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?
Modernism
ReplyDeleteWhat does The Wasteland mean (Lol)?
Wasteland it's a noun
It means:
Uncultivated or deserted land.
An area damaged by floods, storms or war.
Some things, such as historical periods, existential stages or places, namely spiritual or intellectual poverty. (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/wasteland)
1. How has it been interpreted? Use citations.
Eliot is not the first long-term modernist poem that describes war: an interesting poem by Ford Maddox Ford, "Antwerp", written in 1915, is a poem that Eliot himself admires. However, Eliot's poems take modernist techniques to new heights. A good place to start analyzing the “wasteland” is to study the importance of literary allusions. Eliot's poetry absorbs a lot of literary and religious texts and traditions. In addition, there is the so-called "mythological method": Eliot uses a myth narrative or structure. He may have borrowed the idea of James Joyce. James Joyce used it in his novel "Ulysses". The book was published in 1922 and published in the same year as "The Wasteland," but in the "small review." "About this. Elle ran a close-up article praising Joyce's use of ancient mythology and borrowed his own poetry - borrowing King Arthur's legend (such as King Fisher) and various other religious and literary traditions. On Yale's modernist website, Pericles Lewis summarized the myth of Fisher King, which helps to explain the imagery and theme of this poem:
The literary allusions raise various questions about the "The Wasteland" as poetry itself. How should we explain this? The use of allusions in this poem can be linked to what Eliot advocates in poetry. This is the idea of impersonality. For Eliot, good poetry is impersonal: it is not about the poet's own feelings and experiences. This is a very romantic position, contrary to the views of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who put his own, (‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’, and so on.) More information can be found in Eliot's 1919 article ‘Tradition and the Individual Talent’ to learn more. Eliot also pointed out in the article that a new poet joined the tradition of poetry in a different way than before, and by implying a sense of continuity with the past. So, you don't ignore the past, but integrate it into your own work - even a cursory analysis of “The Wasteland” shows that it is clearly full of Shakespeare's poetry, such as Shakespeare, Spencer, Marvell, and so on. Because his own voice (even if we can assume that the poet's speaker is Eliot himself, which itself is dangerous) is often interrupted, so the use of other poets can also help to strengthen Eliot's impersonal theory to use other people's words. Say. In fact, Eliot's original title for the early draft of this poem was ‘He Do the Police in Different Voices’, He borrowed a line borrowed from Dickens's novel "My Common Friends" to tell a newspaper report and read it out. People who issued different voices to the police cited in the report. (https://interestingliterature.com/2016/10/06/a-very-short-analysis-of-t-s-eliots-the-waste-land/)
You are good answer! Also you explain to us good examples.
DeleteI like a your Article...
2. What are some of its key features?
ReplyDelete"The Waste Land" was first published in 1922 and can be said to be the most important poetry of the entire 20th century. The author T. S. Eliot, who later began to name himself after the publication of his first two poems with little success. The “wasteland” triggered more critical analysis and academic explanation than any other poetry. Critics and readers are still arguing about its meaning. In this article, we plan to briefly introduce and analyze key topics and features of abandoned land. Then we will zoom in and look more closely at the individual parts of the poem in separate posts. People say 'simple introduction' and 'short analysis', but even the shortest analysis of Eliot's 'wasteland' requires a long article.
To begin to understand the cultural influence of Eliot's poetry, we need to analyze “The Wasteland" in the literary context. The most popular poetry in England during the second decade of the 20th century was "Georgia poetry" - a group of poets who took King George V. He took the throne in 1910. In terms of theme and poetry, the Georgian poets are mainly engaged in the traditional culture left over from the Victorian era. Poetry mainly focuses on natural images and rural environment. Although Georgians wrote in the world after the Victorian era, they did not really walk this path. The world of the early 20th century was a world of cars, buses and commuters on the London Underground. The typist would work in the office all day and return the canned food and phonograph records. But you will not find this modern world T. S. Elliott has reflected in the poetry of Georgia. It still focuses on birdsong, fields and hedges, and rural life. (https://interestingliterature.com/2016/10/06/a-very-short-analysis-of-t-s-eliots-the-waste-land/)
