"Modernist" metaphors in ten short poems: Thinking activity

Thinking Activity 

Modern Age

After the Victorian age in literature, there comes 'The Modern age'.  The early decades  of the 20th century, especially the period after World War I, is known as the Modern age. The characteristics of modern age are very much different from victorian age. The decline of agriculture and the growing urbanization of the country were major problems of the day. Modernism involved a radical and conscious break with the past, rejection of conventional Victorian morality and invention of new forms of expression.

Characteristics of Modern Age

i) Avant- garde
It is considered to be the hallmark of modern literature. It refers to position taken by high modernism. Avant Garde artists rejects tradition and undertake to 'make it new'.

ii) Stream of consciousness 
It is a method of narration that describes happening in the flow of thoughts in the minds of the characters.

iii)Imagism
It advocated the use of free verse, common speech patterns and clarity of expression through the use of precise visual images as a reaction to Victorian sentimentalism.

iv)Dadaism
It is an artistic and literary movement that emerged as a result of disgust with brutality and barbarism of the world war I

v)Surrealism
It inherited an anti-rational sensibility from Dadaism. It was shaped by Freud's theories of the subconscious. It believed in the superiority of the irrational, the unconscious and the unexpected.

vi)Esoteric
It is the main characteristic of Modern age which means only few learned, scholar can understand, not understand by all.

vii)Skepticism
 It is generally any questionong attitude or doubt towards one or more items of putative knowledge or belief. Here it is for those who doubt in religion.

viii)Futurism
It emphasized speed, technology, youth and violence, and objects such as the car, the airplane and industrial city.

ix) The Apocalyptic movement
It is the belief that end of the world is imminent and that a new heaven, new earth will replace the old one.

x) The Aesthetic movement
It supports the emphasis of aesthetic value more than social political theme. It means it focussed more on being beautiful rather than having a deeper meaning.

xi) Absurdity
State of being ridiculous or wildly unreasonable

Modernist symbols, imagery and  metaphors in short poems

1. The Embankment by T.E. Hulme

1. The Embankment by T.E. Hulme

Once, in finesse of fiddles found I ecstasy, 

In the flash of gold heels on the hard pavement. 

Now see I 

That warmth’s the very stuff of poesy. 

Oh, God, make small 

The old star-eaten blanket of the sky, 

That I may fold it round me and in comfort lie.

>This poem is about a fallen man, who falls down and lost his luxurious pleasure. He was sleeping on street, thats why he is asking to God to make small the blanket of sky, He  becomes that much poor that he didn't find blanket to cover his body. 

Modern Metaphors:-

i) Imagism- There is common speech pattern and clarity of expression, through the use of precise visual image like:-

 "The Old star-eaten blanket of the sky"

ii) Stream of consciousness

In this poem there is flow of thoughts in the mind of the characters, who is thinking about past and present, contarsting situations.

2. Darkness by Joseph Campbell

I stop to watch a star shine

in the boghole-

A star no longer but a silver 

ribbon of light.

I look at it and pass on

> This poem is very easy to understand. The speaker is no more interested to see the shining star anymore. For him there is no beauty in star. It becoems as usual, no matter of wonder. In this way the meaninglessness of life is decribed. How a person becomes bore with everyday routine and didn't find anything new in it.

Modern Metaphors

i) Absurdity

In this poem there is hopelessness and meaningless of person. How he became bored and didn't find any change in routine. Now the everyday thing did not gave him any pleasure. 

ii) Imagism

The direct apprehension of the subject in this poem marks it as imagist in technique.

"I stop to watch a star shine"

iii) Avant Garde

It means it rejects the tradition of looking at sky for the shining star and make it new by giving metaphor as a silver ribbon.

3. Image by Edward Storer

Forsaken lovers,

burning to a chaste white moon

Upon strange Pyres of loneliness and

draught

Modern metaphor

i)Dadaism

 This poem symbolized the characteristics of Dadaism means the poem is the result of  disgust with the brutality of world war I. 

"Upon strange Pyres of loneliness and draught"

This line symbolized the effect of world war, loneliness, draught. 

4. In a Station of the Metro by Ezra Pound

The apparition of these faces in the

crowd;

Petals on a wet black bough

This shortest poem is highly symbolist. Here we can find the modern metaphor of:-

i)Imagism

"The apparition of these faces in the crowd"

This line shows the  image of the faces in the crowd.

ii) "Petals on a wet black bough"

This line are highly symbolic, the bough symbolize the culture from which all the petals(humans) are connected in such a way that they can't escape from it, even if the tradition becomes darkened, wet, rotten. 

