Class Three: Confronting the World in Writing
Introduction to Writing as Confrontation
The concept of "confronting the world" encompasses the act of writing across various genres such as autobiographical writing, fictional writing, poetry, and prose. The act of writing is characterized as a process in which writers emerge from their own selves, create work, and introduce their unique voices into the larger social discourse filled with various other voices. This process can be perceived as a confrontation, requiring courage and daring, as it entails the risk of one’s voice being ignored, challenged, or scrutinized.
Overview of Risk in Creative Expression
Artists, academics, philosophers, engineers, and anyone who expresses themselves creatively engages in the risk associated with sharing their work. In this discussion, the focus will remain specifically on the art of writing. There are inherent challenges and consequences involved in the act of writing that call for both bravery and perseverance.
Analysis of Three Poems
As part of this unit, three short poems will be analyzed. The poems selected include:
"This Be the Verse" by Philip Larkin
"The Swimmer's Moment" by Margaret Avison
"Dark Pines Underwater" by Gwendolyn McEwen
Importance of Sound in Poetry
Before delving into the analysis of these poems, it is essential to understand the role of sound in poetry. The auditory quality of poems is critical as sound patterns, rhythms, and phonetic elements contribute significantly to the overall impact of a piece of writing. Different strategies may be employed to create both regularity and deregulation in a poem's rhythm.
Recitation of the Selected Poems
The following are the poems as recited to emphasize hearing their auditory components:
1. "This Be the Verse" by Philip Larkin
They fuck you up, your mom and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
and add some extra just for you.
But they were fucked up in their turn
by fools in old-style hats and coats
who half the time were soppy stern
and half at one another's throats.
Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
and don't have any kids yourself.
2. "The Swimmer's Moment" by Margaret Avison
For everyone, the swimmer's moment at the whirlpool comes,
but many at that moment will not say,
this is the whirlpool then.
By their refusal, they are saved from the black pit
and also from contesting the deadly rapids
and emerging in the mysterious and more ample further waters.
And so their bland blank faces turn and turn
pale and forever on the rim of suction they will not recognize.
Of those who dare the knowledge, many are whirled into the ominous center
that gaping vertical seals up for them
an eternal boon of privacy so that we turn away from their defeat
with a despair, not for their deaths,
but for ourselves who cannot penetrate their secret
nor even guess at the anonymous breadth
where one or two have won the silver reaches of the estuary.
3. "Dark Pines Underwater" by Gwendolyn McEwen
This land, like a mirror, turns you inward,
and you become a forest in a furtive lake.
The dark pines of your mind reach downward.
You dream in the green of your time.
Your memory is a row of sinking pines.
Explorer, you tell yourself, this is not what you came for,
although it is good here and green.
You had meant to move with a kind of largeness.
You had planned a heavy grace, an anguished dream.
But the dark pines of your mind dig deeper,
and you are sinking, sinking, sleeper in an elementary world.
There is something down there, and you want it told.
Examination of Poetic Forms
Each poem serves as a representation of different approaches to poetic structure:
1. Larkin's "This Be the Verse"
Form and Structure:
Comprised of three stanzas with each stanza consisting of four lines, characterized by a very structured rhyme scheme (ABAB).
The rhyme creates a musical quality that enhances the poem's conversational tone.
2. Avison's "The Swimmer's Moment"
Form and Structure:
Does not follow a strict rhyme pattern; the lines do not mirror one another in length or structure.
The poem embodies complex sentence structures that evoke prose rather than adhering to conventional poetic forms.
Utilizes enjambment effectively to maintain a forward momentum.
3. McEwen's "Dark Pines Underwater"
Form and Structure:
Mix of end rhymes and internal rhymes, creating a lyrical quality.
The use of enjambment and punctuation varies considerably, affecting the pacing and reading of the poem.
Key Elements of Analysis
Rhyme and Rhythm
Larkin: Embraces regularity with a clear ABAB rhyme scheme and conscious line breaks. The tone leans towards a resigned acceptance of familial dysfunction.
Avison: Disavows regular rhyme, creating a more spontaneous and unpredictable flow. The structure reflects the chaos and complexity of confronting decision points, depicted by the whirlpool metaphor.
McEwen: Strikes a balance between traditional and modern styles through subtle rhymes and enjambment, inviting readers into a psychological reflection on nature and self.
Enjambment
The technique of enjambment draws readers from one line to the next, creating layered meanings and enhancing the narrative drive of the poem. Specific examples from each poem demonstrate how this technique operates differently within their unique frameworks:
Larkin: Illustrates how enjambment complicates the characterization of parental figures.
Avison: Utilizes frequent enjambment to maintain tension and keep the narrative flowing towards an unclear resolution.
McEwen: Combines punctuation and line breaks to create a dreamlike sequence which enhances the psychological explorations of the speaker.
Language and Imagery
The choice of language and imagery also significantly informs the analysis of these poems:
Larkin's use of colloquial language represents a mundane acknowledgment of human flaws and troubles. The phrase "soppy stern" creates a vivid but conflicting image of parental inadequacy.
Avison employs complex imagery encapsulated in the metaphor of the whirlpool, signifying moments of decision and risk in life. The duality of safety and opportunity is poignantly explored.
McEwen engages with intimate and sensory language that evokes a profound sense of inwardness and emotional depth, examining the intersections of nature and psyche.
Philosophical and Ethical Implications
All three poems engage with philosophical questions regarding human existence, risk, and the pursuit of knowledge. They raise ethical considerations of responsibility and the consequences of personal choice, creating dialogue on how individuals may confront or retreat from life's challenges. The poets offer varied perspectives on the balance between self-preservation and the need to embrace vulnerability.
Conclusion: Varied Approaches to Poetic Expression
The exploration of these three poems illustrates the spectrum between closed and open form poetics. Larkin's poem showcases a regulated structure while maintaining a tone of melancholy and irony regarding human existence; Avison's poem employs free verse to reflect complexity and ambiguity inherent in life; and McEwen's work embodies the depth of psychological inquiry set within natural imagery. Each poet contributes a unique voice to the discourse surrounding themes of risk, self-exploration, and the artistic expression of individual viewpoints in a shared world.