Monsieur Thomas Gray - I love him...
The more we learn in Poetry 2110, the more I find we've ruined the English language. We've taken some of the most meaningful words and turned them into non-meaningful words, if that makes sense. For instance, melancholy used to be a word for one of the four humours. The humour in question, represented by water, was birthed by a bodily liquid called black bile (a yellow or greenish viscid alkaline fluid secreted by the liver - and no I'm not that smart, I looked it up in my handy dandy Merriam-Webster :D). Melancholy, or the state of being melancholy, often went along with intellectual pursuits, philosophy, and poetry. It was the state of feeling a certain way about something and then having a thought about that feeling. Being melancholy was having a reflection on life. Even though it could sometimes be sad, it was mostly pensive (I believe). Today the word is often mistaken and/or used to represent a state of depression, or of sadness. Similarly, the word "awesome" once meant something that over-awed you. Today, you can hear people say it 25 times a day, myself included, to mean something cool or interesting or exciting, etc.
No wonder it is hard for me to write a poem today that sounds beautiful and meaningful. I mean, all the words that once expressed all those things we can't put into words, are now simply shells of what they used to be. I'm not saying this is true in all cases because some modern poetry is the most beautiful poetry ever written, changed words and all, but I know I have trouble finding such wonderful words to explain such wonderful feelings.
Nevertheless, moving on to "Elegy, Written in a Country Churchyard." I think this is one of the most beautiful poems I've ever read. I admit, it was quite a hassle to get into it. It was easy for me to just run my eyes over the words and walk away with nothing - but as I listened to the words and associated them with images, there was no going back. I think Thomas Gray's opening is one of the most beautiful openings ever written in poetry. He begins speaking about the background of his eyesight - "Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight," "and drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds," "and leaves the world to darkness and to me," - and the way he does so is so desolate and gloomy, yet tranquil...and somewhat very serene and eloquent at the same time. He then slowly focuses in on the foreground - of the men buried who are "each in his narrow cell for ever laid." It is such a wonderful transition I believe, almost like the setting of a scary movie, yet a very morbid one for I feel very at peace. Through the lines, Gray eventually gets to his main point which I believe is the reflection of, and seeing the sadness in lives being wasted due to poverty. I think my favourite part of the poem is when he writes:
Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear;
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
The image of a flower blooming and having no one see it, is just so beautiful and touching, and sad, and personal. I know I've felt like that at some point or another. The way Thomas Gray writes brings to mind something that Professor Kuin once said about how good poets have a way of making their words seem so simple. I think Gray possesses this quality. I think he is just so accessible and extremely wonderful at conveying emotion. I give this poem 10 quill pens out of 10!
And yes, Janice, you may now say I write very long posts...
No wonder it is hard for me to write a poem today that sounds beautiful and meaningful. I mean, all the words that once expressed all those things we can't put into words, are now simply shells of what they used to be. I'm not saying this is true in all cases because some modern poetry is the most beautiful poetry ever written, changed words and all, but I know I have trouble finding such wonderful words to explain such wonderful feelings.
Nevertheless, moving on to "Elegy, Written in a Country Churchyard." I think this is one of the most beautiful poems I've ever read. I admit, it was quite a hassle to get into it. It was easy for me to just run my eyes over the words and walk away with nothing - but as I listened to the words and associated them with images, there was no going back. I think Thomas Gray's opening is one of the most beautiful openings ever written in poetry. He begins speaking about the background of his eyesight - "Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight," "and drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds," "and leaves the world to darkness and to me," - and the way he does so is so desolate and gloomy, yet tranquil...and somewhat very serene and eloquent at the same time. He then slowly focuses in on the foreground - of the men buried who are "each in his narrow cell for ever laid." It is such a wonderful transition I believe, almost like the setting of a scary movie, yet a very morbid one for I feel very at peace. Through the lines, Gray eventually gets to his main point which I believe is the reflection of, and seeing the sadness in lives being wasted due to poverty. I think my favourite part of the poem is when he writes:
Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear;
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
The image of a flower blooming and having no one see it, is just so beautiful and touching, and sad, and personal. I know I've felt like that at some point or another. The way Thomas Gray writes brings to mind something that Professor Kuin once said about how good poets have a way of making their words seem so simple. I think Gray possesses this quality. I think he is just so accessible and extremely wonderful at conveying emotion. I give this poem 10 quill pens out of 10!
And yes, Janice, you may now say I write very long posts...