Retrieved from https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/the-political-bob-dylan
Greene, A. (2016, November 18). Bob Dylan Before the Nobel: 12 Times He Publicly Accepted an Honor. Rollingstone. Retrieved from https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/bob-dylan-before-the-nobel-12-times-he-accepted-an-honor-w451097/presidential-medal-of-freedom-2012-w451135
Marcus, G. n.d.Stories of a Bad Song. Threepennyreview. Retrieved from https://www.threepennyreview.com/samples/marcus_w06.html
Schlansky, E. (2009, April 30). The 30 Greatest Bob Dylan Songs: #8, “Masters of War”. Americansongwriter. Retrieved from http://americansongwriter.com/2009/04/the-30-greatest-bob-dylan-songs-8-masters-of-war/
HI Reade,
DeleteGreat work, Its crazy to think how a song can be used differently. And how it could influence and change peoples perspective about a certain topic that they think is wrong (like Bush's Administration).
Allen Ginsberg’s Howl was taken to court on the grounds of obscenity where upon seizure it was stated “you wouldn’t want your children to come across it” (Raskin, 2004). Undoubtedly it can be, and was, argued that the content of the poem including reference to “illegal drugs and illegal sex” (Sterritt, 2013) and profanity was obscene. It was exclaimed “would you like to see this sort of poetry printed in your local newspaper, that is to say, to be read by your family, that type of thing? or would you like to have this poetry read to you over the air on the radio as a diet?” (Ferlinghetti, 1961). Ultimately that was the prerogative of Howl’s trial as “authoritarians believe that men are innately weak, full of sin, and prone to error. The masses must therefore be guided, controlled and restrained in their ideas and behaviour and forced to respect the established morality, property rights, and constituted authority” (Ehrlich, 1961). However, “in a deeply homophobic era, the work's most courageous element was Ginsberg's uncompromising candor about his homosexuality, and this is what spurred the charges” (Sterritt, 2013) as “homosexuality reared its head in Howl and that was intolerable (Raskin, 2004).
ReplyDelete“The word 'obscene,' as used in the statute making possession or exhibition of obscene pictures, etc., a felony, means not only language suggestive of sexual intercourse or tending to excite lewdness or to debauch the public morals, but means offensive to the senses, repulsive, disgusting, foul, filthy, offensive to modesty" (Ferlinghetti, 1961). In the court trial, it was collectively agreed that the words individually may indeed be considered obscene but it “is language which almost certainly contributes to the central purpose of the work” (Ferlinghetti, 1961). It was also “agreed that in making this determination, the book must be construed as a whole and that regard shall be had for its place in the arts. The freedoms of speech and press are inherent” (Ferlinghetti, 1961). “Material is not obscene unless it arouses lustful thoughts of sex and tends to corrupt and deprave by inciting him to anti-social activity or tending to create a clear and present danger that he will be so incited as the result of exposure thereto. If the material is disgusting, revolting or filthy, to use just a few adjectives, the antithesis of pleasurable sexual desires is born, and it cannot be obscene” (Ferlinghetti, 1961).
“No hard and fast rule can be fixed for the determination of what is obscene, because such determination depends on the locale, the time, the mind of the community and the prevailing mores”( Ferlinghetti, 1961). “If the material has the slightest redeeming social importance it is not obscene because it is protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, and the California Constitution” (Ferlinghetti, 1961). Multiple literary experts had deemed Howl to be of “redeeming social importance” (Sterritt, 2013), aligning it to the work of Ulysses in the trial, as well as the “most significant single long poem to be published in this country since World War II” (Rankin, 2004).
Howl was indeed obscene but also that its obscenity was the mark of its genius (Rankin, 2004). “The real obscenity was the sad wastes of the mechanised world, lost among atom bombs and insane nationalism” (Rankin, 2004).
References
DeleteFerlinghetti, L., Ehrlich, J. W., & Ginsberg, A. H. (1961). Howl of the censor. San Carlos, Calif. : Nourse Pub. Co.
