Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Surrealism
Based on my understanding, surrealism is a style of art and writing that developed in the post World War II era. It is known for its use of surprise that develops by writing about imagination and the subconscious. I could see this development of the subconscious in Blue Like a Desert by Joyce Mansour. There were many places in the poem that came out of left field, just as elements of the imagination are unexplained. The lines that spoke to me the most were, "The winged sun loses its feathers on the horizon/The eternal summer laughs at the wet grave," (8-9). I found the imagery of the sun as a winged bird to be extremely satisfying. These two lines were a shift from the system Mansour previously put in place of discussing "those" and "they." Both of these lines started with what could be perceived as happy imagery and ended in a much darker place. For example, laughs and the sun are usually aligned with joy, but there comes a shift when Mansour places them with loses and wet grave. This leaves me with a sad feeling and focus on dark imagery, which is what I perceive monsieur was going for based on the fact that the title is a contradiction that moves from happy to sad within itself.
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Monica, I really enjoyed reading your blog post because it brought a lot of thoughts into my mind as to which technique is the best in terms of writing a poem that conveys thoughts and emotions. Like I mentioned in Hannah's post, do you feel that lines that compare two very unlike objects serve more of a purpose in enhancing the poem and displaying a visual image? Is this technique useful in all poems or the ones that are deemed to be filled with more more "emotion?" The unorthodox word choice really allows one to think about objects in a completely different light.
ReplyDeleteHi Monica,
ReplyDeleteAlthough I see the validity in your argument, I disagree that this poem is 'happy' in the first place. First off, the title is a metaphor suggesting a dry, scorching, and mostly barren devoid of life region is blue. Blue usually symbolizes water and vitally, however it is the opposite of what as desert is considered to be. Blue can also symbolize depression and agony. The first line, "Happy are the solitary ones," which in popular culture is not the case. Hermit and introverted individuals are sometimes considered outcasts. The poem is full of contradictions and the writer seems ambivalent.