Prophets Dawud

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The lover for shamefastness poem by Thomus Wyatt

A “The lover for shamefastness”  

“The long love that in my thaught I harbor"

The lover for shame fastness is romantic passionate praiseworthy and thought provoking poem by Thomas wyatt. He is famous for giving a Sonnet it's pure English form. He translate the Italian patriarch Sonnets into English. He took the idea from The Patriarch Sonnet , but the stylization of the subject is wyatt's own.

This poem is about the highly emotional and sentimental passion "love" . The same idea is discussed by surrey in his beautiful poem "complaint of a lover rebuked".   the poet seems to have gone Far Away on the road of love but his beloved behaviour make his condition miaserable.

"The long love that in my thought I harbour........ Displaying his banner"

In the very start of the poem the poet accept that love take control over his heart and mind. Love is personified as the lovers master. It appears boldly on his face and shows his occupation by waving a flag on it. The poet is unable to control the overwhelming nature of love which occupies the territory of his heart and mind.

“She that me learneth to love and to suffer”

Here the poet says that, that is his Beloved who taught him to love and suffer .she is now not happy with him. She seems to be selfish and left him in the time of crisis. She wants from him to control his Passion Of Love, she has rejected his expression of love. So the love has retreated and hidden deep itself into core of his heart and would not come out at any call.

"What may I do, when my master fearth"

Now the poet feel himself fix in this situation. He find it hard to decide what to do next? what course of step should be taken in the future? He find his master is fearing i-e love.Because he is rejected by his beloved. But the lover decides that he would stay with his master in his entire life because he thinks that “the real thing is not service but to being ready for service at any time”. The lover vows to remain faithful to his master. He determined to live a life of faithfulness and such a life is worth living in the world.

The poet concept of love in this poem is Masculine. He further increases the emotional intensity of the poem with vivid metaphor and complex rhymes. Instead of familiar diction of love poet uses the language of Business and politics.

The word “forest” implies darkness and unseen dangers suggesting

" A psychological landscape bristling with feelings and dark enough to hide in"  the diction and the imagery shows the harshness of tone.

To conclude it can be said that the theme of the poem is love poet uses the language of business and politics. As compared to surray poetry wyatt's poetry lacks artistic softness Rhythm and musicality. The language shows that the poet is simple person and does not know how to overcoat his feelings like usually lovers do.

“If a man is not faithful to his own individuality, he cannot be loyal to anything.”

Amazed by the Quran with Nouman Ali Khan Special Counsel for Prophet Isa

Let,s dive deep into Adrinne Rich,s Poem “ The Diving into the wreck"

“Diving into the wreck”

Introduction

The “diving into the wreck” is a Rich’s most celebrated poem, a complete metaphorical poem, unanimously (agreed) more epic (impressively great) of our modern times. In this poem the poet gives the description of the sea, her dive into the sea and various things she observed and her experiences underwent are very beautifully narrated and described. It is also an adventures story because of poet dive into the sea for the quest. But it must say that it is not a simple adventures story.  When we give a deep look on this poem it contains very serious issue of feminist freedom her identity and the traditional society chains that have tied the women. The poet is fed up from the society so-called traditions and history, including her relationship with men and especially her own self-deception about who she is as a human being.   

Adrienne Rich through her works in literature wants to educate her readers, her works have a lesson. Rich’s poetry is full of emotions and feelings her writings invokes the reader. She does not only deal with the personal issue but also with the political, cultural and social issues. Rich’s write not only for herself but also for all women ’s.She writes honestly, fearlessly and courageously.

 Same in the case of this poem “diving into the wreck “ Rich speaks and writes passionately about feminist freedom, her rights, talks about her identity and she conveys these ideas to her readers mind through this poem by using the images of the underwater world which are not seen by many. She creates a mysterious yet exhilarating journey to exploring feminism by taking the reader to a forgotten shipwreck.

The poem “Diving into the wreck” is a poet’s quest for feminist freedom, the quest of her subjectivity and identity and freedom from her past. This quest is something beyond myths, about the truths of men and women, about I and You and He and She, about the powerless and powerful .this is the struggle for women in a male dominant society. Rich identifies many aspects of life including reality, memory, emotions and journeys and in each aspect, the feminist issue is shining upon the speaker with the presence of sunlight.

The “Title”  “Diving into the wreck”   seems simple and calm, but there are strong currents underneath. On one hand, this title accurately describes what's going on in the poem. This realistic description is important. The title would be a simple description of the subject of the poem. The poet dives into the wreck to find out some information, dive is an effort to re-establish some facts commonly accepted as true or explore or analyze something. Symbolically we can say that wreck is the existence of women throughout the centuries. The wreck is the maltreated and exploited existence of women.  

