Project 1 cont'd.

Metaphysical poets.

'Good Morrow' by John Donne. Available here.


This passage from SparkNotes (2002) gives a concise explanation of the metaphysical poetry.

'Metaphysical poetry typically employs unusual verse forms, complex figures of speech applied to elaborate and surprising metaphorical conceits, and learned themes discussed according to eccentric and unexpected chains of reasoning. Donne’s poetry exhibits each of these characteristics. His jarring, unusual meters; his proclivity for abstract puns and double entendres; his often bizarre metaphors (in one poem he compares love to a carnivorous fish; in another he pleads with God to make him pure by raping him); and his process of oblique reasoning are all characteristic traits of the metaphysicals, unified in Donne as in no other poet.'

 It is interesting to see how, with the arrival of the metaphysical poets in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, poetry develops away from historical 'story-telling' and into the expression of complex and conflicting personal emotions. The work of John Donne is so different from the previous poems I've looked at so far for the course-work. Donne and other metaphysical poets (Andrew Marvell, George Herbert, Robert Herrick, etc)  write about the experience of being human in a subjective way whereas it seems to me that the previous poets were writing in a more objective manner.
    Allegory and 'extraordinary' metaphor are integral to the poems and are known as 'conceits'( SparkNotes Editors 2002). Such artful and intellectual use of language carried poetry to a more highly specialised art form in its own right although the future Neo-classicists referred to conceits as 'an abuse of the metaphor' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Donne). Ambiguous metaphor, jarring meter and satire and irony were often featured.
   Although the actual poems don't particularly inspire me I find myself engaging with the way language is used in the work of the metaphysical poets. I like the cleverness behind it and the disregard for existing 'rules' and classical style. I recognise the capturing of the essence of emotion and experience. It seems that the poets ability to convey the subjective experience is important to my own enjoyment of reading poetry which is an interesting discovery. Previously I would like or dislike without determining why, and when I dislike something I rarely bother to continue reading it. I'm finding it useful and enlightening to analyse my reactions to different types of poetry, as well as learning much about the contextual influences on each poetic style.

References.

SparkNotes Editors. 2002. SparkNote on Donne’s Poetry.  Available at http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/donne/ (accessed March 14, 2013).

Project 1 cont'd

The Renaissance.

Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queen available here.

I found the extract of  The Faerie Queen to be readable and more importantly was able to understand the language and infer some meaning although to me it read like a fairy-tale. It would require great study of the texts to identify the allegorical aspect and the whole political undertone of the religious conflict of the late Elizabethan era and given that this enormous and incomplete life long work is actually a number of books a tiny overview is all that I'm aiming for. It is written in the classical epic style and form influenced by the classics and the continental poets. Spencer's aim was to tell the story of the twelve christian virtues, using the characters of knights of the Faerie Queen to illustrate each one. The work is described in purely poetic terms as 'neither original, nor always remarkable but Spenser's blending of such diverse sources with a high-minded allegory that makes the poem unique and remarkable'. (http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/fqueen/summary.html)
Although it is clearly useful to have a basic knowledge of the history of British poetry and I am certainly learning a lot, I have discovered that there is no way I would ever wish to study the subject in detail.  I find these epic poems to be monotonous in the extreme and wonder if they aren't actually pretentious. They do often convey a degree of self absorption/ self importance on the part of the poet. Spenser and his peers actually stated that they intended to influence and change English poetry before ever being published and much depended on befriending appropriate sponsors of influence and means.  Granted they provide details of eras long gone and learning about the context in which they were written aids my understanding but it's fair to say that had poetry not continued to evolve I doubt that I would be remotely interested in it today.  I know that as I continue through the history I will start to find works that I can relate to, and am curious as to when that will be and what will cause the change.

Ongoing summary of Project 1.

I suppose an 'ongoing summary' is something of an oxymoron. As I read around each poetic era I want to create a simple timeline that reminds me of the main points. So that I can look back and use it as a very easy reference / reminder.

The Heroic Age

• Derived from ancient tradition of oral accounts of real or mythical adventure.
• Performed, often to musical accompaniment.
• Entertainment / journalism / education. Recounting current events and historical ones.
• Social activity.
• Poets were revered. New poems were written by a 'Scop',  old ones re-told/embellished by 'Gleemen'.
• Anglo-Saxons called poems 'word-hoard'. A hoard of verbal riches.
• Poems were corporate efforts.
• Ezra Pound's translation of 'The Seafarer'.