3. In what ways has it been influential??
Many of these features appeared in one of the most popular poems of the Georgian poet Rupert Brooke’s, ‘The Old Vicarage, Grantchester’ wrote several years before the outbreak of World War I. (https://interestingliterature.com/2016/10/06/a-very-short-analysis-of-t-s-eliots-the-waste-land/)
Eliot once protested that Edmund Wilson, commentator of The Waste Land in 1922, ‘over-understood’ this poem (not "over-understanding" but "over-understanding", you will notice). Eliot famously claimed in other places in his article about 'Dante' that even before understanding, real poetry can convey something to us. So, one thing to keep in mind: Even in those parts of the poem that we might think we know where the meaning of the poem is, there may be other things going on in the background, and we'd better be only partially aware. (https://interestingliterature.com/2016/10/06/a-very-short-analysis-of-t-s-eliots-the-waste-land/)
In short, there is no clear and direct explanation or analysis of the explanation or analysis of “The Wasteland”. It declares: ‘This is the true meaning of T. S. Eliot’s poem.’ but perhaps it will be closer to the various parts of poetry. It can further clarify its strange and confusing moments. You can explore the individual summaries and analysis of the five parts of our "Waste Land" in these separate posts: on ‘The Burial of the Dead ‘, ‘A Game of Chess ‘, ‘The Fire Sermon’, ‘Death by Water ‘, and ‘What the Thunder Said ‘.
The best student version of Eliot's poetry is The Waste Land (Norton Critical Editions), which has a very useful introduction, as well as contextual information and major criticism of wasteland. (https://interestingliterature.com/2016/10/06/a-very-short-analysis-of-t-s-eliots-the-waste-land/)
Reference
A Very Short Analysis of T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, (n.d.). Retrieved from https://interestingliterature.com/2016/10/06/a-very-short-analysis-of-t-s-eliots-the-waste-land/
First you are good start about Edmund Wilson. When i read is a good understand to me.
DeleteAlso your referece is a good, i like his direct explanation too!! Thanks.
In what ways are Beat poetry and rap linked?
ReplyDelete- According to Beckett (2017) “Beat is a form of writing style along with writers and society from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s in New York and the West Coast. " (Beckett, L. (2017).
Beat poetry was also closely intertwined with poets of the San Francisco Renaissance movement, such as Kenneth Rexroth and Robert Duncan. Beat poems were used verbally, and some city themes were sexual freedom, such as liberation for blacks, women, and Native Americans. In the 1960s this influenced the songs of Bob Dylan, Beatles and other folk singers. They tried to express the ecological awareness and how humans harm the earth through song. It also seems to help women and gay rights movements.
Both poetry and rap music were influenced by poetry and used in a way to talk about social and political issues. They opposed the idea that poetry should be beautiful and openly speaking about social issues. Both used confessional and semi-autobiographical styles, with the emphasis on the use of rhythms, rhythms, and harmony, both of which are known in rap music as `flow’. Protest rap and beat poetry are still alive and thriving today. But popular rap is consumer-driven popularized music today.
The popularity of rap has increased since its origins in the 1970s and 1980s. The rap was accompanied by musical backing and poetry, but their voice was the only way to communicate. However, both can attempt to deliver the message through their own actions. At that time, I often experienced radical ideas and obscure topics that were not customary. Wrap can honor sex, drugs, alcohol and gangs. In seeking to share their voices in the face of the dissatisfaction of the surrounding society, as in Beat City, Metaphors are often used in poetry and rap to convey messages that are interpreted by the listener or reader.
-Reference-
Beckett, L. (2017). Beat poetry. [St. Andrews, Scotland]: Beatdom Books.
Well done for the posts! You've made it! More words and more making sense answers have answered. Even better uses of referencing.
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ReplyDeleteHow was Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
ReplyDelete-According to Negus (2016) “The lyrics of Bob Dylan are a protest against President Bush's decision on the Cold War in the early 1960s. Dylan's song felt like a warning that the world could not escape." (Negus, K. (2016).