The “subject” of this poem is diving into the wreck to find out hidden truths and treasures. It is a double layered poem on a surface level this poem is about the story of the adventure of diving into the wreck to see the damage that was done and the treasures but on a deeper level, this is the representation of women who are diving into the past.

This poem is a complete metaphorical poem. The metaphor is a literary device, used to relate things. Same as in the case of this poem Rich relates the diving into the wreck to the diving into the past or dive into the culture, the damage that was done with the wreck is related to the damage that was done to the women soul by culture by society. The poem throws light on an issue which is mostly denied, she tries to set the position of women in a male-dominated society. In a “background” poet tries to talk to the man about women feelings, her emotions, her struggles, maltreated her by using her just as a subject for sexual relations, male force sexuality upon them and the damage that was done by society cultural bondage.

Poet used different “themes” in this poem one of them is  “Theme of exploration” exploration is the activity that takes place in this poem, poet dives into the ocean to explore hidden truths, treasures and damages. The poem suggests that exploring is not just refer to looking at the ship, there might be emotional, internal exploration going on here.

“Exploration is the engine that drives innovation”.

The “Theme of man and the natural world” This poem describes a journey toward unity with the natural world. At first, the poet feels awkward about being in the ocean, but gradually she evolves into a "mermaid" or "merman," a creature of the sea. This poem is about exploring and changing and feeling, but on a simple level it's a story about how we come into contact with nature

“Being in touch with the natural world is crucial”

The “theme of feminism” Adrienne Rich is a radical feminist with the vision of new world order. Feminism aims at consciousness rising in women. In the words of Mary Daly;

“Women have experienced life only through the patriarchal perspective on the boundaries of patriarchal space.”

In “Diving into the wreck” Rich expresses her opposition to the male stranglehold of the female mental landscape that results ultimately this struggle for empowerment and action, the development of her determination to write directly and openly as a woman out of a woman's body and experience.

“Feminism is not about making women stronger. 
Women are already strong.
It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength”

The “Theme of transformation”  in "Diving into the Wreck." The things are changing, First, we watch the poet put on fins, change into a diver. Then we enter the water, a whole new world, with new rules. She has become many people, a man, a woman, a sea creature, a representative of all people who have ever experienced disaster.

The “theme of gender” is the major subject of this poem. Rich used the term androgyny, Rich becomes androgyny and wants to observe the damage that was done to the female race and the treasures that prevail in their rights. Her struggle for the voice of rights is single-handed.

“It is not about gender, it is about experience, leadership, and vision”.

When we “critically analyze” this poem of journey and transformation Rich is tapping the energies and plots of myth, while re-envisioning the content. While there is a hero, a quest, and a buried treasure, the hero is a woman; the quest is a critique of old myths; the treasure is knowledge: the whole buried knowledge of the personal and cultural foundering of the relations between the sexes, and a self-knowledge that can be won only through the act of criticism.

Symbolism is the core of the poem. Apparently, the poet is a diver who is to dive into the wreck to search out the damage and treasures. The sea is the metaphor of the world. The wreck is the wreck of culture, the wreck of society and wreck is a woman. The society where individual recognition of the woman is sacrificed and drowned for the sake of male dominance.

“First having read the book of myths, And loaded the camera…..I put on ……The grave and awkward mask….. I am having to do this…….But here alone”.

The poet read about the traditional standards, she decides to explore the truth herself. Rich has decided to dive deep to extract the real meanings and status of a man-woman relationship.

 Rich is not an expert diver but her confidence i.e. the flippers will help her to explore the wreck. Before starting her diving she is fully equipped with tools like a traditional diver but here diving is not traditional. She has read the book of myths (traditional definitions of man-woman relations).

The words MYTHs, CAMERA, KNIFE-BLADE, BODY ARMOUR, FLIPPERS AND MASK, all are metaphorical words which symbolize the hidden meanings. The loading of a camera refers that she prepares herself to dives into the wreck of her life which is destroyed by the lies of others and her own acceptance of these lies. The book of myth symbolizes the detail of traditions that society follows, the flippers symbolically means the source of investigation, the mask is that awkward device that is used to hide the identity which so-called society puts on women face symbolically mask is her ambition. Alone symbolizes the loneliness, shows the condition of women in the past and in the present which is hollow from inside and she alone has to face the social problems their cultures and in their struggles as that Rich have to dive into wreck alone without any support or team.

“Loneliness is the poverty of self”

“There is a ladder …….it is a piece of maritime floss, some sturdy equipment.”