RASKIN, J. (2004). American Scream: Allen Ginsberg's Howl and the Making of the Beat Generation. Berkeley; Los Angeles; London: University of California Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1ppbz4
Sterritt, D. a. (2013). Beat poetry and more: Ginsberg, Corso, and Company. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/actrade/9780199796779.003.0004
T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, according to Dalli (2018) is an example of Modernist poetry. Poetry Foundation (2018) identifies Modernist poetry as a shift or movement away from the its poetic precursors, it is “a re-evaluation of the assumptions and aesthetic values of their predecessors” (Poetry Foundation, 2018). Dalli (2018) notes that “The Waste Land signified the movement from Imagism – optimistic, bright-willed to modernism, itself a far darker, disillusioned way of writing”.
ReplyDeleteThe poem has been interpreted in a variety of ways with critics often being divided as how to view the poem. Moi (2009) stated that “some critics have regarded The Waste Land as a unified work with a definite vision, other critics have seen it as a fragmented and open-ended text whose meaning is indeterminate”. Interpretations have identified that the poem is concerned with culture. The valuing of culture, the end of culture and the agony that comes from living in a time which has lost the understanding of culture (Dalli, 2018). Similarly, Loughborough University (2016) viewed the poem as a commentary on the perceived breakdown of society and values post-WW1 and Eliot’s response to the question of how to deal with this. Green (2015) stated that the poem was an exploration of a broken society and could also be considered through the lens of a redemption quest or as a post-WW1 response. There is a lack of intimacy throughout the poem, love without intimacy, the conversations in the bar about the lack of joy in sex, the depiction of love as cheap and tawdry
“Mr. Eugenides, the Smyrna merchant
Unshaven, with a pocket full of currants
C.i.f. London: documents at sight,
Asked me in demotic French
To luncheon at the Cannon Street Hotel
Followed by a weekend at the Metropole.”
These lines implying homosexual encounters and paints them as cheap (Dalli, 2018). This is reinforced by the meaningless sex between the typist and the clerk, “Well now that’s done: and I’m glad it’s over.”
Loughborough University (2016) identified that within the poem people are viewed as metaphorical prisoners. The poem opens with a Latin epigraphy concerning the Sibyl of Cumae who seeks the only possible release from the prison that is life: death. People within the poem are trapped in a waste land
“Your arms full, and your hair wet, I could not
Speak, and my eyes failed, I was neither
Living nor dead, and I knew nothing”
“A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,
I had not thought death had undone so many.
Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled,
And each man fixed his eyes before his feet.”
The escape through death is shown in the poem through references to Tristan and Isolde
Frisch weht der Wind
Der Heimat zu
Mein Irisch Kind,
Wo weilest du?
where death is seen to conquer everything and serves to reunite lost loves (Dalli, 2018). This escape through death is shown again with reference to Shakespeare’s Ophelia in the last line of the second section. Shakespeare’s heroine finding release through drowning (Green, 2015; Loughborough University, 2016; Dalli , 2018).
Sparknotes (2018) states that Eliot’s poem reflects that the poet himself “lives in a culture that has decayed and withered but will not expire, and he is forced to live with reminders of its former glory”. The author also noted that the poem can be viewed as a fertility poem with the poem referencing the legend of The Fisher King,
Delete“Here is the man with three staves, and here the Wheel”
“I sat upon the shore
Fishing, with the arid plain behind me
Shall I at least set my lands in order?”
The poem then asks the reader to consider how to heal the Fisher King and remove oneself from the waste. Sparknotes (2018) suggests that perhaps Eliot did not believe this was possible. Other interpretations include the poem as a commentary on mental health (McAloon, 2018). The author considered the poem one of the finest illustrations of general and personal inner turmoil there is” suggesting that lines such as
“My nerves are bad to-night. Yes, bad. Stay with me.
“Speak to me. Why do you never speak. Speak.
“What are you thinking of? What thinking? What?
“I never know what you are thinking. Think.”
are indicative of living a life with mental illness.