Masters of War was released in 1963 by Bob Dylan, one of the most famous and infamous demonstration songs and deals with the production of weapons in the United States during the Cold War. As Dillon himself has said, 'The Master of War' is ... a pacifist song against war. It is not a reverse song. Eisenhower is opposed to what he called for the military industrial park to be removed from the presidency.
Dylan was not afraid of throwing everything, and caused a great backlash against Bush's behavior. "I have never written such a word before, and I do not sing songs that people would like to die, but I cannot help with this song.” (Negus, K. (2016).
The song "Masters of War" is a song of moral judgment and opinion. Many American citizens and politicians supported President Bush's decision, but as this song became popular, many became more aware of the truth behind it. This song is said to have been popular because of the memorable melody. It's a song that goes far, but it gives people a concept that can draw new meanings about new bodies and thoughts. Fierce generations fought with the government and censors to prevent the United States and others from promoting controversial poetry.
-Reference-
Negus, K. (2016). Bob Dylan. 3rd ed. London: Equinox Pub.
Good answers with good uses of nice quoting and referencing but be better write more of your own opinions and ideas.
DeleteThe Beats is a group of writers from the 1950’s in America. It was originally created by 5 students at Colombia Univeristy. Amongst the founders were Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. After World War 2, the economy was finally blooming again, and people started to buy things because they wanted to and not because they needed to. Capitalism and materialism truly left a big mark on society, and some people were starting to wonder whether this was truly a positive development.
ReplyDeleteThe name “Beat” is originating from something as simple as being beaten. Beaten down by society and not fitting in anywhere. “Everyone who has lived through a war, any sort of war, knows that beat means, not such much weariness, as rawness of the nerves; not so much being ‘filled up to here,’ as being emptied out.” [Dazell, 2015] The term was first used in 1948, in a conversation between Jack Kerouac and John Klellon Holmes. Kerouac has also proposed a more religious meaning to the word, where “beat” originated from beatific [Coupe, 2012].
The Beats came from a middle class background, but were well educated. They witnessed the destructive and negative sides of capitalism and society, and were tired of the older generation’s prudery. They wanted a change. The beats text were straightforward and bold, discussing themes as sexuality, drugs and criminality. They used slag, swearwords and broke pretty much every rule expected for “proper poetry.” They wanted to provoke and start a discussion, and succeeded. Works as Ginsberg’s Howl and America are examples of poems that became a part of rebellion that expanded further than a couple of students. It became a movement, later known as the Beat Generation.
References:
Rahn, J (2011) The beat generation. Retrieved from: http://www.online-literature.com/periods/beat.php (1.06.18)
Dalzell, T (2015) The origins of ‘beat’ and ‘beatnik’. Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved from: https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/03/11/beat-beatnik-jack-kerouac/ (5.06.2018)
Coupe, L (2012) Beat sound, beat vision: The beat spirit and popular song. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from: http://manchester.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.7228/manchester/9780719071126.001.0001/upso-9780719071126-chapter-2 (5.06.2018)
On what grounds was Ginsberg's HOWL accused of being obscene, and on what grounds was it defended?
ReplyDeleteAlan Ginsberg’s poem HOWL was controversial to say the least. As soon as it was published in 1956, the question of obscenity appeared. Ginsberg spoke of drugs, sexuality, alcohol and religion on an uncensored way never done before. Cambridge Dictionary defines the obscene as “offensive, rude, or shocking, usually because of being too obviously related to sex or showing sex” and “morally wrong.”* This is a relatively subjective definition, as it is individual whether or not you find something shocking. However, there was a huge group of people, conservatives in special, who found this poem had gone too far.
The poem caused a huge discussion. Bookstore owner Shigeyoshi Murao was arrested for selling copies of the books to an undercover police officer. The case was so serious it ended up in court.
