Following up from the themes introduced in the previous class, the next set of poems, from "Up-Beat" to "Passing", share several of the same traits encountered in previous poems. I will provide three distinct observations that I feel are important, and give a discussion question on each.
An important observation, in my opinion, is the cue to listen: this is found in only a few poems, but the poems themselves seem to have the word "Boogie" in their titles, as seen in the very first poem "Dream Boogie" on 221, "Easy Boogie" on 229, "Boogie: 1 a.m." on 250, and in "Lady's Boogie" on 251. The latter poem is particularly interesting. In "Dream Boogie", the cue to listen to something is made, but the sound itself is not made clear. In "Lady's Boogie", a hint is perhaps made as to what the cue is referring to. The second stanza reads, "But if she was to listen / I bet she'd hear, / Way up in the treble / The tingle of a tear" (Hughes 251). Although embedded in musical terminologies, the "boogie" seems to indicate something that evokes sadness or pain. Thus, it is no wonder that a lady "dressed so fine" (ibid.) needn't worry about any troubles.
Another important observation is the presence of another voice in some of the poems. Some stanzas are in regular font, while others are in italics. In "Deferred", these two 'voices' both play important roles. Based on what I can discern from the stanzas, both the italic voice and the regular voice are imagining a future for themselves; in others, they are dreaming of a potential life that may be within reach. However, both voices seem to pursue different things: one wants a "white enamel stove" (Hughes 252), the other wants "to study French" (ibid.). Whether or not this is a conflict of interest, this poem clearly seems to indicate the deference of individual and collective goals.
Finally, the juxtaposition of some poems and their titles may point out a change in 'tempo' of this literary album. The succession of poems from "Up-Beat" to "Be-Bop Boys" all have musical titles, while "Low and High" and "High and Low" are placed among "Boogie" titles. The last grouping of titles ought to be elucidated. The final four poems from "Mystery" to "Passing" all revolve around a church, particularly one during a Sunday morning service. In troubled times, a house of worship seems to be one of the only places of refuge for those who are suffering. Yet, most of these poems appear to be very optimistic, with jubilations and exclamations all proclaiming the love of the Lord, such as "Hail, Mary, mother of God!" or "Amen! Hallelujah!" (Hughes 256). Both of these are found in "Mystery", and in this same poem, there also appears to be a hint of anxiety among all of the excitement, similar to the "Boogie" poems. The words in standard font are all laudatory, but those in italics appear to be cries for help, in a way; wishes to be carried home, chants in Church Latin, and a small trace of Olde English appear to be very sincere and genuine pleas for deliverance.
Based on the above, I will pose three questions for discussion. Hopefully, this has all been articulated clearly and makes sense...
-Q1: Songs are sometimes composed to pass on a story of suffering or great woes. In the Aeneid, an epic poem (which is typically sung in verse), Aeneas nearly weeps when recalling his terrible experience at Troy, and tells Dido that both Trojans and Greeks would cry upon hearing the story of the war (Verg. Aen. 2.3-8). What are your impressions of the oppression and sufferings in these poems when they are put into the framework of a 'song'? How would these be communicated differently if they were not part of a musical score, or at the very least, if they were not poems at all?
-Q2: Based on your reading of "Deferred", what seems to be the prolonged pursuits of these two voices? Material goods like TV sets or nice suits? Personal knowledge and content, like the French language or a happy marriage?
-Q3: What common 'threads' do you see in the pairings of poems with similar titles? They must be arranged so by design, but why?
Brandon,
ReplyDeleteYou raised a couple of profound discussion questions, of which I'd like to address the second and the third.
The speaker of "Deferred" is fixated on the "white enamel stove" and studying French. Meanwhile, a number of major life events - graduation, a daughter's wedding, a son growing up - merely seem secondary to these artificially constructed goals. The speaker's prolonged pursuits overshadow his ability to, well, live life. Material goods - and I do believe that French classes would also fall under this category - are at the forefront of this old man's concerns. Although he does desire a happy marriage, a partner who will work with him instead of against him, notice that it all boils down to a television set, a radio, and a dream deferred.
To me, the third question immediately recalled the poems "Low To High" and "High To Low," which seem to engage each other antithetically. We could choose to read poems such as these as (1) a solitary speaker having an internal dialogue or (2) two distinct speakers who are familiar with each other having a dialogue. With that being said, I would like to ask the following: Which one of these possibilities could we think of the handful of related poems as? Can they be seen as both? Are there more options?
These were just a few of the thoughts that struck me when reflecting on your discussion questions.
--J.C.