who wandered around and around at midnight in the railway yard wondering where to go, and went, leaving no broken hearts
"Don't think twice it's alright." The life of the freedom of the road vs. the comfort of home and love and consistency.
Can't have both.
with dreams, with drugs, with waking nightmares, alcohol and cock and endless balls,
While there are many reoccurring themes in "Howl" such as madness, sexuality is also returns many times. In many ways it mirrors what many were experiencing at the time. This was right before the "Free Love Era" and while they were experimenting and expressing their sexuality many of the Beat writers talked about the extreme highs and lows of sex and drugs.
There was an opening of the mind or a complete emptiness in both acts (sex, drugs). Fulfillment, heartache, betrayal, and personal hells. In many ways they were all searching the same things in different ways.
Carl Solomon! I’m with you in Rockland where you’re madder than I am
Carl Solomon was a big influence on Ginsberg and he spends a big portion of Howl paying homage to him. He met him while he was in a psychiatric hospital. Many of the "great minds of his generation" or his own family struggled with "madness" as he states in the opening line. It is a huge theme of the poem. Struggling with mental health in a world that drives one crazy.
who retired to Mexico to cultivate a habit, or Rocky Mount to tender Buddha
This seems to directly relate to his buddy Jack Kerouac as he does "tend to a bit" in Mexico at the end of "On the Road". Tangiers is where William Burroughs ended up. "Black locomotive" or Southern Pacific" is where Neal Cassidy ended up. Basically, each scattered to wind in search of truth. Left the big cities of America. Roamed wild and free in search of something of substance.
Here is no water but only rock Rock and no water and the sandy road The road winding above among the mountains Which are mountains of rock without water If there were water we should stop and drink Amongst the rock one cannot stop or think Sweat is dry and feet are in the sand If there were only water amongst the rock Dead mountain mouth of carious teeth that cannot spit Here one can neither stand nor lie nor sit There is not even silence in the mountains But dry sterile thunder without rain There is not even solitude in the mountains But red sullen faces sneer and snarl From doors of mudcracked houses If there were water And no rock If there were rock And also water And water A spring A pool among the rock If there were the sound of water only Not the cicada And dry grass singing But sound of water over a rock Where the hermit-thrush sings in the pine trees Drip drop drip drop drop drop drop But there is no water
Motiff hunt!
In “What the Thunder Said”, Eliot seems to harken back to landscape and mountains, but instead of the sleigh riding and beauty of the beginning, it seems to be a vast, arid, desolate mountain, full of death or doom to come. He writes: “Dead mountain mouth of carious teeth that cannot spit” and If there were water we should stop and drink Amongst the rock one cannot stop or think Sweat is dry and feet are in the sand. If there were only water amongst the rock.”
Even though there is a dryness here he evokes the imagery of water and the health that it brings over and over again. And yet while the mountain is seemingly in the middle of nowhere and deserted, it is “There is not even silence in the mountains” nor solitude either. While at the beginning of the epilogue of the Wasteland, nature seemed to be a calming influence, a place of peace and adventure, now it seems to be a nightmarish place. A place to overcome.
He also, once again, makes an allusion to either a Shakespearian character or ancient Roman, Coriolanus. Coriolanus is a man who is exiled from his homeland, Rome, and returns with vengeance in mind that ends in tragedy. He is betrayed and killed. In the stanza and as a whole it's as if Eliot is stranded in a wasteland hoping to find his way back home but only is greeted by imagery of his past and future failure and demise. He can find no shelter, no peace, no comfort, no consolation, no companionship, just darkness. It’s as if a journey into adulthood things only get worse.
I hypothesize! That the wasteland and the sections I chose use reoccurring motifs that suggest not decay and death and... water but of those wandering in search of a home and not being able to find one, no matter where they go. I can’t say I understand even 20% of what’s going on in any of the stanzas I’ve chosen nor even the poem as a whole. I tried as I must. Did I succeed like Ethan Hunt? Or did I bungle my way through like Maxwell Smart? Time (and grades) will tell...
I Tiresias, though blind, throbbing between two lives, Old man with wrinkled female breasts, can see At the violet hour, the evening hour that strives Homeward, and brings the sailor home from sea, The typist home at teatime, clears her breakfast, lights Her stove, and lays out food in tins. Out of the window perilously spread Her drying combinations touched by the sun’s last rays, On the divan are piled (at night her bed) Stockings, slippers, camisoles, and stays. I Tiresias, old man with wrinkled dugs
Motiff hunt!
his is an allusion to some Greek mythology. Eliot brings up the Greek mythology character of Tiresias, who was an old man but who had extraordinary cognitive powers such as clairvoyance. He was also changed into a woman at one point, which he alludes to “Old man with wrinkled breasts.” He is both man and woman. He once again mentions water, wetness, and sailors, "sailor home from sea", again bringing up imagery of someone coming home after being away.
However, in this case Eliot also uses Tiresias ability to see the future. He says "I perceived the scene and foretold the rest. I too awaited the expected guest" as if this surprise visit or returning home wasn't a surprise. Whoever the sailor wanted to see when he got home got very bored. It's almost as if even one finds their way home, home has changed. Not everything is the same.
