where you bang on the catatonic piano the soul is innocent and immortal it should never die ungodly in an armed madhouse
This line right here makes me think of the Harlem Renaissance. Specifically the works of Langston Hughes and how he notes the use of piano in the production of jazz or blues.
American river!
Sacramento area. I went white water rafting down it myself once upon a time.
Moloch whose fingers are ten armies!
Nothing is more powerful than the human mind attached to hands and feet with a goal in mind. Humans can accomplish anything with only 10 fingers!
who fell on their knees in hopeless cathedrals praying for each other’s salvation and light and breasts, until the soul illuminated its hair for a second,
This is definitely a subtle jab at religion. Calls cathedrals hopeless and talks about the soul and how it super powerful. Ginsberg was definitely a beat.
I
I don't recall seeing any "I's" before this and this seems indicative to what the speaker is thinking. Who is the speaker? Ginsberg? Somebody else????
pure vegetable kingdom
The "Veggie Tales" are the pure the vegetable kingdom. Allen Ginsberg does not know about this show because this was written in the 1950s but this poem seems so ahead of its time that he could be referencing the future and its luxuries. Maybe Ginsberg is some sort augur?
loveboys
The language within this poem is so ahead of its time. Ginsberg is dropping words that we use today in a slangy society. Due to the nature of this poem, I think its okay to say that the modern interpretation of this word is "Fuckboy"
You know not what a world this is Of cruelty and sin.
After reading the poem and coming back to this part. This seems to be the first giveaway that this child has not been born yet. The speaker does not want to bring this child into the world because of the horrors surrounding her. "Life's a bitch and then you die..."
Let’s build bridges here and there Or sometimes, just a spiral stair
"Let's heal old wounds around the world / Or let them spiral into more distress" These first two lines call to the reader to build bridges and not spiral stairs. Bridges connect, stairs decline or incline. Uphill or downhill battle.
Orange gleams athwart a crimson soul
Without even looking at the next line, one could assume that this could be talking about fire. Fire is the two colors orange and red mixing together to make flames!
But—I must sit and sew.
The word "But" followed by "I must sit and sew" breaks up the poem without the use of stanzas. This allows the speaker to get across the message of the poem but still remind them that they must sit and sew.
I saw a darky dressed fit to kill In yellow gloves and swallow tail coat And swirling a cane
The way this man is dressed is extremely interesting. A swallow tail coat is a very intimidating jacket that people of power and triumph wear. These coats were used quite a bit during the colonization of America and the cane with the yellow gloves truly gives off the impression that this guy is some sort of undercover assassin.
In Harlem, I saw a little Bottle of sand,
Much like the bottle of sand. Harlem and New York City is a very bottled city that has just about everything anyone could ever want. It's density and use of space is much like sand in a bottle. Very packed! Not a lot of breathing room!
dark
Repeating use of the word dark shows that the ones being talked of are most likely African American. What's interesting is that in the final stanza, it is stated that there are throats of bronze. These throats are singing beautifully so maybe they are bronze because of this?
minstrel-smile.
This is interesting and I looked up the word minstrel. Minstrel is basically a medieval singer or jester who recited heroic poetry to musical instruments. So to me, a minstrel smile seems like something is hidden behind it. More of like a grin of things yet to take place.
But let us break the seal of years
Very empowering line that class for change and for a "seal" to be broken. References the suffrages of African Americans for centuries past.
Sicked on by white devils In overhalls.
Direct attack on racist white men whom seem to be tracking down escaped slaves? With the bloodhound and everything? Very direct and powerful!
The strong men keep a-comin’ on Gittin’ stronger. . . .
Americans delegated African Americans to do jobs that they did not want to do or jobs that were too hard and intensive. Rather than complain about these jobs, African Americans did these jobs with pride and this has made them stronger. This poem is all about growth and Sterling Brown believes that African Americans are growing well.
Backwater Blues
This could be in reference to a Bessie Smith blues song named "Backwater Blues." Could also be a reference to some low down type of blues. Since its capitalized I believe its referencing Bessie Smith. This shows that authors and artists are inspired by their peers.
And far into the night he crooned that tune. The stars went out and so did the moon.
