"Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note Analysis
"Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note" Analysis It seems to me that almost all our sadnesses are moments of tension, which we feel as paralysis because we no longer hear our astonished emotions living. R. M. Rilke Reading a poem can trigger strong emotions, rendering us defenseless and often times confused. The experience of a poem may impact a reader in ways which are not immediately clear, compelling one to understand what generated such a reaction. One may begin to navigate the poem and seek to connect one's life experiences with those he sees in the poem. In doing this, the search to understanding one's emotional experience of the poem is bound up with the reader's introspection. Amiri Baraka in "Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note" explores dark emotions such as sadness and discouragement. While hope seems to be reflected in some parts of the poem, the text mostly emphasizes the speaker's sensation of being trapped in his pessimism. In the title, for instance, it is easy to be drawn to the word "suicide" and assume the speaker feels emotionally defeated. The fact that the title tells the reader to expect a "Twenty volume Suicide Note" may imply that the speaker does not truly intend to kill himself; it would take him a lifetime to finish such a project. He is so enthralled by his own despair that the idea of suicide is life sustaining. The poem's
Silence and Opression in Discourse on the Logic of Language
Silence and Expression in Discourse on the Logic of Language The poem Discourse on the Logic of Language by Marlene Nourbese Phillip critiques colonialism, racism, and sexism in order to express a marginalized subjectivity. Through the unconventional structure, the integration of multiple texts into the poem, and the spatial arrangement of these texts onto the page, Phillip exposes the ways in which language, through the enforcement of English as the father tongue, oppresses and displaces the colonized. The poem also articulates the pain and anguish of a subject who, through a colonial legacy of linguistic subjugation and silencing, has no mother tongue with which to speak with. The paternal is pitted against the maternal, which becomes a subversive force against European patriarchal power. The poem is unusual in the sense that it incorporates multiple texts that compete for the reader's attention. The poem consists of a stuttering verse at the center of the page, flanked by a narrative about a mother and her baby and edicts, the italicized passages that make proclamations about the treatment of salves. Occupying the entire facing page is passage containing physiological descriptions of the brain and the production of speech, and an account about scientific racism. This passage connects logic to the paternal and is expressed through the paternalistic language of science, a
Discuss the importance of the ideas of roots and rootlessness in post-colonial writing by comparing at least two different texts you have studied.
Discuss the importance of the ideas of roots and rootlessness in post-colonial writing by comparing at least two different texts you have studied. Ideas of 'roots' and 'rootlessness' are important features of post-colonial writing due to the writers' concerns with the effects of neo-colonialism. 'Roots' conveys ideas about heritage, background as well as race and culture thus 'rootlessness' occurs when people lose these identities. The loss of identity could be when people do not have history to refer back to; one of the key themes in Walcott and Rhys' writings. Due to colonialism, the traditional way the colonised used to live can not be found easily anymore. From where Walcott and Rhys comes from, the Caribbean, the colonialists had changed the official language to English and changed many different customs; this perhaps causes the feelings of 'rootlessness' as they loose their cultural identity. Both Walcott and Rhys explore these ideas in their writing to show how 'roots' and 'rootlessness' is important to the society in general, but also how they were personally affected. In 'Almond Trees', Walcott explores the ideas of 'roots' and 'rootlessness' by connecting 'roots' to ideas of history. Walcott opens the poem with a short line of 'There's nothing here', showing emptiness with bitter feelings. Although he's describing the Caribbean, the readers feel uneasy about
"Representation makes dummies of us all" - How is this sentiment reflected in Carol Ann Duffy's poetry?