The Age of Chivalry

• The literary form of the English language disappeared after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and all compositions were written in Latin or French and didn't re-emerge for a few hundred years - Chaucer et al, vernacular Middle English
• European Renaissance influenced form and content - more sophisticated. (Sonnet's etc).
• Celtic culture/ myth and appreciation of natural beauty assimilated into English poetry.
• Scop and Gleemen were replaced by the Minstrel.
• Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

The Renaissance

• English Renaissance came about during the Elizibethan period of culturally enlightened and educated theatre building. 
• Heavily influenced by classical myth and legend but the poet's own voice was developing.
• Poetry composition became the benchmark of cultural sophistication.
• Anonymous scop, gleemen and minstrel gave way to a highly skilled individual, using written language.
• Only accessible by the educated literate.(Usually men).Educated ladies of court were permitted to pen appropriate poems on the death of a husband. 
• Despite the elitism of complex written poetry, oral traditions also continued to flourish.Ballads, songs, plays.
• Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queen.

Project 1 cont'd.

The poetry of chivalry.

The workbook directs the student to read the General Prologue to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales available here.
I tried. I really did. On my first attempt I managed the first seven lines;


Here bygynneth the Book of the tales of Caunterbury

Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote,
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licóur
Of which vertú engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth


At this point I decided against trying to continue with the following several hundred lines of the General Prologue because I couldn't decipher what was being said. I turned to the very helpful Spark Notes site which was full of information about Chaucer and the context, plot, analysis and summary of his Canterbury Tales. I knew absolutely nothing about either so it made for interesting reading. Spark Notes suggested trying to read the Middle English language aloud as this can help to clarify meaning. I tried this but got no further than previously. So to be perfectly honest I gave up on even trying to read anymore and focused instead on getting a grasp of the salient points. 

   Ironically, it seems that Chaucer (possibly influenced by Florentines, Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, who wrote in the Italian vernacular) was one of the early English poets to write in the vernacular Middle English of the time, making poetry linguistically accessible to all. (Or at least all who were literate). This was a radical departure from the usual Latin or French that had superceded the original English language.

The Canterbury Tales was a work produced in his retirement and it's not known whether he intended to leave it an incomplete work or if he died prior to its completion. The following key facts are copied verbatim  from the SparkNotes website linked here. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/canterbury/facts.html. As they were so comprehensive it seemed pointless to re-write them.

________________________________________________________________

Key Facts

Full title · The Canterbury Tales

Author · Geoffrey Chaucer

Type of work · Poetry (two tales are in prose: the Tale of Melibee and the Parson’s Tale)

Genres · Narrative collection of poems; character portraits; parody; estates satire; romance; fabliau

Language · Middle English

Time and place written · Around 1386–1395, England

Date of first publication · Sometime in the early fifteenth century

Publisher · Originally circulated in hand-copied manuscripts

Narrator · The primary narrator is an anonymous, naïve member of the pilgrimage, who is not described. The other pilgrims narrate most of the tales.

Point of view · In the General Prologue, the narrator speaks in the first person, describing each of the pilgrims as they appeared to him. Though narrated by different pilgrims, each of the tales is told from an omniscient third-person point of view, providing the reader with the thoughts as well as actions of the characters.

Tone · The Canterbury Tales incorporates an impressive range of attitudes toward life and literature. The tales are by turns satirical, elevated, pious, earthy, bawdy, and comical. The reader should not accept the naïve narrator’s point of view as Chaucer’s.

Tense · Past

Setting (time) · The late fourteenth century, after 1381

Setting (place) · The Tabard Inn; the road to Canterbury

Protagonists · Each individual tale has protagonists, but Chaucer’s plan is to make none of his storytellers superior to others; it is an equal company. In the Knight’s Tale, the protagonists are Palamon and Arcite; in the Miller’s Tale, Nicholas and Alisoun; in the Wife of Bath’s Tale, the errant knight and the loathsome hag; in the Nun’s Priest’s Tale, the rooster Chanticleer.

Major conflict · The struggles between characters, manifested in the links between tales, mostly involve clashes between social classes, differing tastes, and competing professions. There are also clashes between the sexes, and there is resistance to the Host’s somewhat tyrannical leadership.

Rising action · As he sets off on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, the narrator encounters a group of other pilgrims and joins them. That night, the Host of the tavern where the pilgrims are staying presents them with a storytelling challenge and appoints himself judge of the competition and leader of the company.

Climax · Not applicable (collection of tales)

Falling action · After twenty-three tales have been told, the Parson delivers a long sermon. Chaucer then makes a retraction, asking to be forgiven for his sins, including having written The Canterbury Tales.

