This Poem is hard to get a handle on because it is so short and straightforward. It uses very powerful imagery and emotion. It provides a very vivid scene including sight and sound. At one point the poem describes the sound of steel on stones as the reapers sharpen their scythes to mow, and then a few lines later describes silence as they swing their scythes through the weeds and grass. The poem invokes sight when describing black reapers, black horses, and the blood-stained blade. The poem also deals a lot with action, power, and physicality. It describes sharpening the blades, swinging blades, horses DRIVING a mower through the weeds, a field rat being startled as he is cut through, squeeling and bleeding, the rat's belly being close to the ground. The scene is so dramatic and deals with so many feelings and senses, but is written in a way that is so cold and emotionless. The reapers just keep on swinging their blades and go on working.
I found it interesting that the reapers and the horses, who were doing all of the work in the poem, (which would probably not be considered very prestigious jobs) were both black. This could be interpreted as a racial theme. I am wondering when this poem was written. I believe the publication of the book was after the era of the progressives and muckrackers, but I thought this poem could have been interpreted as a story of the plight of the working man in this era and how workers seemed to be treated as mere machines without feeling or emotion who would keep working in the name of production no matter what happened. Maybe this was a call for more humane treatment of workers, especially African-Americans in this case.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
40 acres
This poem uses people and animals to represent not only Barack Obama and the African-American race, but the diverse types of responses from the American public. The young ploughman is representative of Obama, who also represents the accomplishments of the African-American race as a whole. There are "crows with predictable omens." They use the pun of "crow" to allude to the Jim Crow laws, which protected unfair treatment of African-Americans. There are "bespectacled owls," which I interpreted as believers or supporters in Obama, who are in amazement at the accomplishment of Obama and African-Americans as a whole. There is also a "gesticulating scarecrow stamping with rage at him [ploughman]" which I believe represents critics (probably due to race) who are upset that Obama has succeeded.
There are other puns and metaphors in the poem, such as the cotton field being 40-acres wide, which alludes to the broken promise offered to former slaves of a retribution of 40-acres and a mule. Also, in the poem "the small plough continues on this lined page," which could compare the plow in the slavery times to the pen today. Work must continue to be done, also alluding to the ploughman clearing the way for more things to come. The could represent this accomplishment clearing the way for new opportunities that are now more possible than ever. Towards the end of the poem, the narrator mentions that the ploughman feels a change in his "veins,/heart, muscles, tendons." These are all things that are vital for life and function. Also, the veins may allude to heritage, familial ties, and past history; parts of which are being overcome now with these new accomplishments.
There are other puns and metaphors in the poem, such as the cotton field being 40-acres wide, which alludes to the broken promise offered to former slaves of a retribution of 40-acres and a mule. Also, in the poem "the small plough continues on this lined page," which could compare the plow in the slavery times to the pen today. Work must continue to be done, also alluding to the ploughman clearing the way for more things to come. The could represent this accomplishment clearing the way for new opportunities that are now more possible than ever. Towards the end of the poem, the narrator mentions that the ploughman feels a change in his "veins,/heart, muscles, tendons." These are all things that are vital for life and function. Also, the veins may allude to heritage, familial ties, and past history; parts of which are being overcome now with these new accomplishments.
Monday, January 26, 2009
A nation celebrates as a new president – the first African-American ever to be elected to the office – is inaugurated; the future of the United States (and even the world, to some extent) rests in the hands of one man who promises change above all. As Derek Walcott writes, “Out of the turmoil emerges one emblem…of impossible prophecy.”
Walcott’s poem is an interesting one: the diction tells the story of a stereotype, but the connotations of the carefully crafted words provide a much deeper, more culturally relevant meaning. The poem itself is an extended metaphor. The subject, “a young Negro…in straw hat and overalls,” seems, on the most basic and literal level, like a persona out of a Twain novel. But given the occasion, it is clear that the subject represents a vision that has come to fruition despite the resistance present since its conception. Words like turmoil, impossible prophecy, omens, rage, moaning, and lynching all describe the forces opposing the success of the young Negro ploughman. There is even an allusion to the Jim Crow Laws that segregated generations of African-Americans (line 7). Each of these words carries with it a very real meaning for the ancestors of enslaved African-Americans. Collectively, they are a symbol of the oppression endured by an entire race.