5. The Pool by Hilda Doolittle

Are you alive?
I touch you
You quiver trembling like a sea fish
I cover you with my net
What are you- banded one?

i)Esoteric
In this poem the poet tries to give modern metaphors by highlighting the esoteric quality. All lines are simple but still reader finds it difficult to get the deep meaning present inside it. These are meant for only specific people. At outer level of meaning we get that it is something about trapping the fish into net from pool. But in third line when the poet compares the trembling with sea fish,
"You quiver trembling like a sea fish",  then we can get an idea that it is not about catching fish into net but something about sexual perversion. How the girl is trembling in fear and the man tries to cover her with his hand.

6-  Insouciance By Richard Aldington

In and out of the dreary trenches
Trudging cheerily under the stars
I make for myself little poems
Delicate as a flock of doves.
They fly away like white-winged doves

i) Dadaism
In this poem we can find the characteristics of Dadaism, the phrase "dreary trenches" reflects the dreary experience of soldier who walks slowly near border. So here it again comes out as a brutal experience as result of World war.

ii)Aesthetic quality
The phrase "Delicate as a flock of doves" gives aesthetic characteristic to the poem. Flock of doves seems beautiful and it also symbolize the world peace, as they are in white color which always stands for peace.
The phrase "fly away" symbolizes the freedom of soldiers from the brutality of world war.

7. Morning at the Window by T.S. Eliot

They are rattling breakfast plates in basement kitchens,
And along the trampled edges of the street
I am aware of the damp souls of housemaids
Sprouting despondently at area gates

The brown waves of fog toss up to me
Twisted faces from the bottom of the street,
And tear from a passer-by with muddy skirts
An aimless smile that hovers in the air
And vanishes along the level of the roofs.

i) Imagism
This poem is highly using images to give reference about the main theme i.e. 'Poverty'.

"rattling breakfast plates", "brown waves of fog", "aimless smile" all these phrases are highly imagist,
which  draws away the picture of poverty that how human beings are suffering, they didn't even find food to eat.

ii)Effect of Industrialization

"Brown waves of fog" reflects the effect of industries, that how it polluted the air and makes its color brown. In this way we can aslo see poem as a result or suffering of labour class after the mechanization of industries.

8. The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams

So much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens

i)Imagism

This poem is highly imagist in which the poet used two contrasting  colors signifying various theme. For eg. "The Red Wheelbarrow" the title gives an idea about the color of the wheelbarrow i.e Red which symbolizes power and passion, blood whereas the white Chickens symbolizes the purity, innocence.

ii)Esoteric
It must be an esoteric poem which cannot be understood by all, which is meant for specific class, only those specific people can understand. It carries very deep meaning.

9. Anecdote of the Jar by Wallace Stevens

I placed a jar in Tennessee
And round it was, upon a hill.
It made the slovenly wilderness
Surround that hill.
The wilderness rose up to it,
And sprawled around, no longer wild.
The jar was round upon the ground
And tall and of a port in air
It took dominion everywhere.
The jar was gray and bare.
It did not give of bird or bush,
Like nothing else in Tennessee.


i) Esoteric
This is very confusing poem. It never be understood in first look.It also carries the esoteric quality of the modern age. Why the jar was placed in Tennessee?, which theme it follows?, what the poet wants to convey putting the jar in the Tennessee?.  All these questions raised in our mind while reading poem.

ii) Absurdity
This poem is really absurd as it doesn't follow any specific theme. There is meaninglessness in the poem.

Whether the poet wants to challenge the nature by putting the Jar in Tennesse, or just wants to prove about the power of nature, it cannot be understood. In first phrases teh Jar seems very beautiful and challenged the beauty of nature, but later on the phrase "It did not give of bierd or bush" make it powerless in front of nature that it cannot give birth to any bird or bush, but the mother nature can.

10. I(a- by E.E cummings

l(a... (a leaf falls on loneliness)

l(a

le
af
fa
ll

s)
one
l

iness

i) Surrealism
On the first look the reader can get confuse that whether it is a poem or a joke. Here the poet tried to give surreal effect to his poem, means the unexpected. A leaf falls on loneliness symbolized the fall of civilization, fall of morality.

ii)Existentialism
This can aslo be seen as an exixtentialist poem because a fall also indicates death of loneliness. When a person finds no reason to live and when he/she finds hi/her life meaningless and therefore they wish to commit suicide.

In this way manny Modernist characterictics we can find or can give to these modern poems which reflects the era of modern age.