The poem is set out in five sections: A burial of the dead; A game of chess; The fire sermon; Death by water; What the thunder said. These sections each have “a different theme at the centre of its writing” (Dalli, 2018). Green (2015) states that the first section is where the ultimate themes and principles are shown. The death of culture and the waste land are introduced. The later sections introduce the possibility of redemption, the chance to leave the waste land and offers a suggestion as to how to achieve this. However, Eliot recognises that this redemption is uncertain. The key, introduced in the final section. while simple, relies on people doing the right thing. The waste land is poised waiting for water, for redemption. That redemption is “Datta. Dayadhvam. Damyata”, or generosity, compassion, and self-control. However, this poem, written post-WW1, reflects the view of humanity’s diminished likelihood of doing so. It ends with “Shantih shantih shantih”. Green (2015) stated that this is a traditional Sanskrit prayer ending. However, to be complete it should be ended with Om, revealing the uncertainty of the poet as to this redemption being achieved.
DeleteReferences:
Dalli, E. (2018). The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot. Retrieved June 10, 2018 from https://poemanalysis.com/the-waste-land-by-t-s-eliot-poem-analysis/
Green, A. (2015, January 22). “The Waste Land” lecture. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAORfIoAXgU
Loughborough University. (2016, March 14). A summary of The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSI5AejsFbU
McAloon, J. (2018). T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land remains one of the finest reflections on mental illness ever written. Retrieved June 10, 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2018/feb/13/ts-eliot-the-waste-land-mental-illness
Moi, R. (2009). Multiple variety in a wilderness of mirrors: T. S. Eliot’s the Waste Land and the critical controversy it spurs. Retrieved from https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/nordlit/article/view/2152/2009
Poetry Foundation. (2018). The Waste Land. Retrieved June 10, 2018, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47311/the-waste-land
Poetry Foundation. (2018). Modernism. Retrieved June 10, 2018, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/modernism
Poets.org. (2018). The Waste Land. Retrieved June 11, 2018, from https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/waste-land
Sparknotes. (2018). Eliot’s poetry. Retrieved June 12, 2018, from http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/eliot/
Apologies for the formatting. It did not transfer well and makes it hard to read.
DeleteThe Poetry Foundation (2018) identifies Beat poets as “a national group of poets who emerged from San Francisco’s literary counterculture in the 1950s”. Rahn (2011) stated that Beat poetry was a movement against capitalism and materialism within society. The author noting that “they say runaway capitalism as destructive to the human spirit and antithetical to social equality”. Poets.org (2004) identifies Beat poetry as a “battle against social conformity and literary tradition”
ReplyDelete“Beat poetry is largely free verse, often surrealistic, and influenced by the cadences of jazz, as well by Zen and Native American spirituality” (Poetry Foundation, 2018). The term Beats was intended to suggest “people beaten down and walked over” (Rahn, 2011), with the term Beat Generation being attributed to Jack Kerouac as “describing the down-and-out status of himself and his peers during the post-war years” (Poets.org, 2004).
Some major writers of the Beat generation: Allan Ginsberg; Jack Kerouac; William S. Burroughs; Gregory Corso; Lawrence Ferlinghetti; Neal Cassady; Carl Solomon; John Clellon Holmes; Joyce Johnson; Ken Jesey; Richard Brautigan; Gary Snyder; Diane di Prima; Anne Waldman; and Michael McClure. (Rahn, 2011; Poets.org, 2004)
References:
Poetry Foundation. (2018). Beat poets. Retrieved June 12, 2018, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/beat-poets
Poets.org. (2004). A brief guide to the Beat poets. Retrieved June 12, 2018, from https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-beat-poets
Rahn, J. (2011). The Beat generation. Retrieved June 12, 2018, from http://www.online-literature.com/periods/beat.php
ReplyDeleteHow was Bob Dylan's song Master of War involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
Bob Dylan’s song “Masters of War” is essentially a protest song written to protest against Wars. Bob Dylan’s song “Masters of War” is an extremely powerful protest song and this was proven by its impact during the Bush Administration. The song become a controversy on Febuary 21 1991 at a famous award show “The Grammy Awards”. Bob received the Lifetime Achievement Award when he delivered the rendition of Masters of War when it was happening during the middle of First war between US and Iraq, under George Bush Administration. The song became one of Bob’s most memorable performance in his entire career which caught hundreds of Americans attention but not only that also audiences around the world.