Themes · The pervasiveness of courtly love, the importance of company, the corruption of the church

Motifs · Romance, fabliaux

Symbols · Springtime, clothing, physiognomy

Foreshadowing · Not applicable (collection of tales)

______________________________________________________________________

If I was a student of literature I might be prepared to slog through the whole thing, but only if I really had to. I think I've learned enough to understand Chaucer's role in the poetry of chivalry, and the place of the poetry of chivalry in the overall historical context of poetry. It is interesting to see how each era influences the succeeding one, with the language and traditions amalgamating and evolving.

Project 1. A short history of British Poetry.

The Heroic Age:

Thoughts on Ezra Pound's translation of  'The Seafarer'. Available online here.

I decided to approach the suggested reading of specific poems by considering my initial response and noting my thoughts before and after contextualising both the poem and the poet.. My reason for this approach is to determine whether, for me personally, a poem can stand alone, or whether it is necessary to apply the appropriate historical frame of reference in order to understand it. And to ascertain whether or not an enhanced understanding of context facillitates greater enjoyment of the poem.

So, first impressions:

    My initial response was negative. I thought it was unnecessarily long and tedious. It required a concerted effort to keep going long after I would have normally given up. The narrator seemed to me to be self absorbed, bitter and miserable which I found off-putting. The language was unfamiliar and made reading arduous, necessitating frequent re-reads that disrupted the flow. The lack of stanzas and line breaks didn't allow me any space to absorb what I was reading, it was like a never ending monologue. The copious alliteration appeared contrived and became irritating. I didn't get a sense of any real narrative, which I expected after the workbook described poetry of the 'heroic' age as serving as 'journalism of the day'. All in all it left me pretty cold.

    I read around Ezra Pound's biography. (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/ezra-pound,  Ezra Pound, Treason, Fascism. Anti-semitism,) and learned a lot about him. It seems there is much to applaud him for regarding the evolution of modern poetry and his recognition, promotion, nurturing and support of new talent but I find myself unable to get beyond his bigotry and this added to my negativity towards 'The Seafarer'.

    Then I remembered that this wasn't Pound's poem, but a translation of a poem. I searched for the original Anglo-Saxon version and found a number of translations that  I could relate to.  Sean Miller's version here, along with his wealth of information on Anglo Saxon life really helped me to place the poem historically, and 

A.S.Kline's version (here) helped to demystify the difficult language in that of Pound, at least for me. 

    I was interested to discover that the final 25 lines (of the 124) seem to cause some disagreement amongst translators. I've included Miller's version here but both Pound and Kline omitted this. I'm guessing that the question marks indicate a degree of ambiguity in the translation. 

? though he does not wish him 
? in the foulness of flames 
? or on a pyre 
? to be burned 
? his contrived friend, 
Fate is greater 
and God is mightier 
than any man's thought. 
Let us ponder 
where we have our homes 
and then think 
how we should get thither -- 
and then we should all strive 
that we might go there 
to the eternal 
blessedness
that is a belonging life 
in the love of the Lord, 
joy in the heavens.

Let there be thanks to God

that he adored us,

the Father of Glory.

the Eternal Lord,

for all time. Amen.

    This made me approach it with a different viewpoint, looking for potential religious / spiritual allegory. This made more sense to me because all of the versions contained the implication that the narrator was alone at sea - Pound's '...Wretched outcast, Deprived of my kinsmen', Kline's 'In ways of exile, bereft of my brethren' and Miller's 'In the paths of exile, bereft of friendly kinsmen'. I certainly was able to re-visit Miller's translation and see allegory within it although by omitting the religious references I couldn't identify the same aspects in either Pound's or Kline's. I found a very useful  (though enthusiastically American) site here that gives an interesting analysis of the poem.

    In contrast to my original thought that it didn't really have a specific narrative I realised that it falls neatly into a variety of definitions of the'epic' including;

• narrating a tale 
• portraying heroic deeds and adventures or covering an extended period of time 
• a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition,
• narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the past history of a nation. 
• an exceptionally long and arduous task or activity:
• beginning 'in medias res'.

    In addition, Pound's own surprisingly simple definition of  'a poem containing history' is more appropriate that I thought when I first read his translation of  'The Seafarer'. 

    So after reading around the subject I certainly have a greater understanding of the context of the poem and that of the poet. In all honesty my increased knowledge hasn't improved my personal response to either. But I have enjoyed reading other approaches to the translation of this particular epic poem of the heroic age and learned a great deal about the ancient influences on the poetry of the early twentieth century.