Here is a painting of a blues or jazz club during the 1920s. These tunes brewed late into the night and brought many people together to sing of sorrows. What's interesting is that there is a noose hanging from the ceiling of this club. This is reminder that jazz and blues originated from hundreds of years of black suffrage.
I, too, am America.
African Americans grew strong and dedicated during this time period to make themselves accepted in society. Within this painting, we can see silhouettes building the mansions of America. For all their hard work and growth, they too, are American.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
Much like rivers are railroad tracks. African Americans worked and traveled on these railroad tracks growing accustomed to them. Railroad tracks follow a guided path much like rivers. However, rivers naturally find the best route where railroad tracks have to be planned out.
April is the cruellest month, breeding
We have discussed this first line of The Waste Land* many times in class but for some reason this seems to resonate with me in regards to the Ides of March and Julius Caesar's assassination. April within The Waste Land* is the cruelest month because it sparks new growth, and destroys the waste land. In relation to the Ides of March, this Roman event was a summoning for the year to come and was a festival that all celebrated. However, that one faithful year of 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated and this sparked a civil war within the region. So therefore, the Ides of March that year were very cruel and sparked a complete Roman fallout. To me, "April is the cruelest month" and "Beware the Ides of March" have similar meanings. Above is a Julius Caesar pencil holder I found on Amazon!
If there were water And no rock If there were rock And also water And water A spring
I'm a total nerd for Spongebob and the imagery present within this bit reminds me of Patrick's house. It's as if Elliot is saying, "if there was no Patrick, there would be no rock, and therefore there would be more water." Because after all, Spongebob and his friends live under the sea surrounded by water and rock.
The river’s tent is broken: the last fingers of leaf Clutch and sink into the wet bank. The wind Crosses the brown land, unheard. The nymphs are departed.
This bit right here reminds me of Robert Frost and his poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" More specifically, when Frost writes, "Whose woods these are I think I know. / His house is in the village though; / He will not see me stopping here / To watch his woods fill up with snow." (1-4) This bit within Frost's poem talks of frozen bodies of water much like the river is discussed here in T.S Elliot. Elliot talks of the wasteland and how the land is brown and the bugs have departed and this is very relatable to Frost and how the snow is sort of a wasteland as everything stays away, including nymphs.
I sat upon the shore Fishing, with the arid plain behind me Shall I at least set my lands in order?
This bit of the Wasteland reminds me of this painting from the Armory show of 1913. The speaker here sits upon the shore fishing as there are arid lands behind them and this is very apparent in the photo as you can see water in the very back of the painting. Its as if the speaker of the Wasteland is one of the people present within the painting following up to their word and getting their lands in order as well.
Weialala leia Wallala leialala
This is very interesting... Its as if this is a poem within a poem?
HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME
Becomes a repeating pattern to put emphasis on the poem
“My nerves are bad tonight. Yes, bad. Stay with me.
Maybe a reference to Julius Caesar when Caesar's wife warns him of the ides of march?
In the mountains, there you feel free.
Society doesn't journey far into the mountains. I've always liked the mountains and have wanted to move to them
Unreal City
Society is one big wasteland. We are just cogs that keep this society going
Fear death by water.
I fear drowning too
A blow is delighted.
I don't get it
Never the less. Leave it to me.
Gertrude Stein is a poet whose poetry is very abstract. Many people find no meaning in her poetry and struggle to even read it. Whatever was her purpose before these lines, leave it up to her. Don't question it!
Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold
The speaker stole the plums much like I stole cookies from the cookie jar as a kid!
the stifling heat of September Somehow it seems to destroy us It is only in isolate flecks
The amount of enjambment within this poem is extreme!!
black bough
The people in the metro station are merely petals on the main branch of society that keeps the economy running. The metro station can be thought of as the main branch of American capitalism and the people are mere petals absorbing the riches and giving it to the main branch and its trength
William Totts
Changed his name and married Mary becoming the leader of south of the slot
It was her brother’s machine, but they were alone with the exception of the chauffeur.
dynamo and the virgin
He saw the pit yawning for him.
The south of the slot
But when he emerged in Bill Totts’s clothes he was another creature.