When George Bush declared war with Iraq again. Bob Dylan once again performed “Masters of War’” at a bigger stage at Madison Square Garden. To protest against Bush decision on having a War with Iraq.
The song influence so many people during this time to fight against War and Militarism in America. In Novermber 19, 2004, secret service showed up to a school in Colorado. Due to concern of George Bush life being threatened at a rehearsal for a school talent show. Turns out that a group of students in a band was playing a Bob Dylan song and it was “Masters of War” they were playing. The controversy started when a mother of a student claimed that she heard members of a band playing in rehearsals saying, “George Bush, I hope you die, and I hope you die soon”, which caught secret service attention. The band that was playing Bob Dylan’s song “Masters of War” calls it-self Coalition of the Willing. The school supported and helped the band to continue their protest against Bush. The band asked the school administration if they could play a video of Bush and Iraq in the background whilst they play the song. The school administration approved this and later fought right next with the band protesting against George Bush Administration.
Reference
Maass, A. (2004). Is Bush afraid of a Bob Dylan song?. Retrieved November 19, 2004, from http://socialistworker.org/2004-2/521/521_02_DylanSong.php
Marcus, G. (2006). Stories of a Bad Song. Retrieved May 9, 2013, from http://www.threepennyreview.com/samples/marcus_w06.html
5. What kinda protest song/rap/other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
ReplyDelete1. A song that I have listened to that protest about war in the last decade or so is the song from Black Eyed Peas “Where is the Love”. The song was released in June 2003 as the lead single from their third album, Elephunk. The song talks about violence and hate. It paints a picture of chaos in our world today. The lyrics brings out a lot of meaning to it, it addresses problems such as terrorism, violence, gangs, racism, hate and anger. The song is simple, they ask the question “Where is the love?” then talks about social negative like negative impact of hypocrisy, disrespect, lies, materialism, selfishness, media and lack of values. The purpose of the song is to fix our world and find “love”.
VERSE 1
What’s wrong with the world, mama/People livin’ like they ain’t got no mamas
I think the whole world addicted to the drama/Only attracted to things that’ll bring you trauma
Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism/But we still got terrorists here livin’
In the USA, the big CIA/The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race/Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate/And when you hate then you’re bound to get irate, yeah….
CHORUS:
People killin’, people dyin’/Children hurt and you hear them cryin’
Can you practice what you preach/And would you turn the other cheek
Father, Father, Father help us/Send some guidance from above
‘Cause people got me, got me questionin’/Where is the love (Love)
Where is the love (The love)/Where is the love (The love)
2. Recently, a song from Childish Gambino called “This Is America” has caught everyone’s attention, especially the music video. A lot of people find the music video controversial as some scenes show violence towards Black people in America. There was a moment in the video where he was gunning down a black choir in what feels like an allusion to the Charleston church murders. I think this was a protest towards ongoing racism in America. I think this was also pointed towards America’s gun problem, which links towards white cops shooting young innocent black people.