The trial regarding Howl is known as the obscenity trial. On one side, you had people who saw Howl as little less than pornography, and wanted the book banned. The police wanted it censored, as it was deemed harmful for kids. On the other side, the main argument was the freedom of speech. As an answer to the argument about the poem being inappropriate for kids, Justice Frankfurter said “quarantining the general reading public against books not too rugged for grown men and women in order to shield juvenile innocence, is to burn the house to roast the pig.»**
In the end, Howl was ruled not obscene. In addition to allow the sale of this poem, it also ensured that some previously censored books could be published, amongst them Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer and Lady Chatterly’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence.
While the obscene remains a personal question, the trial was important for the sake of censoring literature and opened up for many upcoming controversial books and art works.
References:
*Cambridge Dicitionary (2018) Obscene. Retreived from: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/obscene (5.06.2018)
**Rehleander, J (2015) A Howl of Free Expression: the 1957 Howl Obscenity Trial and Sexual Liberation. Portland State University. Retrieved from: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1065&context=younghistorians (5.06.2018)
Sederberg, J (nd) The Howl Obscenity Trial. Retrieved from: http://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=The_Howl_Obscenity_Trial (6.06.2018)
1. How has it been interpreted? Use citations.
ReplyDeleteName of the Waste land came from The wasteland was named after King Arthur due to breakage of his land.
There are a lot of varieties of interpretation on what this poem is defined as but from what I believe if author makes a poem, they would’ve have their own imagery on their mind. It can vary depending on the reader because people are different coming from different background, culture, family history etc.
T.S Eliot had a miserable marriage which became the basis of his great and famous poem The Wasteland. His wife has been suffering from endless symptoms of high temperature, fatigue, insomnia, migraines and colitis. So his miseries of suffering from looking at wife sickness is one of the interpreted viewpoint from the reader. There some parts of the poem where which could possibly suggest that he was describes the bad relationship with his wife it says
“ ‘My nerves are bad to-night. Yes, bad. Stay with me. ‘Speak to me. Why do you never speak ? Speak. ‘What are you think of? What thinking? what? ‘I never know what you are thinking. Think.’ ” This suggest of the sickness of his wife and struggles of their relationship
This was what he has confessed: "I came to persuade myself that I was in love with Vivienne simply because I wanted to burn my boats and commit myself to staying in England. And she persuaded herself (also under the influence of [Ezra] Pound) that she would save the poet by keeping him in England. To her, the marriage brought no happiness. To me, it brought the state of mind out of which came The Waste Land."
This poem also has been written and published in December 1922 which means that Thomas Stearn Eliot has gone through WWI and it could have been influence his writing and showing his complete loss feelings. He critically defines World War I using his own person experience as a guide to how other people would have gone through like a capturement of a piece of memory which captivates the reader to appeal to them with the interesting subject of World War I and guide them like taking a journey through the poem.
“A heap of broken image where the sun beats and he dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, and the dry stone no sound of water only there is shadow under this red rock(come in under the shadow of this red rock), and I will show you something different either your shadow at evening rising to meet you I will show you fear in a handful of dust “
Reference
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._S._Eliot
5. What kinda protest song/rap/other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
ReplyDeleteThe strom by Eminem
protesting song on Donald Trump
Hijabi by Mona Haydar
protesting song on Syrian-American and the stereotype questions being asked in their everyday life.
What about us by Pink
protesting song about broken america
Fight like a girl by Zolita
protest against feminist
Quiet by MILCK
movement of #Metoo
Reference:
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8063598/best-protest-songs-of-2017-top-20
From what I have found out I believe that we still have the spirit to protest because the movement such as "me too" project. Which is raving all over the world, telling people that they were once the victim of sexual assault that it’s okay to say something about it. That it's okay to say no, boosting women's rights and keeping their confidence alive.
2. On what grounds was Ginsberg's HOWL accused of being obscene, and on what grounds was it defended?
ReplyDeleteIn Alan Ginsberg's Howl, sexuality, gays, religions, drugs and alcohol has been raised regularly, in a very undisguised way, then it were charged with disseminating obscene literature. At last Howl ruled by a Judge that it is not obscene.
