The poem that I found to be most interesting was “Leda and the Swan.” I recognized the poem immediately because I had read a poem almost identical to it last semester in a Spanish literature class. Ruben Dario, a very famous Nicaraguan poet, wrote “El Cisne,” which translates in English to “The Swan.” “El Cisne” describes the rape of Leda, by Zeus, and the birth of her beautiful daughter, Helen, from a blue egg. What’s most interesting to me is that in “Leda and the Swan,” the significance of the poem was to depict the violence of the Irish civil war. However, the significance of the almost identical poem, “El Cisne,” is to depict the literary current ‘modernismo.’ Modernismo is a literary current which advocates art for art. Modernistos (as they are called in Spanish) desire to create beautiful art and nothing more. It is a rebellion against the industrial revolution, which demanded relevance in everything. Nothing was important if it was not useful to science or medicine. We can see that the poem is written under modernismo influence because Dario uses such symbols as a swan and the color blue, both of which are very popular in the modernismo current. It’s interesting to me to see how two different authors wrote an almost identical poem with completely different underlying themes.
I definitely feel that this poetry unit has changed my opinion about poetry over all. I’ve realized that not all poems are that hard to understand if you only do a little research on them. Some poems I’ve actually come to really like and admire, such as the “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and “The Lady of Shalott.” I feel more well rounded in the area of literature now that I am familiar with more than just popular novels and short stories.
Aqui esta “El Cisne,” escribo por el autor Ruben Dario:
(Here is “El Cisne” written by Ruben Dario:)
"Fué en una hora divina para el género humano.
El Cisne antes cantaba sólo para morir.
Cuando se oyó el acento del Cisne wagneriano
Fué en medio de una aurora, fué para revivir.
.
. . . .Sobre las tempestades del humano oceano
Se oye el canto del Cisne; no se cesa de oir,
Dominando el martillo del viejo Thor germano
Ó las trompas que cantan la espada de Argantir.
.
. . . .¡Oh Cisne! ¡Oh sacro pájaro! Si antes la blanca Helena
Del huevo azul de Leda brotó de gracia llena,
Siendo de la Hermosura la princesa inmortal,
.
. . . .Bajo tus blancas alas la nueva Poesía
Concibe en una gloria de luz y de harmonía
La Helena eterna y pura que encarna el ideal."
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6 comments:
I really like your comparison of "Leda and the Swan" to that spanish poem that you have written at the bottom of your blog. I find it facinating how two poems can be so identical to each other and yet be in completely different languages. I guess it goes to show that language is not so large of a barrier after all. I also agree with your statements about having a new regard for literature. I too feel more well rounded in part to the studies of poetry that we have done in class and on our own. I never really had much of a liking for poetry but after the unit that we just completed i definately have much more of a respect for the entire aspect of poetry, and poetry interpretation
Although "Leda and the Swan" was definitely not my favorite poem your comparison between the poem and "El Cisne" is really intriguing. I haven't taken spanish since freshmen year but it was interesting to try and pick out certain versus and key words that I could understand and see how they related to the poem we read in class.
What I did enjoy from "Leda and the Swan" were the references to Greek mythology. In highschool english I loved learning about the Greek and Roman Gods in mythology. A lot of bizarre things happened in mythology, the Gods could be cruel and it was so unusual to see how commplace rapes actually were in mythological stories.
First off, I wanted to tell yout that I, too, related Lewis Carroll to Michael Jackson at first, so it was interesting to read your comment on my blog that you made the comparison as well. As for The Swan and El Cisne...I never cease to be amazed by how big an impact Greek and Roman mythology have on so many different cultures. I'm an Italian major so I see parallels like this a lot. I must admit that I am not very well-versed in my mythologies, but I love learning new things. It's so unbelievable that two, almost identical works can be about two completely different things (Irish Civil War vs. modernismo). Great connection-making.
I am really glad you brought up this comparison between the two poems. I am a firm believer that the best poets are able to construct works that will be able to be analyzed in so many different ways that they can be interpreted to match any number of situations. Though these are different poems and not two interpretations of the same poem this is a different case, however, I feel a similar idea is embodied between the two works. In a way I believe this flexibility is what will allow a poem, and its author, to live forever.
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