1. Frost’s “Fire and Ice” consists of few lines, but is full of meaning. Actually, I see that it could have a bunch of different interpretations imposed on it. It caught my attention mainly because it is not as disturbing as the other options, and I do not find any rhyme or reason to Cummings’ style so answering that question would not be wise. If these poems were my only impression of poetry, then I would reasonably conclude that all poets are depressed or they are seeking inspiration from the most bizarre sources. I guess my decision was not made based on a strong interest, rather an elimination of the poems I did not care to tackle. In dealing with this poem, I found it difficult to first approach the poem literally, without imposing my interpretations on it.
2. Frost uses the title to introduce the juxtaposition. The speaker presents two theories about the end of the world: it will end in fire or it will end in ice. The speaker agrees with the first (the world ending in fire), based on “what I’ve tasted of desire” (3). In other words, the speaker believes that the world will become consumed with desire. This will be the flame, metaphorically speaking, that destroys the earth. However, the speaker continues. If the world “had to perish twice”, then ice “Is also great/And would suffice” (5, 8-9). The speaker admits that the ice is also powerful and strong. It, too, could complete the task of ending the world, but this is not the theory that the speaker initially chooses. The last line uses the word “suffice”, which is a weak word for such a strong concept. This subtle word choice reiterates that the fire is the behind the world’s destruction. It is also note-worthy that the speaker compares the ice to hate and the fire to desire. Hatred is something negative that would seem to be the more reasonable choice as a force to complete such a negative task – ending the world. Some argue that hatred is the driving force behind wars so Frost may intend to convey this message. Still, it is important that the speaker’s first choice is the fire. One interpretation to account for this choice is that the speaker has been burned or hurt deeply by a relationship, thus, concluding that people will destroy each other and the world this way. The desire could also allude to capitalism. People will stop but nothing to get what they desire, hurting others, the world, and/or the environment along the way.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
"Ode on a Grecian Urn" --John Keats
1. “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is difficult to read. Still, I read and re-read more times than I care to admit. Regarding the content, it’s an interesting concept to be preserved in a painting or, in this case, an urn. Keats may intend for this to be a romantic idea, but I just find it appalling! I compare it to the movie “Tuck Everlasting” where the main characters continue living exactly as they were when they drank from the fountain of youth (so to speak). They’re stuck in time, while everyone around them grows old and moves on. It seems like it would be a form of punishment to freeze in time. The lovers will suffer longing, the musician will never hear his tune, and the heifer will remain moments away from death. This is such an uncomfortable notion – to be stuck or preserved in time.
2. In the first stanza, the speaker simply addresses the urn. He asks about the stories that this urn tells through its images: “What men or gods are these? What maidens loth? /What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape? /What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?” (8-10). The speaker attempts to explore the pictures on the urn and the stories that the pictures tell. At this point, the tone is unclear. Line four mentions a “flowery tale” whereas line five discusses a “leaf-fring’d legend [that] haunts”. It is difficult to discern whether the urn depicts a romantic, happy tale or whether it depicts something cursed and haunting.
The second stanza begins with a musician who plays the pipes. These pipes are played “not to the sensual ear”, meaning that they cannot be heard, yet the piper continues to “pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone” (13-14). The musician continues to play these inaudible songs. Then, the speaker mentions that the trees can never “be bare” (16). This says that, not only can the trees never die, but they cannot change for the seasons either. The following lines describe a lover who “never canst thou kiss” (17). He waits and waits for the moment or “goal”, as it is described in line eighteen. Still, there is hope because “for ever wilt thou love, and she be fair” (20). The lover does not receive gratification yet, but his lover will always remain beautiful and his love unchanging. The third stanza summarizes the characters mentioned in the second stanza. It reiterates the unchanging nature of these images. The trees “cannot shed/Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu” (21-22), the “happy melodist … for ever piping songs for ever new” (23-24), and a man in love “for ever panting, and for ever young” (27). These stories are joyful. There is always spring, and the characters are always young.
Now, in the fourth stanza, Keats shifts the tone. The next scene mentions a sacrifice and presents a “mysterious priest [who] lead’st thou that heifer lowing at the skies” to a “green altar” (32-33). The animal is about to be sacrificed. Lines thirty-five through forty reveal a little town in the mountains that “for evermore will silent be” because “not a soul to tell/Why thou art desolate, can e’er return” (38-40). There are no villagers around so it will remain quiet and deserted. Furthermore, the audience will never understand what brought about this change because the villagers will never return.
Lastly, the speaker addresses the urn once more. The speaker realizes that this urn teases us humans. While we grow old, the urn “shalt remain” (47) with all its “marble men and maidens” (42). The urn responds in the last two lines: “Beauty is truth, truth beauty, --that is all/Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know” (49-50). All people see when they look at the urn is preserved beauty and preserved truth. The people in the pictures will neither age nor will their stories continue beyond what has been captured in those specific moments depicted on the urn. Perhaps, this is all we need to know about these characters because our lives continue.
2. In the first stanza, the speaker simply addresses the urn. He asks about the stories that this urn tells through its images: “What men or gods are these? What maidens loth? /What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape? /What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?” (8-10). The speaker attempts to explore the pictures on the urn and the stories that the pictures tell. At this point, the tone is unclear. Line four mentions a “flowery tale” whereas line five discusses a “leaf-fring’d legend [that] haunts”. It is difficult to discern whether the urn depicts a romantic, happy tale or whether it depicts something cursed and haunting.
The second stanza begins with a musician who plays the pipes. These pipes are played “not to the sensual ear”, meaning that they cannot be heard, yet the piper continues to “pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone” (13-14). The musician continues to play these inaudible songs. Then, the speaker mentions that the trees can never “be bare” (16). This says that, not only can the trees never die, but they cannot change for the seasons either. The following lines describe a lover who “never canst thou kiss” (17). He waits and waits for the moment or “goal”, as it is described in line eighteen. Still, there is hope because “for ever wilt thou love, and she be fair” (20). The lover does not receive gratification yet, but his lover will always remain beautiful and his love unchanging. The third stanza summarizes the characters mentioned in the second stanza. It reiterates the unchanging nature of these images. The trees “cannot shed/Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu” (21-22), the “happy melodist … for ever piping songs for ever new” (23-24), and a man in love “for ever panting, and for ever young” (27). These stories are joyful. There is always spring, and the characters are always young.
Now, in the fourth stanza, Keats shifts the tone. The next scene mentions a sacrifice and presents a “mysterious priest [who] lead’st thou that heifer lowing at the skies” to a “green altar” (32-33). The animal is about to be sacrificed. Lines thirty-five through forty reveal a little town in the mountains that “for evermore will silent be” because “not a soul to tell/Why thou art desolate, can e’er return” (38-40). There are no villagers around so it will remain quiet and deserted. Furthermore, the audience will never understand what brought about this change because the villagers will never return.
Lastly, the speaker addresses the urn once more. The speaker realizes that this urn teases us humans. While we grow old, the urn “shalt remain” (47) with all its “marble men and maidens” (42). The urn responds in the last two lines: “Beauty is truth, truth beauty, --that is all/Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know” (49-50). All people see when they look at the urn is preserved beauty and preserved truth. The people in the pictures will neither age nor will their stories continue beyond what has been captured in those specific moments depicted on the urn. Perhaps, this is all we need to know about these characters because our lives continue.
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