Howl discuss things straightaway, something like drugs and sex apparently not good for children and teenagers to build their world outlook, but in other aspect it is so real. To some extent, in some country the gay still something not allowed, and certainly no allowance of discussion in a poem.
It is full of emotion and power, deep down reflecting a society by the author's eyes. It should be defined cause it is not something make up or insult of this society, they are real. May be Howl is a modern Wasteland, it would become a record which record a side of the world. Somehow the freedom of expression is important as well, I think that's another reason to be defended. The best way to solve the problem is to set a rating system to protect kids to read it.
Sorry for the wrong spelling in line 12, it suppose to be "it should be defend cause..."
Delete1.What does The Wasteland mean (Lol)?
ReplyDelete1) How has it been interpreted? Use citations.
“Unreal City, 60 Under the brown fog of a winter dawn, A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many, I had not thought death had undone so many. ”
“'That corpse you planted last year in your garden, 'Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year? 'Or has the sudden frost disturbed its bed? ”
In Wasteland, the modern society is like a truly wasteland, everything seems to be died and every chance seems to be lost. Readers can feel the deep sorrow and painful from the very beginning of the poem. And in London, a symbol civilization, the author treat it as a wilted wasteland, people 'died' here. Even though the spring, spring suppose to be a time for warm and plants grow up, but in Wasteland, still a cold and pointless wasteland here.
2) What are some of its key features?
There are lots of big jump in its thought, the transition there is quite abrupt. But the author's emotion are deep down the unusual imagery and symbolism, it correspond each other. And numerous quotations, allusion, dialogue and scenes there, which can help to motivate the readers imagination.
3) In what ways has it been influential??
It is a great poem which has reference value, its technique of expression and language is causal and free, it mixed symbolism, imagery and may be some metaphysica. It uses a lot lyrical, irony and allusions. It rich the technique of expression and strengthen the art infection of poem, it really influent modernism to some extent. The context of it is so rich that some readers might hard to understand.
Answer:
ReplyDeleteWhat does The Wasteland mean?
OK, well, let's unpack that
1. How has it been interpreted? Use citations.
He Waste Land by T. S Eliot is a masterpiece which is a long and complex poem about psychological and cultural crisis that came with the loss of moral and cultural identity after World War I. The poem was considered radically experimental for readers. The Waste Land is presented as a contemporary reading of the Western tradition with is treated as a sequence of gestures with its original meaning still unknown (Menand, 1987). According to the poem the author perceives the text as a coherent expression of the spiritual condition of the social group in which it was produced (Menand, 1987). For example, “Speak, and my eyes failed, I was neither living nor dead, and I knew nothing, looking into the heart of light, the silence”. "April is the cruellest month," because it stirs up an effort to reawaken from the dead” Elliot mix references to ancient religions of death and resurrection. The burial of the dead is a gloomy and dreadful start discussing how spring is an awful time of the year reminiscing about memories of past days and unfulfilled desires. The burial of the dead mainly revolves around the idea of past memories which are sad and devastating time. In section five of the poem the story is set in a stony landscape with no water. There are two people walking and one of them notices a third person. However, when he looks over the other person has disappeared “It’s like one of those squiggly lines that dance in the corner of your eye”.
2. What are some of its key features?
One key feature is the language used in the poem. For example, “Bin gar keine Russin, stamm' aus Litauen, echt deutsch. And when we were children, staying at the archduke's” The language is set in German and incorporated into the poem.
3. In what ways has it been influential??
Eliot wrote the poem, The Waste Land to take on the degraded mess that modern culture has constitute especially after the First World War that had ravaged Europe. The poem was published 1922 and it captured the feelings and sentiments of modern culture after the World War I.
References:
T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land - The Most Influential Work in... | Bartleby. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bartleby.com/essay/T-S-Eliots-The-Waste-Land-The-F3ZX9WZTJ
The Waste Land Summary. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.shmoop.com/the-waste-land/summary.html
Menand, L. (1987). Discovering Modernism: T.S. Eliot and His Context. Oxford University Press