Verse 4
This is America (skrrt, skrrt, woo)
Don't catch you slippin' up (ayy)
Look at how I'm livin' now
Police be trippin' now (woo)
Yeah, this is America (woo, ayy)
Guns in my area (word, my area)
I got the strap (ayy, ayy)
I gotta carry 'em
Yeah, yeah, I'ma go into this (ugh)
Yeah, yeah, this is guerilla (woo)
Yeah, yeah, I'ma go get the bag
Yeah, yeah, or I'ma get the pad
Yeah, yeah, I'm so cold like yeah (yeah)
I'm so dope like yeah (woo)
We gon' blow like yeah (straight up, uh)
Chorus
You go tell somebody
Grandma told me
Get your money, black man (get your money)
Get your money, black man (get your money)
Get your money, black man (get your, black man)
Get your money, black man (get your, black man)
Black man
Last Verse
You just a black man in this world
You just a barcode, ayy
You just a black man in this world
Drivin' expensive foreigns, ayy
You just a big dawg, yeah
I kenneled him in the backyard
No proper life to a dog
For a big dog
The lyrics shows signs about violence and racism towards Black people in America. An example of this is in verse 4 when he says, “Look at how I’m livin now” Then followed by “Police be trippin now”. I think this tells us that, even a black successful person can be suspicious to cops and they could think they could harm society in America. This links to the murder of black people like for example the shooting of Walter Scott who was driving a Mercedes and was stopped by a cop for a broken tail light. Mr Scott was unarmed but shot by a white cop. The murder was caught on camera and posted through social media. Many people viewed the shooting as racially motivated, and the incident sparked national protests similar to those following the shooting deaths of Trayvon Martin and Tamar rice who was also shot by cops.
Reference
DeleteMomodu, S. Scott, Walter Lamar (1965-2015). Retrieved from http://www.blackpast.org/aah/scott-walter-lamar-1965-2015
Glover, D. (2018, May 5). Childish Gambino- This Is America. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY
Black Eye Peas. (2009, June 16). The Black Eyed Peas- Where Is The Love. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc
Daramola, I. (2018, May 8). The Cynicism of Childish Gambino’s “This Is America”. Retrieved from https://www.spin.com/2018/05/donald-glover-this-is-america-review/
Hi Anthony
DeleteSome good examples of songs that have been release recently. I agree with the new song from Childish Gambino "This is America" a protest song for black people especially when you watch the music video. In the music video, it shows a lot of evidence symbolising racism and violence towards black people. Either from the past and the present. An example you mentioned is the shooting at Charlston Church Murder case. In the video "Gambino" hold a machine gun and shoots the choir which resembles the violence towards black people.
In what ways are Beat poetry and rap linked?
ReplyDeleteAccording to Kirsch, A (2011) beat poetry and rap only has similarities like paradoxically and tantamount. In rap verse, techniques like rhyme, rhythm and assonance are all constitute of a rapper’s “flow”. Techniques of the importance of writing poetry has declined over the years as its been replaced by conceptual innovation.
Reference
Kirsch, A. (2011). On the Poetry Beat. Retrieved from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/articles/74575/on-the-poetry-beat
5. What kinda protest song/rap/other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
ReplyDeleteThere are still means of protest in today’s time, through songs, rap and other media, and a big influence is social media. Through social websites like facebook, Instagram, twitter etc.
Guzman (2016) mentions 6 ways social media is changing the world, and one of the effects are “Social media is helping us tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges, from human rights violation to climate change” which shines in a positive light as anyone around the world can help support and protest an idea without having to physically being there, just by liking or sharing something on facebook, Instagram, twitter etc.
There is still a spirit of protest as there are still issues people face around the world, and people want their voices heard. Although beat poetry is not as popular now as it was before, it is still alive and well and rap has certainly evolved. (Burrus, n.d.). Rap in the 90’s compared to rap in the 20th century can definitely be distinguished, as it has evolved over time. Finn (2014) claims that even those unfamiliar with the rap genre can recognize it is not what is use to be. Earlier hip hop music theme use to involve “hood politics” and maintained its strict gangster persona. Nowadays we have different type of rap that touch base on subjects like homosexuality (Macklemore). Rap has found a way to change with societal norms and touch base on issues in order to keep that form of literature alive.
