Damyata:
"Datta," "Dayadhvam," and "Damyata" are part of Hindu Buddhist teachings meaning "give", "compassion", and "control", respectively. These are responsibilities of peoples. With the repetitive "DA", it suggests that thunder foreshadows rain and rebirth in the wasteland.
, who was once handsome
Things are dying in the wasteland and no longer glorious.
Philomel, by the barbarous king
This references the painful side of sexuality. In the wasteland, there is no love.
Tiresias, though blind, throbbing between two lives, Old man with wrinkled female breasts, can see
Tiresias is a hermaphrodite; possession of female/male body parts gives him more insight and is the "true prophet".
Fear death by water.
Water represents both death and rebirth. Water can symbolize washing away of sins in preparation for a new start/ future.
April is the cruellest month
It's ironic that "April is the cruelest month", because April usually represents spring, birth, rejuvenation, etc. This suggests that death is present in the "waste land". Even though spring brings life, it also brings death; whatever is born must die.
Tiresias, though blind, throbbing between two lives, Old man with wrinkled female breasts, can see
Tiresias is a hermaphrodite; possession of female/male body parts gives him more insight and is the "true prophet".
Fear death by water.
Water represents both death and rebirth. Water can symbolize washing away of sins in preparation for a new start/ future.
April is the cruellest month
It's ironic that "April is the cruelest month", because April usually represents spring, birth, rejuvenation, etc. This suggests that death is present in the "waste land". Even though spring brings life, it also brings death; whatever is born must die.
and which
This poem has a lot of enjambments. By titling the poem, "This is just to say", the speaker seems to imply that he has more than what he "just has to say". The words, "and which", seem insignificant. However, the break between the first stanza and the second indicate that he is choosing his words wisely. He is deliberately choosing to elaborate on his decision to eat the plums by adding the "and which".
Forgive
"Forgive" comes at the end of the poem. However, the narrator does not seem remorseful, especially having described how he ate them knowing that the person wanted to save it for breakfast.
ungainly hips and flopping breasts
This reminds us of the importance of image in America.
Rose
"Rose is a rose" = "A is A" I think this refers to how objects or things are what they are. So far, the text has been extremely puzzling and seems inconsistent. Maybe, the statement, "Rose is a rose", is meant to suggest that we need to think of words in terms of their identity and strip them of their connotations or possible implied meanings achieved through context?
bury
After the first sentence with the word, "next", the following sentences contain the original sentence with new additional words. "China" is added and then "glass". Why is "bury" suddenly taken out and replaced with the word "and"?
indivisible.
How the does the importance of being indivisible contribute to the significance of the text?
woods
The woods represent freedom from responsibility, promises, obligations, and duties. The darkness associated with the woods is alluring and makes the narrator question whether he wants to return to the village, which represents civilization and the responsibilities associated with it. There is a temptation linked to the woods and the thought of abandoning responsibilities.
difference
The "difference" is that the narrator will claim that he took the road that was less traveled by. Additionally, it is not really important how well-traveled or less-traveled a road is. There is only the path that was taken in that moment versus that path that was taken. This hints at the notorious moment of regret where people will always look back and question about taking that "other road".
built
This poem talks about building walls even though the narrator doesn't necessarily like wall. The act of building a wall seems somewhat natural/traditional even though walls separate people. Yet, it is this chore of building the wall that makes them "good neighbors". This implies that separation is necessary for people to maintain their individuality and ownership.
spell
The word "spell" refers to something magical, suggesting that the act of making a wall or what the wall is able to do (aka separate people) is powerful. I think the "spell" can refer to the tradition of building and mending the wall.
alnage
By using an old English term, "alnage", which means a measurement of cloth, the author is alluding to the theme of old age and the accumulation of old cloth that builds up. People are so concerned with status, but in the end it really doesn't matter. Ironically, people still cling to the "tiering" and obsession with status at the end of their lives.
bird
The bird is symbolic of fleeting time because the line states that the "bird is on the wing". By drinking "to the bird", Mr. Flood is accepting of fleeting time and his old age.
knows
The word "knows" is mentioned several times in this poem to convey the importance of knowledge and learning. Knowledge helps decipher the difference between good and evil. Furthermore, only people who cannot understand or see the value of knowledge attained through literature ask questions such as "What is the use of knowing the evil in the world?"
tick
The use of the word "tick" contributes to the overall repetitive sound of the poem. The "tick" sound is formed from the seeds in the dry pod rubbing together. Additionally, this line combines the first 2 lines of the poem, which helps convey the theme of repetitive poetry or writing. By constantly using the word "tick" over and over, the author is trying to show how overdone and boring writing is when it constantly uses the "iambic" form. This can imply that although there are many writers out there, only a few stand out like Homer and Whitman.