“My nerves are bad tonight. 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.”
This is mindless babble.
I do not find The Hanged Man
The tense is odd here. It seems this is a continuous thing but there is no mention of it before. Shouldn't it be past tense?
And I was frightened. He said, Marie, Marie, hold on tight.
I wasn't expecting him to be a girl named Maria. Confusing.
Bin gar keine Russin, stamm’ aus Litauen, echt deutsch.
It's in German. This is difficult to understand.
April is the cruellest month
FUCKING MARCH 2020 IS THE CRUELEST MONTH!!!
with a dash of Indian blood will throw up a girl so desolate so hemmed round with disease or murder that she’ll be rescued by an agent— reared by the state and
Aaaah. This refers to the ideas of "culturalizing" Native Americans. This (racist) idea that by providing education that this would "tame" these "noble savages". They even setup a government department called the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
to be tricked out that night with gauds from imaginations which have no
Again with the imagery of ghostliness or haunting. It is interesting to see this motif. "Gauds" also means trinket. A sense of temptation lured someone out at "night", which maybe didn't end so well.
devil-may-care men who have taken to railroading out of sheer lust of adventur
"Go west young man, go west!" Much of that time period was seeing a great expansion of railroad throughout the United States, going in many different directions. It certainly took you from home and into the vastness of mid-west America
All this, however, some may consider open to debate. The immediate necessity is to tabulate A LIST OF DON’TS for those beginning to write verses.
He later says "use no superfluous words" but I'm pretty sure he uses superfluous words... I do appreciate that he says "fear abstractions" as I often think this is often the reason people dislike reading poetry
Pay no attention to the criticism of men who have never themselves written a notable work
It brings up the interesting discussion, what gives the right for critics to critique if they themselves have yet to create something of note themselves? Isn't that what they say about critics and teachers? That they are failed artists.
Here lies, and none to mourn him but the sea,
Not even a name. Just merely a gender. That's telling
The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep,
I know some people have read this as a "dark" or "depressing" narration, but I honestly see it as a romantic poem, I love letter to nature.
Frost captures a beautiful moment in time, truding on his way to an engagement, the narrator becomes entrolled by the beauty and spontaneity of nature.
He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer
It's interesting to see how many POVs Mr. Frost goes through. He has goes from "I", "He" and his horse's POV. In a poem of 4 stanzas, each a cuplet, he is able to quickly and succinctly go through 3 perspectives.
And miles to go before I sleep
There are many ways to interpret the repetition. Is there a shadow of doubt still in his mind to go? Is he saying this for perseverance's sake? Is he miserable "Ugh, miles to go before I sleep..."
It raises many questions, which makes me really enjoy this poem (that and the beautiful imagery invoked). It's one of my favorites, and I don't normally enjoy poetry.
Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though
"Should I stay or should I go" before the Clash. Huh? Would have thunk?
To both of us, I fear, since last it was We had a drop together
It appears again we have another example of duality of identity in your assigned texts. I'm starting to wonder if this is on purpose or an insane coincidence ?
Where strangers would have shut the many doors That many friends had opened long ago.
If I had to guess, this is a poem about an old man reflecting on his time (Roland's ghost - an allusion to the last knight standing, yes I looked that up), and at the end of his life "there was not much that was ahead of him".
It is interesting to note he refers to himself in the third person, both last name and first, separately.
harvest moon
hyacinth gir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWlTlplbISY
"I need someone who doesn't need me. I see that the bathroom is clear."
April is the cruellest month
Hitler was born in April, incidentally.
As if to destroy the last vestige Of my memory and influence
This man is clearly concerned with his image and influence after death. As he is from Spoon River (I looked it up). Maybe he's also concerned of knowledge that is (or isn't) passed down. That throughout all of time, we will continue to discuss ethics and in a never-decisive battle.
the evil in the world?”
YES I KNOW MY, YES I KNOW MY ENEMY, YES I KNOW MY ENEMY! IT'S THE TEACHERS WHO TAUGHT ME TO (annotate) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4smim2MNvF8
Volney’s “Ruins” as well as Butler’s “Analogy” And “Faust
These guys are all great "thinkers" or philosophers of a certain age or time. "Faust", is both a story and and the author of said story, tells the tale of a troubled soul who sells his soul to the devil for "unlimited knowledge". Not to be a better stuntman like Nicholas Cage did (idiot!).
That no one knows what is good
This reminds me of something out of an Alan Watts books I've been reading. "One cannot know pleasure without knowing pain". It's a yin and yang statement as old as time. One cannot understand the ethics of what is morally "good" unless one knows what NOT to do "evil".
And then I said it again, several times, very gently and slowly, and said it so often that he had to go and see
Another subtle comment here on men. She literally has to tell him "several times, very gently and slowly" before John believes her and stops pounding away at the door.