J. Cole formely known as Jermaine Lamarr Cole, is an American hip hop artist, his songs often reflect issues that arise in society and protests to be true to yourself. His song Crooked Smile talks about keeping his crooked smile (his teeth) even though he has the money to get them fixed, because he should be accepted the way he is. No Role Modelz released in 2014 has lyrics like,
First things first rest in peace Uncle Phil
For real, you the only father that I ever knew
I get my bitch pregnant I'ma be a better you
Prophesies that I made way back in the Ville
For Phil, Listen even back when we was broke my team ill
Martin Luther King would have been on Dreamville
Talk to a nigga..
When he refers to Uncle Phil from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, a TV show released in the 90’s, he brings up social issues and the lack of positive role models like Martin Luther King who stood up for real political issues.
Eminem, puts up a freestyle rap about political issues against Trump. Making his fans choose between him and Trump.
“and any fan of mine who’s a supporter of his, I’m drawing in the sand a line..”
He mentions things like “nuclear holocaust” that Trump will cause by becoming president. This is a deliberate protest against Trump, calling him out for being racist etc
“He’s gonna get rid of all immigrants...”
and it is influential that Eminem speaks out for what he believes in because of his celebrity status. This helps support the idea of protesting through rap.
Reference:
A, Guzman. (2016). 6 ways social media is changing the world. Retrieved from
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/04/6-ways-social-media-is-changing-the-world/
B, Thomas. (2017). Eminem attacks Donald Trump: ‘He’s got people brainwashed’.
Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/dec/20/eminem-attacks-donald-trump-people-brainwashed
C, McNulty-Finn. (2014). The Evolution of Rap. Retrieved from
http://harvardpolitics.com/covers/evolution-rap/
H, Burrus. (n.d.). Do the Beats Matter Today?. Retrieved from
http://www.beatdom.com/do-the-beats-matter-today/
B, Manzullo. (2017). Eminems freestyle rap on Donald Trump: The full lyrics.
Retrieved from
https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/2017/10/11/eminem-trump-lyrics/753038001/
3. In what ways are Beat poetry and rap linked?
ReplyDeletePost-modernism is used to describe large scale changes in cultural production and global societies, starting in the mid 20th century. It has had big influence on things like philosophy, literature etc. The Beat generation was introduced by Kerouac in 1948. As a result of post-modernism, you could say that this was the cause of change in literature to arise in the form of beat poetry and rap.
Beat poetry and rap are linked in many ways, they’re both a literary form of poetry. They co-relate in the way that the poetry was written to stand up for something or express thoughts and emotions etc. They were both considered literature and censorship, not allowed to be used or promoted in the media, as it was considered a sign of protest. Beat and rap were considered a movement. They used this form of literature to tell stories, and both link to places like New York. Beat poetry was used as a protest and renaissance to stand up against the political issues that were present at the time, where rap was used as a renaissance of the African culture to protest racism, because rap was an ancient African tradition that was used to uplift and boast. (Ginsberg, 1995).
Reference:
G, Young. (2013). Beat movement. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/art/Beat-movement
Ginsberg, A. (1995). On rap. US: Hibbet Radio
What does The Wasteland mean (Lol)?
ReplyDelete1. How has it been interpreted? Use citations.
2. What are some of its key features?
3. In what ways has it been influential??
According to Webster’s definition of a wasteland, a wasteland is an area of land that is unused and has become barren or overgrown. According to Elliot (1922) due to early high modernism it is to be interpreted it into a literally form, the loss of a language for example where the cultural expressions are being transformed. To not use a form of literature is considered the same as the waste land. “The Waste Land are shown to have themselves been borrowed by a succession of cultures…”. The Wasteland can be interpreted in many different ways and there are many features to it. Eliot (1922) writes about modernism and uses features like literary and religious texts and traditions to create an literally illusion.
The Waste Land is considered one of the most influential work in modern literature. Capturing the feelings and point of view of modern culture after the first world war. Eliot (1922) writings inspired writers of his era and continues to inspire writers today, as his writings were considered revolutionary.
Reference:
L, Menand. (1987). DiscoveringModernism:T.S.Eliot and His Context. Oxford University Press
M, Webster. (2018). Wasteland. Retrieved from
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wasteland