I remember Yeat's
Second Coming poem from highschool when I read Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" which the title was (obviously) taken from the poem. The book chronicles the life of a tribal African man during the colonization of his area. Achebe is famous for being one of the first African writers to write about Africa in English. I remember this book because of the simplicity of the message and the richness of his story telling style. The reason Achebe uses this poem by Yeats is because as the white men come into the village and begin to take over the social construction of the Igbo village falls apart. Chaos reigns as people try to decide what is right the old ways of the generations before them or these new beliefs. The fight within this poem is clear. It took me back to the discussions we have had about the conflict between order and chaos (Apollo Dionysus). In the African village an honors student can recognize the same struggles we face in our class today as we carefully journey through literature and philosophy.
Today we hashed out in class the meaning behind the poem and struggled with, why poetry? I think part of the reason poetry is so important is it's relevancy. When the poem is meaningful to a person across time and cultural boundaries then the true depth of meaning begins to show. We can study this work years after it's publish date on our computer screens and still be struck by the imagery and fear the author intends.
*I will post on whoever posts after me I suppose
Yeah, that's good. I think poetry is important also because it's freeing in a safe kind of way. Poets can in a sense write about a dangerous subject without it being clear that that's what they're writing about. Take Yeats for example, we spent the majority of class picking apart his poem trying to figure out what he was saying. For the poet that secrecy is freeing.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with you on that poetry is relevant, kind of. Poetry and I just don't get along, meaning I have to work hard to understand what the poet is trying to say. But something that was said yesterday about poetry painting a more vivid picture than prose struck a chord with me. Especially after reading Wordsworth for Brit Lit today. His poem The Thorn painted a distinct picture that told a great story. This is why I agree with you, but because poetry and I don't get along, I only kind of agree.
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