Poetry Reading - Let's interpret together
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Suggested this idea to DP some time last week and we thought why not? Other than writing poetry, one way we can help ourselves improve would be to read more poetry and attempt to interpret what the poem is trying to say. By exposing ourselves to the ideas, views and comments of one another, we can open our minds to the concepts behind poetry writing, be aware of things such as form, imagery, structure etc... that will help us in our own writing...
So I shall attempt to start this off with a poem that I had problem understanding but it still struck me deeply with some of the images and bleakness it presents.
Let's all do our own dissection of the piece and learn from one another!
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This is a poem written by Jayanta Mahapatra , a current Indian poet who writes in both Oriya and English.
The images that are presented in this poem are rather haunting (to me) and the last strophe is especially disturbing.
(From Random Descent, 2005)
Scream
A scream never ends. It tries
to be kind, but our hatred keeps
coming between us. The night stands
like a conqueror over it, the spear of darkness
held in her hands, the centre of everything.
Like a dark stubborn child, the scream.
Like its mother, cold, aloof.
It is inside my head all the time,
as days and shadows pass by,
till it wakens me to a different reality,
till it dislikes me for its throne's sake.
Ashes of sobs, the baying of hounds,
the snarling jaws of ceremony, the vomit of iron.
A scream tests warm, small innocences,
divests the long moment of its manhood.
Wild as the Dance, the Winds and Flood,
its deep streets are mortared with bone and blood.
Blindfold your scream again, sweet Mariam,
with the quick blood flowing down your seven-year thighs.
What is the poem about? What is it trying to project about life?? and childhood?? the reference to children / childhood seems to be consistent... but what is the scream referring to?
any ideas?? -
Originally posted by KittynMeow:
It appears to me that the author is trying to portray the agony of being raped. The subject is a 7 year old girl going through a mental and physical torment. The poem addresses the trauma.
This is a poem written by [b]Jayanta Mahapatra , a current Indian poet who writes in both Oriya and English.
The images that are presented in this poem are rather haunting (to me) and the last strophe is especially disturbing.
(From Random Descent, 2005)
Scream
A scream never ends. It tries
to be kind, but our hatred keeps
coming between us. The night stands
like a conqueror over it, the spear of darkness
held in her hands, the centre of everything.
Like a dark stubborn child, the scream.
Like its mother, cold, aloof.
It is inside my head all the time,
as days and shadows pass by,
till it wakens me to a different reality,
till it dislikes me for its throne's sake.
Ashes of sobs, the baying of hounds,
the snarling jaws of ceremony, the vomit of iron.
A scream tests warm, small innocences,
divests the long moment of its manhood.
Wild as the Dance, the Winds and Flood,
its deep streets are mortared with bone and blood.
Blindfold your scream again, sweet Mariam,
with the quick blood flowing down your seven-year thighs.
What is the poem about? What is it trying to project about life?? and childhood?? the reference to children / childhood seems to be consistent... but what is the scream referring to?
any ideas??
[/b]
I find this poem rugged and jagged. There is no fixed meter nor is there any consistency in its rhymes. Moreover it is too radical to be considered a lyric. -
It's a cry against something that is lingering or torturing this person mentally. And it's become a center of this person's world. It occupies this person's mind constantly. A scream suggests it's something extremely shocking. The environment is a harsh one no doubt -- baying of hounds, snarling jaws of ceremony -- implies mercilessness. There's no help or comfort to be found.
Reading it does conjure up feelings of something disturbing. Still I can't pinpoint exactly what it is about. The mention of a name makes me wonder about the significance of it. Does Mariam respresent something, some place, someone, or is it a real person? -
I'm not too sure what the use of the name "Mariam" is supposed to mean as well...
and generally the poem is a mite difficult...
perhaps reading this interview the author had with The Hindu newspaper would shed some light...
Brutal Landscape