Identifying Modernist metaphors/symbols/ Images in short poem.

Hello reader,

        This blog is a part of my classroom activity given below:

Here is blog link of a task:

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       Here is my interpretation of ten short poems, with modern metaphors and symbols.

 

1   (1)“The Embankment”: T. E. Hulme’s

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.

         “The Embankment” poem is about the fantasia of fallen gentleman on a cold butter night. The narrator of the poem calling himself a falling gentleman. How fallen gentleman found pleasure in worldly social activities it’s shown in this poem. Here “Flash of Gold Heels” represent’s the beautiful women and also prostitute. “Hard pawment” represents dark side of society. Here is a symbol like “star eaten blanket” shows in negative meaning. Star always a symbol of brightness but it is not here.

     (2)  “Darkness” : Joseph Campbell

            Darkness 

            I stop to watch a star shine

        in the boghole -

        A star no longer, but a silver

         ribbon of light.

        I look at it and pass on.

           Darkness is itself symbolic. It gives us an image of downfall. In this poem poet talks about night scene. There is word “star” show’s beauty of star. Without star all sky like darkness. And darkness shows the symbol of fall and star show the symbol of brightness. Here poet wants to see brightness of stars from ‘boghole’. He is not able to see stars but there is “a silver ribbon of light”.

                 (3)“Image” : Edward storer

             

           Forsaken lovers,

       Burning to a chaste white moon

       Upon strange Pyres of loneliness and

       drought.

       The title of poem itself reflects modernist metaphor. In this poem poet talks about condition of Forsaken lovers. Dictionary meaning of ‘forsaken’ is “To give up” or “renounce”. So here forsaken lover represent fall. Poet is describing here the condition of forsaken lovers. Generally in love both gets calmness through the light of moon. But for them who are forsaken, moon light is like a burning chaste. And it seems that lovers are a burning on pyres of lonliness and drought not of wood.

            (4)“In the station of metro” : Ezra pound

      

             The apparition of these faces in the

          Crowd;

          Petals on a wet, black bough

    

 

               Here “Station of metro” represent symbol of modernism. In this poem we can see hasty life of people. Here we can say that this poem is representing the people who are living physically but mentally they all are dead because of their hasty life. In this poem poet used word ‘black bough’ which means dead branch of tree. Here black branch means culture of living dead.

     (5)  “The pool” : Hilda Doolittle

   

             Are you alive?

       I touch you

       You quiver trembling like a sea-fish

       I cover you with my net

       What are you- banded one?

        

        It is human intention between the speaker and the person who the speaker is asking a question and intends to give help. The person reflects someone that is in trouble or dying. The speaker tries to offers a help to the person mentioned and asking what exactly her or his trouble is.

     (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 white-winged

        Doves.

 

                 In this poem the metaphor “dreary trenches” is used as ups and down of life and also dark hole of life. Each coin has two sides one is positive and anther is negative which we have see also here. Here the anther word “Trudging and cheerily” gives contrasting meaning and also it represent the image of a person who has to do for modern culture of living life and feeling of isolation is there.

(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.

           The poem has a imagery of morning that how people stats their day that plats are ratting in kitchen. The fog and twisted faces gives negative glimpse. A twisted face also connotes negative side.  Most of word of poem gives us negative sense. This poem gives images and symbol of the dead spirit in people.

     (8) “The Red Wheelbarrow”: William Carlos Williams

  

           

so much depends

 upon

a red wheel

barrow

 glazed with rain

water

beside the white

chicken.

              In this poem three images are given: ‘The wheel barrow’, ‘Glazed with rain water’ and ‘White chickens’. Those all images reflect village life and also suffering. Wheel barrow as like bullock cart. Wheel barrow is pushed by man not form the bull. Here we can see that wheel borrow is became red because of rain so it is not able to work. Here can see that the poet uses the word ‘chicken’ it reflect younger one. So we can also say that this poem is also about suffering of young man.

     (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.

               This poem is about jar which was in  the state “Tennessee” in United States of America. This poem is also an imagist poem in which Stevens explores the question of the superiority between art and nature. The jar was placed on the hill. After some time jar dominated everywhere on that hill. It shows that the jar owns that place. It was outsider at the hill and it took its strong place there. This poem shows that how outsider took dominant in some place.    

   (10)    “I” : a – E. E. Cummings

          

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

l(a

le

af

fa

ll

s)

one

l

iness

 

                 This poem is written in modernist way of writing. This is not easy to understand in once reading because of writing style. The meaning of this poem is “a leaf falls on loneliness”. It suggests so many things. The word ‘fall’ suggest fall of civilization. When last leaf of the tree is fall it became barren. In modernist literature we also find that fall of civilization, fall of hope here we also find it. The word loneliness represents separation from the world. Here in this poem we see the separation of leaf from the tree.