**ASSIGNMENT**
(1) Pick two poems from Unfortunately, it was Paradise. Compare and contrast the two poems
**(hint: Since this series of poems spans Darwish's poetic career, one way of doing this might be by choosing two poems written at different times in his life.)
(2) Explain any central themes, identify strong language and tell us about your reaction to each poem.
Recommended length: 1-2 short paragraphs.
**Respond to these questions AND ALSO to at least one of your peers in order to receive full credit.
We Travel Like All People and I Belong There by Mahmoud Darwish are both poems revolved around the theme of home. We Travel Like all People is a about the lack of having a home. It expresses a sense of being nomadic. Home in this poem probably represents identity, culture or history. He alludes to psalms, prophets and the Son of Galilee and then concludes by saying that the journey might end through talking. I Belong There is about the sense of actually having a home. The actual home is probably Palestine. The poet refers to it as if he is not there at the very moment but knows that he belongs there. The sense of belonging is what this poem has, and the other yearns for.
ReplyDeleteBoth poems use the same theme through opposite perspectives. However, they directly correlate with eachother. Traveling is a way in which to cope with the sense of not having a home. It is the search. At times you find it, but you are far away from it, like the poet is away from Palestine. Nevertheless, once the culture and history is found, it can be carried everywhere.
-Leslie Valencia
This Hymn by Mahmoud Darwish is a very complicated poem about life. He writes about a hymn (most likely a hymn from his homeland) and discusses that how life speaks to us through our different experiences. I believe that Darwish is talking about how we choose to live life and how we are remembered. Essentially, we live and die, but life goes on. Darwish is reporting the message that you may not be remembered for your own life, but we will survive and ultimately find peace just by having gone through life.
ReplyDeleteThe second poem I read is called The Flute Cried. My understanding of the poem is that it's about Darwish's longing to go to Damascus. I believe that the flute's cry is symbolic to mean God's will. Darwish has been kept a part from Damascus and wishes he had more control over his life. I believe that The Flute Cried is similar to This Hymn in that they are both very spiritually focused. There is a common theme that life is bigger than the individual being and that we do not have control over what God has planned for us in life or death. I can definitely relate to the theme. I believe that being a Christian involves prioritizing God's will over your own life aspirations.
-Geoffrey
Leslie,
ReplyDeleteI really liked what you said about how traveling is a way to cope with not having a home. I agree! I think traveling can also be looked at as a search for belonging. For people who do have a home, traveling may still be a search. Some people want/need more and look for that home away from home. When he says the journey might end through talking, I believe he is talking about puting your life in context and understanding why your journey led you away from home.
-Geoffrey
The first Poem I read was I Belong There. This poem stuck out to me because of the gripping title. Just that simple phrase says so much about Darwish’s life, that he deserves to be somewhere but is not allowed, it’s a since of belonging that anyone can identify with which makes it so powerful. At the beginning of the poem, he explains why he deserves to be there, just as anyone else has a home, when he says things like “I was born and everyone is born… I have a house with many window.” These are basic concepts where the average reader can empathize with the poet, that yes, he does belong there because everyone has these experience and belongs at home.
ReplyDeleteThe other Poem is I See My Ghost Coming From Afar. This poem is a little different, in the since that it is more accepting of his position being forced to live outside of Palestine. Instead of saying he “belongs” there, he is how a ghost, watching others live their lives. He uses the imagery of a balcony, “like a balcony, I gaze upon what I desire” to describe the people he sees Canada participating in their daily routine, which he envies, but is able to live that normal life because his heart still yearns for Palestine.
-Taylor
Whoa! Leslie I didn’t even see that you did the same one! I wonder what made you choose that one; it was definitely the title for me. I think you brought up a lot of good points. You focused more at the end, where the poem comes full circle, while I focused more at the beginning...interesting. I like what you said about traveling alludes to not having a home. That theme probably applies to the other poem that I choose too, because there he is just watching other people, being envious of what he cant have, which is also a way of recognizing that he does not have a home.
ReplyDelete