The transcendent anti-romantic

For instant gratification, Larkin’s moody, anti-romantic poems are a good read just because they are shorter, darkly witty, straight to the point and easy to understand.  In “Talking in Bed” for instance, in four three-line verses, Larkin is able to explain a present situation to the reader while giving them some insight of the past. “Yet more and more time passes silently” is one of those lines that gives the reader an insight to what the relationship between these two people used to be, since they are now conscious of time passing by silently. He is able to convey the restlessness that the characters feel by illustrating how they are indoors and yet somewhat long to be outdoors since they are so bored with each other.

Another instantly gratifying poem is “This be the Verse” just because it is so easy to read, that there’s no misunderstanding it. Sometimes, after people become adults, they look back on their childhood and they disagree with some of the decisions that their parents made, and I think that’s what “This be the Verse” is about. In three verses of four lines each, this misanthropic and witty poem is able to evoke emotions (and chuckles) because even if you disagree that all parents mess their kids up you’ll still get a laugh from wondering what set him off to write this poem.

On the other hand, I find Larkin’s transcendent side to be quite tedious to digest because of the tightly wound imagery, and the long-long verses. In “Here”, the misanthropic nature found in his anti-romantic poems is still present however; there is a sense of darkness and grime embodied in the lines as well as an air of condescension for the characters that Larkin conveys. He describes them as a “cut-price crowd” with fishy smells and simple lives, he also seems to remove himself from this crowd to live in silence and not be disturbed. It’s the imagery that really gets me since it’s so beautiful and somewhat convoluted all at once.

When I’m in the mood to think, I’ll opt for one of Larkin’s transcendent poems but, like I said, for instant gratification, I prefer Larkin’s anti-romantic side.

Ave Maria

I like the playful nature with which O’Hara advices parents against sheltering their kids, and this is the tone that he uses throughout the poem. The poem is light-hearted, even funny at times and my favorite line is: “…you would have made the little tykes so happy because if nobody does pick them up…they won’t know the difference and if somebody does it’ll be sheer gravy…” While these lines embody every parent’s worst nightmare, I think that O’Hara is getting his point across because with these sentences, he is urging parents to accept that bad things will happen anyway, and you’re better off amusing your kids, than letting them resent you prematurely.

I think that a veiled threat of resentment is an underlying theme that runs throughout the poem because this seems to be the result when kids are cooped up in their rooms while life is happening in the movie theatres. Resentful kids grow up to be resentful adults who “…grow old and blind in front of a T.V…” probably because no one ever made that 25 cent investment that would give them a shot at finding that pleasant stranger who lives in the “Heaven on Earth Bldg”

While the ideas expressed in “Ave Maria” sound like a recipe for disaster, there is some truth to them because sooner or later, everyone takes a bite of the forbidden fruit and resentment is a horrible burden to add to all of the other troubles and worries that life will surely bring.

Two Figures

One of the most powerful things about poetry is its ability to convey inexplicable emotions in the most unusual ways; you read a poem and it makes you feel a certain way that you felt once before but could not express. Sometimes words can be abstract because emotions are not always straight forward, and one poem can be ready by many and interpreted in just as many ways because no two people are the same and language can be subjective in nature. A painting can inspire poetry if it inspires enough awe or mystery so that something within the poet is aroused and she tries to put what she feels into words.

Willem De Kooning paints legs of different tans and shapes, splayed in all directions; some kneeling, some crawling, some stretched out, and some contorted. A distorted face floating on the top right, shrouded by some shades of blue; a distorted face with exaggerated eyebrows, hollowed eyes and floating hair. A mass of headless hairs floating on the top left; a mass of headless hairs with no face. There are supposedly two figures in this subdued palate yet, only one of them seems to have a face. What are these figures doing, and how could they influence ones poetry?

Two figures with numerous legs make me think of potential which is lost due to an inability to harness this potential; how does one move around with so many legs? Two figures with one face, etched out eyes and contorted features makes me think of darkness, and an inability to express oneself; there is confusion, maybe even frustration but the two figures remain silent because they have no voice.

Stings

“Stings” is the third in the series of four “bee poems” and in this poem, the speaker seems to be contemplating her existence, as well as her individuality. In the first verse, the speaker talks about handling the combs with her bare hands and she speaks about the throat of her wrist. I think that the combs represent her life and existence, and the baring of her bare wrist signifies how vulnerable she really is as no one really knows when accidents will happen, and the throats of their bare wrists will be slit open.

The second verse seems to focus on her existence  and the white teacup with pink flowers on it is in her hands, much like her life, and she is contemplating what to do with it.  In the third verse, she is terrified of the old cells as well as the fear of having bought wormy mahogany. The fossils hunt that people have been where she is at before, and that they have passed away. Once again she is thinking about her existence, and in the following verses, she makes the transition from contemplating her existence to thinking about her individuality as she does not want to become one of the fossils of shells.

The queen bee becomes an object of interest because without the queen bee, the hive is useless. I think that the queen bee stands for her purpose in life as she does not want her life to be purposeless, or for her purpose to be degraded.

The unmiraculous women that she speaks about are other women who do not dare to break the mold, and instead are content with their mundane lives. She does not want to become a “Honey-drudger” like them who have no purpose and are content with their lives being this way. Daring to break the mold has caused the speaker to live a somewhat lackluster existence, but she does not mind because she believes that she is making her own path through life even when she had to eat dust and dry plates with her hair. The speaker wonders if she will be hated for daring to be different and not wanting to conform to the standards and expectations that have been set for her.

In the seventh verse, the speaker seems to finally succumb to the pressure, and she becomes a drudger like the rest. In the tenth verse, the bees discover someone who had been an observer, and attack him. I think that this signifies the eccentricities of life how trouble can still find you even if you try to hide. When the speaker realizes this, she goes in search of her purpose, the queen bee which seems to be fleeing from her leaving her to remain a wax house without any purpose.

Howl

The first part of “Howl” is a graphic description of the torment of the best minds of his generation, who are made to experience every kind of pain and longing to the point that they become mad. It is clear that the minds that Ginsberg talks about have something to say but cannot speak freely because no one listens to them and no one understands. In the second part of the poem, the reason for the madness is explained by the imagery of Moloch, and what it represents.

                Moloch represents the rigidness of life and how no one is ever free from the clutches of Moloch; children scream under stairways, boys sob in armies, and old men weep in parks. Moloch is continuously expending youth and does not care for happiness or free will. Moloch has its rules and sets of expectations and as long as people allow Moloch to bash open their skulls and eat up their brains, they can carry Moloch on their backs. People who break down crying in white gymnasiums, who lone through the streets seeking visionary angels, who howl on their knees in the subway, who walk all night with their shoes full of blood, who cut their wrists three times successively unsuccessfully, are aberrations who have resisted Moloch who need to be silenced, or calmed, or put away. Moloch is ugly, and “Howl” is the cry of those who will eventually transcend the boatload of sensitive b.s and escape into the street.

                Most of the people in the first part of “Howl” did not live to see their breakthroughs, some of them never even had breakthroughs at all, and Rockland is where these people exist as Rockland represents a place where souls are lost and life ends. Ginsberg expresses hope that someday angelic bombs will be dropped, and the walls of Rockland will collapse, and they will wake up out of the coma, and they will all be free.

                Despair and hope are two of the major recurring themes in “Howl”, and entrapment is the source of this despair. Ginsberg resolves the notion of despair in the first poem by addressing the cause of despair in the second which is Moloch and expressing that hope will bring about freedom. In the third part he resolves the notion of entrapment by addressing Rockland and expressing hope that everyone will be free someday.