Doubling
He never unbent.
Always trying his hardest
He had but few friends. He was too undemonstrative, too frigid. He had no vices, nor had anyone ever discovered any temptations. Tobacco he detested, beer he abhorred, and he was never known to drink anything stronger than an occasional light wine at dinner.
Very focused on himself
South of the Slot were the factories, slums, laundries, machine-shops, boiler works, and the abodes of the working class.
Mission district, hunter point, excelsior, sunset
North of the Slot
North Beach
In that the foul supplants the fair, The coarse defeats the twice-refined,
Empowering. Be edgy and off the chosen path.
Man, doughty Man, what power has brought you low,
Enjambment. Sentence/thought carries on to the next line to add effect on the word "low". Slows rhythm of poem...
men
Edna St. Vincent Millay was a poet who focused on the gender roles of society during the roaring 20s. She tosses in many references of feminism and enlightened people of the time to think outside of the box. Truly an inspirational writer!
The picture pride of Hollywood. Too many fall from great and good For you to doubt the likelihood.
Many people flock to Hollywood and LA in search of fame, fortune, and a prosperous life. However, many fall from great to good. This is because of the massive amount of people within the area that you become a single ant in an anthill. Your greatness could shine elsewhere where the roads are less traveled!
Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.
The rhyming scheme here is perfect. Robert Frost does a great job of making poems fun for all ages and this reminds me of a poem I would hear when I was a child. Since then I have realized that poetry comes in all shapes, rhymes, and sizes but this brings me back to the days where all poems rhymed.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost is a poet infatuated by nature and he loves to take the road less traveled because it is more engulfed by nature. It is more adventurous too!!
Woodlands, meadows, streams and rivers– Blind to all of it all my life long.
Strong bit of imagery here. Lots of commotion in the village and nature surrounds oblivious to it all. Untouched nature is the purest form of relaxation as it is a look back at the past when civilization did not exist. Nature is also powerful and has the ability to reclaim the Earth if humanity and civilization were to follow. Nature watches us!
He sat the jug down slowly at his feet With trembling care, knowing that most things break;
All things have two handles. Beware of the wrong one. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
I have a schedule prescription for each hour in the day; he takes all care from me, and so I feel basely ungrateful not to value it more.
seems to be some woman within an insane asylum of some sorts. Being pumped full of medicine was a practice used in the old days where depression and hysteria were not taken seriously. Maybe John could be a hallucination of her perception or her caretaker of some sorts. Very intriguing!
To the tired climbers, the horizon was ever dark, the mists were often cold, the Canaan was always dim and far away.
When reading further into this piece, it becomes more apparent that there is much imagery of darkness and shadow. Darkness and shadows are not particularly scary things but they are entities of uncertainty much like the future of African Americans at this point in US history. The horizon was dark because there were still many battles to win past the emancipation of slaves.
I remember well when the shadow swept across me.
Use of "Shadow" imagery here foreshadows the rest of this piece of literature. The shadow of reality has swept over our narrator.
The result of a year’s work depends more on what is struck out than on what is left in
Everybody learns from their mistakes!
Why was she unknown in America? For evidently America was ashamed of her, and she was ashamed of herself, otherwise they would not have strewn fig-leaves so profusely all over her.
Classic case of the unequal gender rights from this era. In the early 1900s, America was a misogynistic nation that persecuted women based on their bodies, minds, and choices.
fiat
a formal authorization or proposition; a decree.
(Also a terrible brand of automobiles) - This story discusses engines and generators.
They feed they Lion and he comes.
In relation to the first line of this stanza. Don't bite the hand that feeds you. In this case, the Lion!
From my five arms and all my hands, From all my white sins forgiven, they feed, From my car passing under the stars,
The first use of the word "my" here connects us more with the speaker of this poem. Who has 5 arms. Probably some mythical sort of being?
Out of burlap sacks, out of bearing butter, Out of black bean and wet slate bread, Out of the acids of rage, the candor of tar, Out of creosote, gasoline, drive shafts, wooden dollies, They Lion grow.
Repeating use of the word "Out" to show where the lion grows. Without reading the rest of the poem, it seems as if the end of this piece will end similarly.