"Representation makes dummies of us all" How is this sentiment reflected in Carol Ann Duffy's poetry? "There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it" 1 Carol Ann Duffy's poetry is often criticised for being very simple, in both the lexis and the manner in which it is delivered. However, time must be taken to read the 'unsaid', that is, the words that are not written on the page, which create textured, layered poems. Poems such as 'We Remember Your Childhood Well' (The Other Country : 24) exemplify this; one side of the conversation is represented, but it is the other voice, the other story, which intrigues the reader and it is left to them to imagine the missing dialogue. "The whole thing is inside your head" is particularly chilling to try and presume what the absent voice has experienced. The combination of both the spoken and unspoken at once, creates more depth to poetry and it is this that the reader has in mind when trying to understand it. The Alfred Hitchcock quote above explains exactly this, how a reader will anticipate the unsaid, sometimes to a more extreme degree than the reality. The question is, how a poet, or indeed any other author, can reasonably represent a character, feeling or message to their reader accurately if each reader will individually interpret their poem, novel or text. A reviewer for the Sunday Times wrote; "So often
Prufrock and other observations
TMA 03 Option B 'An intellectual migration from America to Europe significantly shaped T.S Eliot's modernism.' Discuss this statement via a close analysis of the form and content of 'Cousin Nancy' and ONE other poem of your choice from Prufrock and Other Observations. To attempt to answer this question it is important to understand the reasons behind Eliot's decision to migrate from America to Europe, and how this move was influenced by his intellectual beliefs in the modernist movement. It is also essential to understand these beliefs and this can be achieved through an analysis of the poetic techniques used in the Prufrock poems. By focusing this essay on a discussion of Cousin Nancy and The Boston Evening Transcript specifically an insight into modernist writing and Eliot's dissatisfaction of America can be discussed in tandem. This joint discussion will highlight how Eliot's physical migration to Europe was influenced by a wish to intellectually migrate away from American literature towards European modernist ideals. Cousin Nancy was written in the second period of the Prufrock poems that covers the timescale of 1914/15. At this time Eliot had moved to England, and so the poems from this period covered his reflections of the USA from a European perspective. Eliot's poetry at this time was heavily influenced by European modernism and had been developed earlier through
This essay is mainly focused on Elizabeth Bishops poem One Art, and the recurrent theme of losing, depicted as an art, or as the poet might say: the art of losing. This paper will also focus on the poems form and the way in which the usa
Mastering the art of losing. Introduction This essay is mainly focused on Elizabeth Bishop's poem One Art, and the recurrent theme of "losing", depicted as an art, or as the poet might say: "the art of losing". This paper will also focus on the poem's form and the way in which the usage of certain conventions, such as tone, language, syntax (adjectives, adverbs and verbs) and form help to convey the poet's message, which suggests that loss can lead to the mastery of "the art of losing". The poem's title conveys the suggestion that its contents deal with the theme of art, which may be considered an irony; in the sense that as the reader goes through the lines he realizes that the poem is not about art, but about the "art of losing". This "art", as suggested in the poem, resembles an acquired and accomplished skill that results from the experience of losing insignificant things, which will lead, throughout the experience gained, to an art of losing rather important things in life. The art of losing and the poem's form Elizabeth Bishop's poem is structured in a way in which one may notice the poet's struggle in expressing herself. It seems as she is trying to state something different to what is being expressed. Chief among these conceptions there is a powerful sense of loss. She is able to achieve all this throughout the manipulation of language and form. Even the tone of
Compare and contrast different ways of presenting dominance and oppression in post-colonial societies by reference to Walcott's poetry and at least one other work you have studied.