It's a continuation of the message I believe even Gilman herself wanted the short story to convey: The position of women in society and how they are not taken seriously. If I remember correctly, she says she wrote it with one physician in mind - she was trying to stick it to him!
f course if you were in any danger, I could and would, but you really are better, dear, whether you can see it or not. I am a doctor, dear, and I know
There are many examples throughout the text that show John incapable of believing his wife. He seems to find women in general intellectually inferior and I firmly believe this is major theme/sticking point for Gilman. It's men telling women what to do, despite what they say/feel.
two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down.
To me, this is the start to where the "spooky, haunted feeling" begins. At first, it's a just a creepy old house. It's got some odd features to it. Okay, the wallpaper is icky. Now it's described as staring at you. YIKES!
We have been here two weeks, and I haven’t felt like writing before, since that first day
It's always reassuring to find out other writers have trouble writing as well!
and your food somewhat on your appetite; but air you can absorb all the time
First class education!!!
You see he does not believe I am sick!
He should consider a new profession.
The holocaust of war, the terrors of the Ku-Klux Klan, the lies of carpet-baggers, the disorganization of industry, and the contradictory advice of friends and foes, left the bewildered serf with no new watchword beyond the old cry for freedom.
It's interesting to this day Americans cling to the delusion that much of violent racism ended with the Civil War. That equal opportunity and treatment came about through the Civil Rights Movement of the 50's-60's. But the real truth is, from the days after the Civil War, till even now, the real history is. Complicated. Grey. And simply not taught correctly in our k-12 classrooms.
It's here that Dubois is pointing out that the strike and horrors befallen on black people hardly ended after the Civil War and the 15th amendment. It was merely the end of one story, opening to many sequels of problems.
Through history, the powers of single black men flash here and there like falling stars, and die sometimes before the world has rightly gauged their brightness
It appears here that Dubois points out that history has not been kind to the remembrance of black excellence. In many ways, it could be argued that history is often told from a white perspective and by white men.
Hell, they (media, art, etc) even depict Jesus as white while there is little to no proof he was.
approach to the revolution of 1900 was that of 310, when Constantine set up the Cross
If I remember correctly, Constantine's mother, Helena, (who is a Saint in the Catholic Church) set out to find the "true cross". And she found it. In 320.
I suppose he means by "setup the cross" is when he saw a vision in the sky and painted the "Chi Rho" on his soldiers shields before his battle with the usurper Maxentius. But that was in 312. His rule also started in 306. He stopped Christian persecution... in 313. So, not sure what happened in 310. I THOUGHT YOU WERE A HISTORIAN, ADAMS!?!??! Teach you to speak of ill of Ulysses.....
He had even published a dozen volumes of American history for no other purpose than to satisfy himself
Now he's just showing off...
the literary knowledge counted for nothing until some teacher should show how to apply it
I guess this is why you are paid the BIG BUCKS, Mr Hanley!!!
From Zeno to Descartes, hand in hand with Thomas Aquinas, Montaigne, and Pascal, one stumbled as stupidly as though one were still a German student of 1860
This appears to be a joke, or a wink, at german philosophy students as all these are famous philosphers or "thinkers". Funny, most are French. Anyways. Each of these men lived in vastly different times. It goes to show that even in a life time filled with a relentless pursuit of truth and knowledge, there still is not enough time to absorb all of man's history and knowledge. 45 years certainly did not yield enough.
he began to feel the forty-foot dynamos as a moral force, much as the early Christians felt the Cross. The planet itself seemed less impressive
It is very interesting how Adams is able to combine man's desire for answers through God (religion) and technology. Man's pursuit of truth throughout the ages was informed by the narrative of Jesus. And yet as science and technology progressed humans became more entralled with their own ability to answers their own questions through inovation then to look to the sky and by narrative (the Bible).
It reminds me of the famous Nietzsche quote "God is dead", which is often misinterpreted. He did not mean "God does not exist" or that he was proven false, but that western culture had lost their moral compass when they left God behind them.
General Grant or Don Cameron had scarcely less instinct of rhetoric than he
As a fellow "Ulysses" (the inspiration for my name and intials, USG) I'm a little offended... Ulysses was a great man and his "intinct of rhetoric" was more enjoyable than this pompeous, driveling, self-involved rhetoric... On a serious note, I'll make sure I do a 4th annotation because a) this is a joke b) I couldn't help myself....
Forty-five years of study had proved to be quite futile for the pursuit of power
And I thought knowledge was power... Adams seems to be getting at a few things: One the philosophical nature of man and how it has changed from Christianity to technology (dynamo) and the consequences of that.
From the sweet glues of the trotters
There are so many good lines in this poem, but this one welt so compelling that I looked it up first. "Trotters". Hmm. Turns out they are shoes. There are many uses of adjectives to describe things that seem unusual but give the text a unique language and feel.
They feed they Lion
The title is in the text. There's a Family Guy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8mYLi3PGOc) cutaway that discusses this... ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE! At what point can you get away with blatant grammatical errors? Because I'm pretty sure this wouldn't pass the "3 strikes rule" our teacher has set forth...