Modernist Poems : Activity - Identify modernist metaphors in these short poem.

                                   

 I am sharing  my  study  discussion of  the Modernist literature 's  short poems .


  So ,  first of  all  ...... we  are  see that  , what  is  Modernist literature ?

                      Modern  means  that  after  the  twentieth  century there has been a change in the social and  material world with  new time , this is the renovation period.The  authors  have  also made  many  changes in the  literature, when its  type of literature called to 'modernist literature'.


*  Modernist  literature's  many  characteristics.

1. Anxiety  and  interrogation
2.Art  for  life's  sake
3. growing interest in the poor  and  the  working classes
4. Impact  of  socio- economic conditions on  literature
5. psychology  and  literature
6. the  impact of  the  worlds wars .
7.international  character  of  literature
8.the  influence  of  radio , cinema and  telivision
9. conclusion

So let's  to  discussing  to  ten short  poems :-

1. T. E. Hulme The Embankment


Once, in finesse of fiddles found I ecstasy,
In a flash of gold heels on the hard pavement.
Now see I
That warmth’s the very stuff of poesy.
Oh, God, make small
The old star-eaten blanket of the sky,
That I may fold it round me and in comfort lie.


First, a short paraphrase of the poem: on London’s Embankment , a ‘fallen gentleman’ reflects on his past and how he found pleasure in worldly social activities and beautiful women – probably courtesans or prostitutes. The phrases like


2) ''Darkness'' - Joseph campbell

                                      this poem is established  to two words :  1. Darkness, 2. star shine .   well  'Darkness ' word is image of  dark world means downfall city and humanity, its  has been connected  to  uncivilized peoples , so early age is dark ages , again  second word 'star shine'  image of shining world , so worldwar  becomes  to new renewal time are coming . all darkness of humanity and uncivilization is destroying  and  looking new revolution .

3) 'image' - Edward  storer

                  this  poem is  related to image of  second world war after then  reflected to critical condition of  the un civilized peoples. they are confusing to how suggested to its critical  situation  , later  peoples  was  accepting new renovation of  the new society, at that age is victorian age , its' image ' word metaphor of movement of  modernism   age.


 4. Ezra Pound, ‘In a station of the Matro

THE apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.



The title shows city life and hasty life style of modern society. Petals on a wet, black bough. Through this lines poet connects nature with modern life. Bough means branch but poet uses 'black bough' it means dead branch of a tree, poet described it ina negative way.

5.) 'The Pool' - Hilda Doolittle

Are you alive?

I touch you

You quiver trembling like a seafish

I cover you with my net

What are you banded one?

Here water is in pool it's not flowing which symbolises the rottenness of the civilization. Water in sea or in river has life but pool has not. Sometimes we do not understand our own feelings. First it was asked that are you alive or not. Very sarcastically, we can see that no. It is not alive. Because now it is there in the net of somebody. Fish after going in the net, cannot survive for longer.

6.) "Insouciance" – Richard Aldington

In and out of the dreary trenches

Trudging cheerily under the stars

I make for myself little poems

Delicate as a flock of doves

They fly away like whitewinged

Doves.

In this poem, poet compares his poems with dove. Here the words like 'Trudging' and 'cheerily' gives contrasting meaning. These words give the image of life where we are doing many things unwillingly. Poems can not fly but here poet says he has made poems that can fly away like white winged doves. It looks he want to be free.

 

 

 

7.) Morning at the Window - T. S. Eliot

They are rattling breakfast plates in basement kitchens,

And along the trampled edges of the street

I am aware of the damp souls of housemaid

Sprouting despondently at area gates.

The brown waves of fog toss up to me

Twisted faces from the bottom of the street,

And tear from a passer-by with muddy skirts

An aimless smile that hovers in the air

 And vanishes along the level of the roofs.

In this poem there are many words like “rattling”, “damp souls”, “despondently”, “fog”, “twisted faces”, “fear”, “aimless”. Here we can find negativity I each line which represents the darker side. In this poem we can find images of “dullness” and “dead spirit”. Here we  can refer  the first part “the burial of dead” of T.S Eliot’s “The Wasteland” in this poem also we can find negativity all around. In this part Eliot used the image of “dull roots”, “snow” and “a heap of broken images”.

 

8.) The Red Wheelbarrow -William Carlos Williams

so much depends

 upon

a red wheel

barrow

 glazed with rain

water

beside the white

chicken.

Here we can say that poet used the word “wheel”, “rain”, “water” and “white chicken”. The dictionary meaning of “wheel borrows” is “a small, one wheeled cart with handles at one end for transporting small loads. It Is like “bullock cart” but bullock cart is pushed by bull but wheel borrow may be pushed by man for transporting little goods and luggage's. Here we can see that the poet uses “chicken” which is the younger one of hen/cock. So we can say that it is a poem about the sacrifice of a younger one in this modern age.

 

 

 

 

9.) Anecdote of the Jar- Wallace Stevens

I placed a jar in Tennessee,

And round it was, upon a hill.

It made the slovenly wilderness

Surround that hill.

The wilderness rose up to it,

And sprawled around, no longer wild.

The jar was round upon the ground

And tall and of a port in air.

It took dominion everywhere.

The jar was gray and bare.

It did not give of bird or bush,

Like nothing else in Tennessee.

The poem is all about Jar. When we refer to the word 'Tennessee' it is connected with a state. It may be an open related to this place. Art may be more beautiful than nature but it can not be  creative as the nature.

 

10.) ‘l (a‘E. E. Cummings

l(a... (a leaf falls on loneliness)

l(a

le

af

fa

ll

s)

one

l

iness

Poet has beautifully captured the image of falling leaves in the poem.. The fragmentation of the word loneliness is especially significant, since it highlights the fact that that word contains the word one. So here poet compares fall of leaf with life of people.