Weeks 10-12
Modernism:
What does 'The Wasteland' mean?
1) how has it been interpreted? (cite examples)
2)what are some of the key features
3) In what way has it been influential
Post-Modernism
1) What common qualities do 'the beats' share? Why 'beats'?
2) How is beat poetry linked to rap?
3) How was Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
4) On what grounds was 'Howl' accused of being obscene - grounds for the defense?
5) What kind of protest song/rap other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
What does 'The Wasteland' mean?
1) how has it been interpreted? (cite examples)
2)what are some of the key features
3) In what way has it been influential
Post-Modernism
1) What common qualities do 'the beats' share? Why 'beats'?
2) How is beat poetry linked to rap?
3) How was Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
4) On what grounds was 'Howl' accused of being obscene - grounds for the defense?
5) What kind of protest song/rap other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat does 'The Wasteland' mean?
ReplyDelete01) how has it been interpreted? (cite examples)
The Wasteland is a title of a poem that T.S Eliot wrote, and it suggests the despair and disillusionment that Eliot was experiencing (Baykal, n.d.). Although the question of what does The Wasteland mean can be a bit misleading, it might be better to ask what it expresses. The Wasteland has been interpreted by many and some of them are being exampled here; The Wasteland expresses an unproductive state of mind that came through from difficult relationships and modern times (Richardson, n.d.). Eliot expresses hazy and disoriented state of mind with objective similarities, or objects that relate to feelings, while evading poetic techniques while writing, relying only on Eliot’s own critical writing (Richardson, n.d.). Especially, this poem begins with ‘The Burial of the Dead’ words. The words mean Eliot’s mind. In short, ‘The Wasteland’ can be interpreted in a representation of Eliot. We can find an example representing Eliot’s mind and feeling about modern times in his first section.
“I. The Burial of the Dead
April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers. “ (Eliot, 1922)
The Wasteland is a literary known as modernism in modern society. Especially, ‘modernism’ is related to a relationship with Europe and the United Sates in the poem. Modernism is explained in poetic voice and idea of view experimentally and freely. With unexpected changes, the poem is expressed in Modernism. His first section ‘The Burial of the Dead’ is a good example of this (Educatioalpotal, n.d).
References:
Baykal, N. (n.d.). Modernism’s Traces in T.S. Eliot’s “The Wasteland –I. The Burial of the Dead” and “The Love Song of Alfred Prufrock.” Retrieved June, 1, 2014, from http://www.academia.edu/622960/Modernisms_Traces_in_T.S._Eliots_The_ asteland_ I._The_Burial_of_the_Dead_and_The_Love_Song_of_Alfred_Prufrock_
Richardson, R. (n.d.). What “The Waste Land” Expresses: An Experiential Approach to T. S. Eliot’s Poem. Teaching. Retrieved June, 1, 2014, from http://ronosaurusrex.com/teaching/what-the-waste-land-expresses-an experiential-approach-to-t-s-eliots-poem/
Educational portal. (n.d.). T.S. Eliot’s The Burial of The Dead: Analysis, Lesson & Quiz. Retrieved June, 1, 2014, from http://education portal.com/academy/lesson/ts-eliots-the-burial-of-the-dead-analysis-lesson-quiz.html#lesson
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePost-modernism
ReplyDeleteAns. (2) There are several theories that dictate the various ways in which beat poetry is linked to rap. Although it is fair to say that they do not completely share the same exact literary characteristics, there are certain similarities observed. Through some research, I have listed below, a few of these notions that attempt to explain the relationship between beat poetry and rap.
- According to Vickers (2005) , Allen Ginsberg is a prominent figure that helped a general audience comprehend and consider some of the similarities that can be observed in both beat poetry and rap. Both genres puts a general emphasis on, and establishes their foreground on a number of different related aspects -such as language, life events, beat and the theatrical nature of verbal expressions (Vickers, 2005). According to Vickers (2005) , Geinsberg's main purpose of breaking down the barriers of reputed professional writing and apply written obscenities to further convey the message that underlies real life circumstances resonates with the structure and intention of rap (Vickers, 2005). Perhaps an example that demonstrates the similarity or a potential link between the two genres is depicted through Allen Geinsberg's poem "Ballad of the Skeletons" - Initially just a poem, in 1997, music was later added to it making it appear somewhat like a modern-day rap music video (Springer, 2012). Here is a link to his Ballad of the Skeletons, with music; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrc96uGWyrE&feature=kp
- As Pate (2009) suggests, the literary value or regard of rap as a link to beat poetry has sparked a significant amount of friction between those who support and oppose the idea of a relationship or the existence of any sort of association between them. According to Pate (2009) , the aesthetics of both beat poetry and rap can be analysed in a systematic fashion that amounts up to both genres utilising different aspects of the same seven elements - which are; saturation, linguistics, imagery, flow, spirituality, themes and social expositions. Thus, a correspondence between both genres is observed.