Compare and contrast different ways of presenting dominance and oppression in post-colonial societies by reference to Walcott's poetry and at least one other work you have studied. Dominance and oppression are strong features of post-colonial writing due to the writers' concerns with the post-colonial society. Most post-colonial literature explores the discussion of cultural identity and how they had been affected during the course of colonialism. They further extend these issues by showing the struggle of being independent due to the sudden power vacuum, representing the inability of the governments. Due to long periods of colonialists' use of dominance and oppression, colonies adapted these behaviour themselves to keep in control during post-colonialism. Both Walcott and Rhys come from the Caribbean and they are concerned with the attitude in the post-colonial societies and how they have been influenced through previous colonisation. Walcott's use of elaborate language in his poems conveys some of the main issues to do with slavery and period during colonialism. Rhys tries to demonstrate her concerns towards the White dominance in the Caribbean. These key concerns root from the colonialists' use of dominance and oppression to make colonies to adapt to their way of life and culture thus creating the loss of cultural identity of their own. Both Walcott and Rhys present
Super size me by morgan
Key Performers: Morgan Spurlock, Daryl M. Isaacs M.D., Bridget Bennett, RD., Healthy Chef Alex (Morgan's Wife) Did you like this movie? Why/why not? Although "Super Size Me" was a very disturbing movie, I enjoyed it. Morgan Spurlock did a great job of showing that fast food might taste good, but we need to be careful about how and when we eat it. I also enjoyed it because the music to the movie was catchy and it sticks in your head. In what way did it succeed? I think, to state the obvious, this movie succeeded in the fact that McDonald's no longer has the Super Size option. Other than that aspect, "Super Size Me" succeeded in it's ratings, and in the minds of the viewers. The people who have watched this movie have had to think harder about what they are eating. Morgan Spurlock told us a lot of secrets about what's really in our food, and it isn't pretty. I personally have decided that I will never eat a chicken nugget from a fast food restaurant ever again, as well as never buy anything from McDonalds. Every one person affected counts as a major success. In what way did it not succeed? "Super Size Me" was a success, so picking out something negative in it is tough. The only part of this movie that could be called unsuccessful, is that not enough people have seen it, or been touched by it enough to make them stop what they are doing. Did it touch you or affect you?
Ithaca: A Journey-Not a Destination
Ithaca: A Journey-Not a Destination The poem "Ithaca," by Constantine P. Cavafy expresses his outlook on life. Cavafy was born with Greek citizenship on April 17, 1863, in Alexandria, Egypt. After the death of Cavafy's father in 1870, his family moved to Liverpool, England. Cavafy developed a love for writing in England and indulged in the works of William Shakespeare, Robert Browning, and Oscar Wilde. After problems with the family business, the Cavafy family moved to Constantinople. It was there that Cavafy began his love affair with poetry. The first version of "Ithaca" was written in Greek in 1894. The first English translation was published in 1924, and there have been a number of different translations since then. Along the road in Cavafy's poetic life, he expressed many important themes dealing with his roots from Egypt and Greece. When Greece was under Turkish rule in the eighteenth century, Greek literature virtually disappeared. It was awakened following the Greek War of Independence in 1821-1827. As Greek national pride grew, there was a strong movement amongst writers to use the demotic or the ordinary form of the Greek language. Thus, the influence of this movement is seen in Cavafy's poem "Ithaca." The city of Alexandria is where Cavafy wrote "Ithaca" and is probably one of the unnamed Egyptian cities in the poem. Cavafy's "Ithaca," offers its
Ted Hughes's Examination at the Womb Door
EXAMINATION AT THE WOMB DOOR Ted Hughes . Explain the use of the term "womb-door". The word "womb door" at first seems to have very sexual connotations. The voice of God's nightmare gestates and begins to acquire a physical state. But before it is born, there is yet a trial that the embryo has to go through. This is the embryo's examination at the womb door, a final assessment that the crow must undergo before being born and before entering the world. Womb door signifies the point of crossing into the physical world- a gate where all souls shall gather before they step into life. In my opinion, examination at womb door reminds me of the promise that all souls make to God before coming into the world that He- God is their creator and they shall return to Him. In our poem, however, the crow is a clever embryo and the examination that follows is a unique one. 2. What effect is created by the repetition of the word "Death"? There is a lot of emphasis on the word Death. This emphasis is brought out by putting the word in italics, placing it a few spaces away from the normal sentence and by making it the only answer that the Crow gives throughout the poem. It is repeated sixteen times by the Crow emphasizing that Death is indeed the ultimate reality of life. The time and place of our death is decided even before we are born and that, in a way, makes death a stronger aspect than