And I know John would think it absurd. But I MUST say what I feel and think in some way—it is such a relief!
People must express themselves. By having her husband prevent her from writing, her ability to express herself is limited. Since she cannot write, her mind is not active and reduces her to the intellectual state of a child so that he can maintain "status quo" in the marriage. However, this is self-destructive to her and causes her to lose her mind. The mind needs to be exercised.
is double-consciousness,
The "double-consciousness" refers to not only how he views himself but also how others perceive him as an African American man in society. This point to his own personal struggles he has faced living in American as an Africa-American as well as the struggles of other African Americans.
The secret of education still hid itself somewhere behind ignorance, and one fumbled over it as feebly as ever.
There is still hope that the ignorance bred from inert facts can become true knowledge. It just takes frustration, hard work, and motivation.
The knife-edge along which he must crawl, like Sir Lancelot in the twelfth century, divided two kingdoms of force which had nothing in common but attraction. They were as different as a magnet is from gravitation, supposing one knew what a magnet was, or gravitation, or love. The force of the Virgin was still felt at Lourdes, and seemed to be as potent as X-rays; but in America neither Venus nor Virgin ever had value as force–at most as sentiment. No American had ever been truly afraid of either.
Like the comparison to Sir Lancelot. Lancelot had to choose between Guinevere and Arthur. Author seems torn choosing between religion and technology, almost overwhelmed by how technology in the modern age has replaced religion.
e dynamo became a symbol of infinity. As he grew accustomed to the great gallery of machines, he began to feel the forty-foot dynamos as a moral force, much as the early Christians felt the Cross.
The dynamo is a symbol of infinity aka the future. Like the force of the "Cross", which motivated religious life and spiritual devotion, the dynamo is a force that drives the progression of technological innovation. The dynamo, a symbol for technology, has replaced the Church and now drives humanity.
Nothing in education is so astonishing as the amount of ignorance it accumulates in the form of inert facts
Inert facts give the false illusion of possessing knowledge. Without being able to properly apply memorized facts, the facts have no meaning. For example, everyone knows or thinks they know Einstein's famous equation on relativity, E=mc². However, people do not realize that the true equation is: E²=(mc²)²+(pc)² where 'p' signifies momentum. Without the 'p', the equation only considers objects that aren't moving. Moreover, the applications of this equation are vast including proving that an object with mass cannot travel at the speed of light, being a foundation for demonstrating mass-energy equivalence, etc. This proves that people know the basic knowledge, but many are unaware of the true significance and profound awesomeness of the knowledge they possess.
all my white sins forgiven
"White" sins can be a reference to sins that were innocent such as the narrator committing these sins without being aware. The use of the word "white" is interesting because this color is sometimes associated with perfection or purity. By using "white", maybe the narrator is suggesting that he or she is wiping the slate clean.
pig driven to holiness
"Pig driven" can be lack of consciousness, lack of confidence, or inability to understand. The journey from pig driven to holiness is experienced by the narrator and slowly coming the ending revelation. This journey symbolizes enlightenment and knowledge, but not without hard work.
They feed they Lion and he comes.
This is the climax of the poem. The intensity has been growing with the constant repetition of "They Lion grow". It is as if the person experiencing the emotions or seeing those things mentioned before (i.e. "slate bread", wooden dollies", "caves") has finally come to understand what all those things means. The person is ready and accepting of his or her fate.
Earth is eating trees, fence posts, Gutted cars, earth is calling in her little ones,
"Earth" or nature is acting in an unnatural way. Earth is most commonly associated with production (i.e. crops, carbon cycle, supplying materials), but by "eating" it shows the carnivorous side of mother nature.