Walcott’s poem, however, is much more than a retelling of the well-documented abuses of African-Americans. Instead of focusing on the past, Walcott comments on the “field and furrows” of the future. His subject plows on, past the ugliness of a history marked by violence, prejudice, and ignorance. For the ploughman, the field represents an opportunity, a clean slate with which to pursue the dreams that have been hidden from him by history. He can “feel the change in his veins, || heart, muscles, tendons”; this “change” is an obvious allusion to Obama’s presidential platform. However, I feel it important to mention that the ploughman is not necessarily our president-elect. Instead, the ploughman is the culmination of a great number of people who have shared a common vision of equality and humanity. Their combined efforts have made the way for the sower to come through and plant his crop, the yield of which remains to be seen.
Walcott’s poem is an interesting one: the diction tells the story of a stereotype, but the connotations of the carefully crafted words provide a much deeper, more culturally relevant meaning. The poem itself is an extended metaphor. The subject, “a young Negro…in straw hat and overalls,” seems, on the most basic and literal level, like a persona out of a Twain novel. But given the occasion, it is clear that the subject represents a vision that has come to fruition despite the resistance present since its conception. Words like turmoil, impossible prophecy, omens, rage, moaning, and lynching all describe the forces opposing the success of the young Negro ploughman. There is even an allusion to the Jim Crow Laws that segregated generations of African-Americans (line 7). Each of these words carries with it a very real meaning for the ancestors of enslaved African-Americans. Collectively, they are a symbol of the oppression endured by an entire race.
Walcott’s poem, however, is much more than a retelling of the well-documented abuses of African-Americans. Instead of focusing on the past, Walcott comments on the “field and furrows” of the future. His subject plows on, past the ugliness of a history marked by violence, prejudice, and ignorance. For the ploughman, the field represents an opportunity, a clean slate with which to pursue the dreams that have been hidden from him by history. He can “feel the change in his veins, || heart, muscles, tendons”; this “change” is an obvious allusion to Obama’s presidential platform. However, I feel it important to mention that the ploughman is not necessarily our president-elect. Instead, the ploughman is the culmination of a great number of people who have shared a common vision of equality and humanity. Their combined efforts have made the way for the sower to come through and plant his crop, the yield of which remains to be seen.
Forty Acres: “an enraving/an emblem”
Derek Walcott’s Forty Acres: A Poem for Barack Obama is a poetic retelling of Obama’s journey to becoming the 44th President of the United States. Phrases such as “out of the turmoil” and “emblem of impossible prophecy” reflect Walcott’s effort to carefully craft the story of the poem to parallel Obama’s story. The metaphor in the poem is strong, not just because of the thought provoking comparisons, but also in the beautiful language through which they are presented. While Walcott makes obvious metaphors (for example, he refers to President Bush as a “gesticulating scarecrow” and Obama as a “sower”), the more subtle, less politically charged metaphors seem to have most of the power in the poem. The conclusion particularly highlights this aspect of Walcott’s work: “feels the change in his veins…till the land lies open like a flag as dawn’s sure/ light streaks the field and furrows wait for the sower.” The phrase “open like a flag” has several powerful affects on the reader. First and foremost, the metaphor provokes a beautiful image. The connotation of that image relates to the “change in his veins;” the change being that America is as open for change as Obama is ready to be that change. The image also implies a sense of vulnerably (“the land lies open like a flag”), which is certainly a part of change. However, Walcott immediately reinforces that America is ready for this change; “dawns sure light streaks the field and furrow.” Ultimately, Forty Acres is the type of poem that will be lifted and upheld as a piece of art, perhaps “an enraving/an emblem,” that resembles a monumental moment in the history of human culture.
Viens are Vital
Derek Wolcott’s poem, Forty Acres: A Poem for Barack Obama uses numerous literary devices to develop a deeper meaning. A key literary device prevalent in this poem is Wolcott’s use of foreshadowing of the events leading up to President Obama’s inauguration: “Out of the turmoil emerges one emblem, an engraving” (1). To further the understanding of this foreshadowing Wolcott employs metaphors, as well several synecdoches.