In conclusion, although the structure and the way in which both beat poetry and rap is presented appear to vary - it is perhaps important to note that certain features taken into consideration in the creative process of both genres do establish a link between them.
References:
Pate, A. D. (2009). In the Heart of the Beat: The Poetry of Rap (African American Cultural Theory and Heritage): Scarecrow Press.
Springer, M. (2012). ‘The Ballad of the Skeletons’: Allen Ginsberg’s 1996 Collaboration with Philip Glass and Paul McCartney. Film,Music & Poetry.
Vickers, C. (2005). Brief Look at the Beat Poet Who Helped Form a Type of Poetry Whose Descendent is Modern Rap Music
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePost-modernism
ReplyDeleteAns. (3) Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War', an anti-war song, stood the test of time and generated a certain level of controversy during the Bush administration - This was mainly fuelled by the fact that the vowed regime of change was not practiced or put into play and having forced an immoral invasion of Iraq putting the US military troops in obvious danger (Scowcroft, 2002).
According to Marcus (2006) Dylan had stopped performing 'Master's of War' by 1964, and gradually brought it back to his tour set list by the 1980's. It was his performance of the song in the 1991 Grammy awards that gained a favourable number of attention/notoriety as he was intent on showing his disapproval against the idea of 'operation desert shield', which became an official mission at the time (Marcus, 2006).
It was reported that he was under the influence of drug as his behaviour on the night seemed 'bizarre' (Deem, 2008). Whether or not this was true, it did not stop him from getting his message across. It was instantly deemed an infamous performance - Dylan started off by singing the song in disguise - indistinctly slurring his words (Marcus, 2006). When asked about why he chose to perform the song, he simply replied that it was because "the war was going on" (Marcus, 2006).
In 2002, when a second plan to declare war on Iraq was put into plan, Dylan appeared at Madison Square Garden as an opposing response to this decision (Marcus, 2006).
Again, in 2004, Dylan had began singing 'Masters of War' continuously without an end, at a seemingly faster pace with certain alterations to the original lyrics of the song - adding in lines such as; "You put a gun in my hand" and "you put a gun to my head" (Marcus, 2006).
Clearly, Dylan wanted to express his approval towards the actions taken by Bush administration through his song - along the way, being strongly influential and creating awareness about the issue.
References:
Marcus, G. (2006). "Stories of a bad song." The Threepenny Review. 1.
Scowcroft, B. (2002). "Bush: Iraq war plans memo wrong" Wall Street Journal.
Deem (2008). "Dylan at the 1991 Grammy Awards." Music Corner. 2014.
1) What common qualities do 'the beats' share? Why 'beats'?.
ReplyDeleteThe beats poetry evolved in the 1940’s in both New York City and on the west coast. The end of World War II made poets like Allen Ginsberg question mainstream politics and culture (Rodriguez, 2013). The battle against social conformity and literary tradition was central to the work of the Beats. Allen Ginsberg intensely studied Buddhism and figured into much of his work. Among this group of poets, meditation, hallucinogenic drugs were used to achieve higher consciousness, and eastern religion. These were all common qualities that the beat poets had (Rahn, 2004). It seems that being Beat- even before the term was first used- meant being an outsider. It meant thinking differently and acting differently (Rodriguez, 2013). It was probably Herbert Huncke who first used the word “Beat” in the presence of Kerouac and co, and he used it to describe himself. He believed he was beat (Weiss, 2004). There was an appreciation of common qualities that could be described as “beat,” meaning “the feeling of having been used, of being raw (Rodriguez, 2013). The outsiders shared a sense of dissatisfaction with the world, yet strove not to change it, but carve out their own little space in the face of a crushing conformity (Rahn, 2004). It was also called the ‘beats’ because they would speak along to the beat of music. They would read their poetry sometimes to the accompaniment of progressive jazz. They would almost be chanting along to the beat (Weiss, 2004).
References
Weiss, R. (2004). can't stop the beat. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. (Original work published)
Rahn, J. (2011). The Beat Generation. Retrieved, from http://www.online- literature.com/periods/beat.php
Retrieved information, from http://www.beatdom.com/?page_id=391
Rodríguez, C. P. (2013, September). Howling On the Road: Visions of the Beat Generation Today. Journal of Artistic Creation & Literary Research, 1, 1-17. Retrieved, from https://www.ucm.es/data/cont/docs/119-2013-08-22-1.1.7.%20PerizRodriguez.pdf
MODERNISM
ReplyDeleteWhat does ‘The Wasteland’ mean?
