Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The Gorgeous Gloom
I draw my title phrase from section 86 of "In Memoriam," mindful that even when Tennyson's poetry is most anguished it can't help being alluring and darkly beautiful. Anyway, I don't know if any of you will be reading these words (i.e., this blog posting) in advance of Wednesday's class, but especially since we have so much ground to cover with "In Memoriam" I'm wondering if any of you might be willing to share an observation here. Favorite section, for example? I know I'm always moved by #7, which describes the speaker/Tennyson visiting the house of his now-dead friend ("dark house, by which once more I stand"), almost hoping against hope that he'll see him come out the door; and then what a devastating final line to that little poem, "on the bald street breaks the blank day." That may be the most powerful and stark articulation of despondency to be found in the entire poem. I also love the music and freshness of #86 (a song of Spring amidst the gloom), and then the poignance of #95, when the speaker is moved upon re-reading the letters of his dead friend ("so word by word, and line by line, / The dead man touched me from the past"). How are you all doing with this poem, which may be one of the more ambitious (at least in terms of length and scale) that we'll read all semester? Incidentally, for those of you desperate for some prose at this point, take heart: we'll be entering Heart of Darkness in precisely two weeks ...
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#86 is definitely one of my favorites, it has a sensuousness to it and the way it drifts along like a dream and reaches some exalted state towards the end, is really lovely. The last line breaks my heart.
ReplyDelete#50 really made me realize why Queen Victoria said she kept "In Memoriam" and the Bible by her bedside. It almost instills strength with the repetition of "Be near me..", yet it's also kind of sad through the recognition of the speaker's own mortality, as in "when I fade away," or "when my faith is dry."
ReplyDeleteI really liked how Time ("a maniac scattering dust") and Life ("a Fury slinging flame") were personified in the second stanza. Very appropriate.
I really enjoyed class today. I had no idea that Tennyson could be so moving. I think part of the reason In Memoriam has resonance for me is that a friend of mine died a couple days ago and it was a shock. He dropped dead in fact. So, I think the process and questions that Tennyson is bringing up are ones that are occupying my thoughts. Definitely not depressing for me just something else I can't put my finger on.
ReplyDeletemy favorites are 54-56.
ReplyDeletei just love to see some person struggling with those sorts of doubts/questions.
and overcoming them
My favorite is #130 because of the hope that Tennyson displays at the end, the notion that life continues after death for both the deceased and those left behind. It is a very poetic and beautiful way to say that those we love never truly leave us.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your friend, Michelle. Someone in the afternoon class also suffered a loss recently and consequently felt especially attuned to this poem's concerns. I guess a poem like this can make you feel like you're reading someone who understands (understood) what you're experiencing.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part is #50. It is something I would read at a loved one's funeral. It feels so desperate, urgent...he is trying to recover from his friend's death, but he can't seem to move on. "Be near me," he says, seeming to acknowledge an ongoing spiritual presence...
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'll never forget the line, "...Time, a maniac scattering dust." It is a really powerful and dark, yet amusing, image.
I think it took alot for him to go through this grief process and put it on paper. Im glad we were able to be a part. Im sorry for the losses that youve expressed. I too lost my friend. The depth of grief and loss is surely in the lines of this.
ReplyDelete