Throughout the poem the young African American male is depicted as a “young ploughman.” Corresponding to the first line of the poem, “one emblem” will emerge “out of the turmoil,” this emblem is the young ploughman (1). From this turmoil emerges an emblem with an “impossible prophecy”, the oxymoron created by this makes events that recently occurred inevitable. Although this metaphor is important an understanding the poem, there is a synecdoche that demands thought.
Furthering the alteration occurring in the ploughman, Wolcott writes, “and the young ploughman feels the change in his veins. / heart, muscles, tendons,” (17,18). The veins that Wolcott speaks of in this line can be understood has the African American ethnicity. The change that is occurring in the veins of the young ploughman has changed, and that changed has placed its presence in the heart, muscles, and tendons of the race. The last line of the poem sums up the change that has occurred, “light streaks the field and furrows wait for the sower” (20). No longer will the constraints held upon African Americans be present.
The transformation of the “young ploughman” that Derek Wolcott depicts in this poem demonstrates the path that the African American race traveled in its “impossible prophecy” (3).
Throughout the poem the young African American male is depicted as a “young ploughman.” Corresponding to the first line of the poem, “one emblem” will emerge “out of the turmoil,” this emblem is the young ploughman (1). From this turmoil emerges an emblem with an “impossible prophecy”, the oxymoron created by this makes events that recently occurred inevitable. Although this metaphor is important an understanding the poem, there is a synecdoche that demands thought.
Furthering the alteration occurring in the ploughman, Wolcott writes, “and the young ploughman feels the change in his veins. / heart, muscles, tendons,” (17,18). The veins that Wolcott speaks of in this line can be understood has the African American ethnicity. The change that is occurring in the veins of the young ploughman has changed, and that changed has placed its presence in the heart, muscles, and tendons of the race. The last line of the poem sums up the change that has occurred, “light streaks the field and furrows wait for the sower” (20). No longer will the constraints held upon African Americans be present.
The transformation of the “young ploughman” that Derek Wolcott depicts in this poem demonstrates the path that the African American race traveled in its “impossible prophecy” (3).
Forty Acres: A Poem For Barack Obama... caesuras and enjambments
In Derek Walcott’s poem, Forty Acres: A Poem for Barack Obama there are ideas and images that are created by the unique word choice of the author. To help the reader or the audience see and understand them the Walcott also uses the literary tools, caesuras and enjambments. Using these slows down the pace at which the reader reads the text and pauses the reader at certain words so they know that there is some meaning and importance in the word chosen.
In the first line there is a caesura that is created with a comma to slow down the reader to comprehend the first seven word of the poem. Then the second line is ended by a comma which is an enjambment. This pause at the end allows the reader to take in the image that was created in the last line of “a young Negro at dawn in straw hat and overalls,”. Line three also has a caesura. This comma makes the reader think about the “impossible prophecy” or what is an “impossible prophecy”. It also allows Walcott to set up the next image of “a crowd dividing like the furrow which a mule has ploughed”. This is a strong image and also an image that can say a lot to a reader. Knowing this, Walcott used a caesura and an enjambment at the end of this line so the reader or audience can take in and ponder the meaning of this statement. The enjambment at the end of the line also sets up the next four word that are directed toward the previous statement. “parting for their president”, is an imaged that out of context might not make that much sense but with the use of an enjambment helps illustrates the allusion that a slave plowing the ground can represent the first African American President parting the way for a new life to grow.
In the first line there is a caesura that is created with a comma to slow down the reader to comprehend the first seven word of the poem. Then the second line is ended by a comma which is an enjambment. This pause at the end allows the reader to take in the image that was created in the last line of “a young Negro at dawn in straw hat and overalls,”. Line three also has a caesura. This comma makes the reader think about the “impossible prophecy” or what is an “impossible prophecy”. It also allows Walcott to set up the next image of “a crowd dividing like the furrow which a mule has ploughed”. This is a strong image and also an image that can say a lot to a reader. Knowing this, Walcott used a caesura and an enjambment at the end of this line so the reader or audience can take in and ponder the meaning of this statement. The enjambment at the end of the line also sets up the next four word that are directed toward the previous statement. “parting for their president”, is an imaged that out of context might not make that much sense but with the use of an enjambment helps illustrates the allusion that a slave plowing the ground can represent the first African American President parting the way for a new life to grow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)