1) how has it been interpreted? (cite examples)
2) what are some off the key features
3) In what was way has it been influential
In several dictionaries, wasteland can be described as land that cannot be used or a place that is ugly or ruined. In Elliot poem and perspective, it is a burial service and a journey into a land waste and he speaks about the feeling of pain and instability world. It can be seen in a number of words,
“April is the cruelest month,
Lilacs out of the dead land,
Memory and desire,
Dull roots with spring rain
Winter kept us warm,
Earth in forgetful snow,
A little life with dried tubers”.
In this part, the speaker explains about spring in April and it seems a dreadful year to remember. The word of “cruelest month, lilacs out of dead land, dull roots with spring rain”, they are features that make the reader comes with interpretation how awful that moment is.
It talks about memories of the past and displeased desires, but it seems like perspective from more than one speaker, because it says “us”, not “I”.
“My cousin’s, he took me out on a sled,
And I was frightened. He said, Marie,
Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
In the mountains, there you feel free.
I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter”.
It seems that moment gave the speaker afraid and he feels insecure.
References
Levenson, M. (1984). A Genealogy of Modernism: A study of English literary
doctrine. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p 14-16
'The Wasteland'
ReplyDelete2)what are some of the key features
Eliot's works is a critical commentary related to modernism. Especially, his poem is related to human soul. The key feature of this poem is that modern people is losing many their abilities related to human soul. Eliot expressed modern people as failing human who miscommunicate with morals that get the human soul. If we can’t speak to each other efficiently and authentically, we can’t have any developing values. Especially, in the future modern society, we can’t let our children fixing the world's many problems. Also, allusive method is a main feature in his poem. Our individual 'lives,' our daily routines and all of things that related to us are in Eliot's eyes equivalent to a mass burial of dead souls. His allusive method is a distinctive key feature of his poetry. Moreover, Lewis (2010) mentions, the one of key features is that Eliot enjoyed to use can be collage of poetic fragments in ‘The Wasteland’. This can be explained as what one situation is overlapped with another situation. In my opinion, this key point interacts with ‘modernism’ very importantly. Furthermore, Eliot used various allusions and quotations from Chaucer, Dante, Shakespeare and Homer. Eliot also used a lot of scriptural books like Bible and Hindu. He used approximately 56 literature woks from 36 writers for his quotation or allusion. Also, Eliot wrote his work into 6 languages except English (Wikipedia, 2014). Eliot’s 'The Wasteland' is very important work in literature.
References:
Lewis, P. (2010). The Waste Land, Retrieved June, 7, 2014, from http://modernism.research.yale.edu/wiki/index.php/The_Waste_Land
Wikipedia. (2014). The Waste Land. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Waste_Land#Structure
Modernism Q2:
DeleteGood explanation there, Sun Min. I would also like to add to what you’ve said about allusions. As you have mentioned, allusions are a main feature in Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’. Allusion is “an implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another text” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d.). In other words, as Greene (n.d.) points out, it’s a “shout out” to other people’s work. In regards to ‘The Waste Land’ and what you have already stated, Sun Min, Greene mentions that Eliot gives a shout out to Chaucer, author of The Cantebury Tales. Here are the first four lines of The Burial of the Dead:
“April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memories and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.” (Eliot, 1922, lines 1-4).
This part of his poem is an allusion to an allusion. According to Greene, the start of this poem is an allusion to Chaucer’s allusion to the month of April. I found that very interesting. The last bit I am going to mention from ‘The Waste Land’ is near the end, under ‘What The Thunder Said’, is a line in which Eliot takes from the traditional nursery rhyme from around the 17th century:
“London Bridge is falling down falling down falling down” (Eliot, 1922, line 426).
This line is an allusion to the nursery rhyme, also known as ‘My Fair Lady’:
London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady” (as cited in Wikipedia, n.d.).
Another key feature in Eliot’s poem is the use of voices. According to Vaneski (n.d.), a “voice is the distinct personality of a piece of writing”. She goes on to say that writers who use this voice technique like to give their writing a voice, where they write themselves in there for that sole purpose. Greene (n.d.) talks about the different and ‘distinct’ voices that we read in Eliot’s poem. She states that “... there's no indication that these are different people. There are no quotation marks or anything that's going to tell you. You kind of have to figure it out. That's one of the things that makes it difficult. You get these people going in and out and you don't really know who's who.” In ‘The Burial of the Dead’, we are introduced to a female aristocrat named Marie. According to Greene, once the poem progresses into ‘A Game of Chess’, the speaker is a totally different person due to the difference in the way they speak. Eliot takes us, the readers, on a bit of a journey where we get to meet various characters due to the use of ‘voices’.
