Truth in Nudity

William Carlos Williams discusses truth in the poem, "Danse Russe". He discloses how he, being the man of his home is not free from societies bindings until no one is watching. Even his wife and children must be asleep, "my wife is sleeping/ and the baby and Kathleen/ are sleeping," he states that he is finally able to be naked (1-3). His transformation of feeling is present. First he discloses that he is lonely in song, "I am lonely, lonely./ I was born to be lonely./ I am best so!" (11-13). This internal reflection of his current state of feelings he freely exposes as something that must be. To Williams being lonely is his most suitable option. Then remarkably he is nude; facing the truth that is himself, and he is "the happy genius of [his] household"(18). This poem shows that facing the truth and coming to terms with life can be more comforting than hiding from one's self.

Submission

Although in its entirety it is only a quatrain, Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poem, “Grown - Up,” is powerful in that it is relatable to all. The poem discusses the transformation from adolescence into adulthood that every human being goes through. At this time youth usually rebel against their parents and pray for a time when they can stay up late and do as they please without the heavy controlled lives that they are forced to live by their parents. Millay discusses this rebellion by stating that she, “…sobbed and cursed and kicked the stairs,” clearly a young girl that wanted to live life in a different manner (2). As much as we despise our parents in adolescence we begin to act accordingly with their views the older we become. Millay questions why she behaved in such a rebellious manner if she would eventually submit to the way society would have her to behave and even go to bed “at half-past eight” (4).

Prefer Nothing to Painful Feeling

Memories seem to play a key role in the development of plot in T.S. Eliot’s, “The Waste Land”. It also seems to be the source of pain throughout the development of the characters and their stories, and I find it to be particularly relevant to part I, The Burial of the Dead. Eliot dwells in hurt and shows his depression of memories that are sweet but in the negative present only causes pain. He shares a familiar beginning line, “April is the cruelest month…,” but takes an unusual path in his description of an upcoming season that is usually regarded as a positive outcome (1). Instead of looking forward to the upcoming blooming season that is typically an allusion to the renewal of life and new beginnings, Eliot dreads its arrival. He would rather feel nothing as apparent in his reflections of the winter, than deal with the upheaval of emotions that the new season will bring. He describes the “forgetful snow,” as a better alternative than the “memory and desire, stirring/ dull roots with spring rain,” clearing showing that Eliot would be more content with the act of forgetting (6, 3-4).

Confusion and Anxiety

The Waste Land is a connected jumble of interrelated stories and thoughts that reflect T.S. Eliots depression and terrible state of mind. Although is has been noted to be his greatest work, I cannot get over the extreme complexity that is seemingly on purpose. Eliot fills the poemm with different languages that cannot be easily translated, as well as, many references to other works including Chaucer and Tristan and Isolde; all these elements come together, at least in the mind of Eliot, but is not true for all others reading his work. The feelings of confusion and frustration arise when reading this poem and I believe that it is impossible to faintly comprehend without notes explaining what he means. T.S. Eliot being a poet, who is known to be an intregral part of the modernist period brings all of the main characteristics into this one work. It is most clearly noted as experimental due its form and complex plot.

Unlike Any Love Song I Have Ever Known

T.S. Eliot's poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufock," does not read as a typical personified view of a love song. In fact, the narrator seems to distance himself from his potential love interest as the poem progresses instead of drawing closer. This distancing is showed in two distinct ways. The first way being his description of location. He begins by inviting his love interest to certain places like in the second stanza, "Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets," which shows his intense want for immediate interaction (4). Then in the end, brought on by a gradual change of heart Eliot shows great distance through references to vast oceans. The second way that distancing is displayed is Prufock's view of himself. Although the narrator describes and seems to be quite educated in the world, Eliot shows that he is not confident in himself. He states that, "Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse/ At times, indeed, almost ridiculous-/ Almost, at times, the Fool," which shows his seemingly defeat brought on not by dismissal from the potential lover, but by himself (117-119). This is unlike any love poem I have ever known and focuses solely on lack of self-love and not the pursuit of love from another.