Deader than a Doornail

Our class split up T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" towards the beginning of the semester to analyze the pome in individual sections.  I focussed on Part I, which is titled, “The Burial of the Dead.” In this section, Eliot makes several allusions to death and life. He opens the section with a comparison between spring and winter. He refers to April as the “cruelest month” because of the dead, empty land. He expresses a preference for winter’s beautiful snow that keeps things warm and preserved. The next signs of “death” that he mentions are dry rocks without any waterfall and a dead tree. These signs of death are contrasted with blooming hyacinths. Finally at the end of the section, Eliot closes with a conversation between two Londoners concerning a recently buried acquaintance following “dead” chimes from a clock tower. One inquires after the dead body, “That corpse you planted last year in your garden, has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year?” Here, death is casually talked about in passing, but the conversation still reflects a contrast between life and death as it did between winter/summer and spring in the first stanza.  This opening section of this dreary, harsh poem prepares the reader for what is to come.  The title provides a hint, but upon reading this opening section, the land feels very much wasted and desolate.  What little exists within the stanzas is dead or dying.
T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land"

Winter Wasteland

Africa or a Peach?

In class, we recently read  “Heritage” by Countee Cullen and “The Love Song by J. Alfred Prufrock” by T. S. Eliot.  These two poems are different yet similar. As we discussed in class, Cullen was greatly influenced by his identity as a black man and how others treated him as such. In “Heritage,” he ponders his past and its role in his life. Eliot also does a lot of pondering in "The Love Song by J. Alfred Prufrock.” Eliot asks questions pertaining more to his future and Cullen asks questions reflecting on his past. The poems also differ in structure, particularly their different rhyme schemes. There is a definite rhyme pattern in “Heritage” where every two lines, or couplet, rhyme at the ends (AABBCCDD…). There are some places in “Heritage” where Cullen circles back around and repeats a rhyme sequence. Eliot uses some rhyming couplets throughout his poem but it is not a firm, rigid pattern like Cullen’s. Eliot’s poem appears to be more free verse. Both poems flow as thoughts would. Because Cullen and Eliot both ponder in their poems, free verse segments seem more appropriate than a poem with a rigid meter. This said, “Heritage” does seem to be more rhythmic and predictable than Prufrock. The two poets talk to different audiences. In “The Love Song by J. Alfred Prufrock,” by Eliot, Prufrock seems to be addressing someone other than himself, an elusive “you.” This someone could be a lover, the reader, or it could be Prufrock’s inner conscience. Cullen, on the other hand, seems to be questioning himself. Both are pondering, but Prufrock seems like he is trying to send a message to “you” while Cullen is contemplating his past under the guise of a conversation with himself and trying to send a message to Americans. It is difficult to say which poet is more modern. Eliot seems to be more modern in terms of structure (he experiments with words, different languages) and Cullen seems to be more modern in terms of content. Cullen, under the pretense of looking into the past, reflects on the present and the current political and social condition of America. In this respect, Cullen seems to be the more “American” of the two.  I appreciate both of these poems for different reasons.  Cullen's optimistic tone and reflective questions inspire me to think about the role of my past and family in my life.  Eliot's obsessive questions and minute detail remind me to spend my time and energy thinking about more important and relevant issues.
Heritage by Countee Cullen
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot

 Countee Cullen

T. S. Eliot

A Poet Against the War

At the beginning of the semester, I read a poem in the Poets Against the War collection. The poems in this online collection were written in response to conflict in the last century.  I was particularly moved by the poem "You Gotta Love War" by Randolph Nesbitt.  In this poem, Nesbitt utilizes satire to make fun of war, to point out that war is often too idealized. He reflects on a commonly picturesque image of young men holding the American flag and standing up for their country. While this image is real and admirable, Nesbitt reveals another side of war: the harsh side. With crude images of soldiers returning from war with jokes and missing limbs, Nesbitt illustrates that war is no laughing matter. With his line about earning a face on a McDonald's cup, he ridicules those who go to war looking only for fame and notoriety. Nesbitt conveys that war is for people who truly feel called and understand the gravity of their decision. In terms of structure, there is no particular rhyming scheme; rather, the poem flows from one line into the next as they would in a conversation or song.  I was particularly struck by Nesbitt's frank language.  While the tone is superficially humorous and ironic, it is subtly serious and grave.  Images such as the McDonald's cup are common and simple enough to force the reader to contemplate a deeper meaning within the poem.


"You Gotta Love War" by Randolph Nesbitt

English 210

I created this blog in response to an assignment for English 210 at Goshen College.  This class, entitled "Make it New! Modern and Contemporary Poetry," was designed by Ann Hostetler to span the last century of poetry during World War I and II as well as genocides, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.  Poems during these events were written in response to conflict.  Most of my blog entries will respond to independent readings and in class discussions.  In addition to these smaller posts, there will be several major posts focussing on the life and work of Claude McKay, a Modernist poet who wrote during the Civil Rights Movement and Harlem Renaissance.
I hope you enjoy my thoughts concerning poems and poets during the last century.  Any additional commentary is welcome!  In the meantime, enjoy reading about Modern Poetry!