References:
Allusion. (n.d.). In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/16658/allusion
Eliot, T. S. (1922). The waste land. London: Faber & Faber
Greene, E. (n.d.). The waste land: Structure and style explained - English literature video [Video file]. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-waste-land.html#lesson
London bridge is falling down. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge_Is_Falling_Down#cite_note-Opie1985-1
Vaneski, P. (n.d.). Voice in writing: Definition, examples & quiz. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/voice-in-writing-definition-examples-quiz.html#lesson
Post-Modernism Q5:
ReplyDeleteProtest songs have been around for quite a while, and music is a type of media that artists have used to express their views on serious matters; such as politics, global warming, war, etc. Here’s a list of some artists who have have made an impact in the media for their (mostly) controversial protest songs:
Eminem’s 2004 track ‘Mosh’ was inspired by the 2004 presidential elections between George W. Bush and John Kerry. Piana (2010) states that Eminem released this song with the intention of getting listeners to vote “to disarm this weapon of mass destruction that we call our president”.
Here is an excerpt from the song that Piana also mentions:
“And as we proceed, to mosh through this desert storm, in these closing statements,
if they should argue, let us beg to differ, as we set aside our differences,
and assemble our own army, to disarm this weapon of mass destruction
that we call our president, for the present,
and mosh for the future of our next generation,
to speak and be heard, Mr. President, Mr. Senator”
Piana (2010) mentions another hip hop artist known for his political views in his rap music. Nas released a 2001 track called ‘Rule’ which was inspired by the Bush-directed war in Afghanistan. It also mentions the struggles of poverty, crime, and police harassment at home.
Lupe Fiasco, a Chicago-based rapper, released a song in 2011 called ‘Words I Never Said’ featuring Skylar Grey. The song may have been inspired by what was happening at the time, which was the Egyptian Revolution. Lupe raps about the government failing its people, and how strongly he disagrees with society’s ways and views. Here’s a bit of the lyrics, courtesy of rapgenius (n.d.):
“I really think the war on terror is a bunch of bullshit
Just a poor excuse for you to use up all your bullets
How much money does it take to really make a full clip?
9/11, building 7, did they really pull it?”
Bob Marley, reggae legend, was not only known for all his top reggae hits but also his protest songs concerning “the oppressing culture of white Europeans and Americans” (Romer, n.d.). Although his songs were way past the last decade, Romer (n.d.) states that “protesters around the world have found solidarity with these songs and their messages since they were first written, and they remain as relevant today as they ever were”.
Music isn’t the only medium for projecting political views and protests. Social media use, like Twitter, has had its fair share of protests by people from all walks of life. According to Barberá and Metzger (2014), during the Russian military invasion in Ukraine earlier this year, Twitter was bombarded with high traffic of tweets in relation to protests against the Russian military’s invasion in Crimea. Their study shows that this activity peaked from February 18th (when violence broke out during protests in the main city square) onwards. Protests weren’t only restricted to just Ukrainians and Russians online, but also international online communities.
In saying all this, I do believe that the spirit of protest is definitely strong today as it has been for many years. Political views and the subject of serious matters will always differ in opinions among everyone everywhere. We express them differently, and with technology today, we’re given more choices in the different ways to relay our thoughts out there.
Here are my references, since it could not fit in my post above.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Barberá, P. & Merzger, M. (2014). Tweeting the revolution: Social media use and the #Euromaidan protests. Retrieved June 7, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pablo-barbera/tweeting-the-revolution-s_b_4831104.html
Piana, L. D. (2010). The best protest songs of the decade. Retrieved June 7, 2014, from http://www.peoplesworld.org/the-best-protest-songs-of-the-decade/
Romer, M. (n.d.). Bob marley’s 10 best protest songs. Retrieved June 7, 2014, from http://worldmusic.about.com/od/genres/tp/Bob-Marleys-10-Best-Protest-Songs.htm
Words i never said lyrics. (n.d.). Retrieved June 8, 2014, from http://rapgenius.com/Lupe-fiasco-words-i-never-said-lyrics
Interscope Geffen A&M Records. (2009, June 15). Mosh by eminem | Interscope [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox0Q4YIdnGI
Fiasco, L. [Lupe Fiasco]. (2011, April 29). Lupe fiasco - Words i never knew ft. Skylar grey [Music video] [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22l1sf5JZD0
One Memzie. (2007, July 24). Nas-Rule [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQqwfeOaz1A