In the 2^nd stanza, the poet uses word ladder which symbolically means the process of a gradual change in a women identity, Ladder, in fact, is a source of gradual rise and fall, the planned and understood rise and fall. The natural sources or chances are always present for a person to take courage and set new ambitions. These natural sources can be easily recognized and we all have been used these sources in common circumstances even. But mostly in our problems and confusions we don’t focus on the usage and importance of these sources, if we think they are usable, they are useable otherwise they are nothing. The process of rising and fall is simply available with our campaigns and movements.

“The only safe thing is to take a chance”. 

“I go down …..the blue light….I crawl like an insect down the ladder…...to tell me when the ocean, will begin”.

 The poet goes step by step deep into the water. I go down shows the quest for I and YOU, HE and SHE.  Under the water, she was still under the force of life. From surface to depth she felt the light changes from clear to dark. The poet has tried to penetrate the cultural norms very cautiously yet she has to take care of the past and future. Blue light symbolically means the familiarity. The words like BLUE LIGHT, CLEAR ATOM’S, HUMAN AIR makes us feel that we are diving into the sea with her, OXYGEN here is symbolized for life and survival. All these words actually symbolize the familiar elements that were aiding her in her dive. Like an insect symbolically shows the position of a women gender in the culture of history where they are considered as opposed to human beings as inferior to human beings, treated as a lower creature.

“The truth is not just what you find when you open a door, it itself a door …..”

“The wreck and not the story of the wreck

The thing itself and not the myth…”

She tries to remind us of the purpose of her dive. She has dived into the water to know about the wreck not the story of the wreck that told by other people or written in books of the wreck. She tries to penetrate the history of women to take the first-hand knowledge. She does not want to believe in the myth, the standards maintained and set by society or men themselves. She wants to find out the originality and the role of women themselves in the establishment of their myth.

“THIS IS THE PLACE

AND I AM HERE THE MERMAID WHOSE DARK HAIR

STREAMS BLACK, THE MERMAN IS HIS ARMOURED BODY…”.

Here is the time where Rich feels unable to understand her own identity, whether she is a mermaid or merman? She says;

“I am she: I am he…”

She had dived into a wreck as a woman but when she reached near the wreck, she discovered that she had not only become a man but a combination of man and women- Androgyne. She feels that the real women are laying rotten far away in the history deep down the culture. She feels like an androgyne and says that;

“We are the half-destroyed instruments…”

The man and women both are destroyed. both were going on their respective course but both are betrayed. She feels that in the course of time men and women are like a water-eaten log. The culture has eaten some part of them both.

“WE ARE, I AM, YOU ARE

BY COWARDICE OR COURAGE….”

Here the poet says that either we are androgyne or have separate identities, we try to find our way to our past partially for our cowardice to face the challenges of future or courage to rehearse the conditions of past. We have our natural equipment to support our security and liberty. Courage here symbolize the desire to go ahead, the poet is confused here to point out the reason for going back into the past. She is not sure whether she has come to see the wreck for her fear of going ahead or desire of going farther. She says that if we love to rehearse the conditions prevailing in our past, we should be well equipped with modern paraphernalia.

“If you have a problem just see inside, you will found a solution”.

Adrienne Rich dives into wreck but comes out with a knowledge that her name is not in the book of myths. It simply means that she is different from the women living in the past – the women lying as wreck deep down the culture.

In the “view of critics”; Ruth Whitman write about this poem

“I believe that ‘Diving into the Wreck’ is one of the great poems of our time. It is a poem of disaster, with a willingness to look into it deeply and steadily, to learn whatever dreadful information it contains, to accept it, to be part of it, not a victim, but as a survivor.”
Cheryl Walker says that;
“In the title poem, "Diving into the Wreck," surely one of the most beautiful poems to come out of the women's movement, the explorer--simultaneously male and female--achieves something close to a mythic density. The figure is passionate but with an isolation and passion transparent to the universal. The poem is utterly personal but there is nothing in it which draws away into private life”.

Adrienne Rich use art in her poem to educate her readers. Rich’s poetry “style” do nothing but stir a wide array of emotions within the readers. “Diving into the Wreck” is a poem of ten stanzas in free verse. The poem is written in the first person. The first-person voice allows the poet to address the reader directly as if recounting her own experience. The tone of the poem appears to be a dreamlike description. We may assume that the poetess possesses a deep impression in her mind of physical moments underwater.

 The “imagery” is so perfect that the whole picture gives a wide impression in our mind. The utilization of words like BLUE LIGHT, CLEAR ATOMS, BLACKING OUT, RIBS OF THE DISASTER, SILVER COPPER VERMILE CARGO, all these words give a beautiful description in the poem. We feel that we are not reading the poem but we are watching some picture motion.

The literary device, a “technique” which is mostly used in this poem is a metaphor. Sea is the metaphor of the world and the wreck is the metaphor of culture of women. it is completely a metaphorical poem.

 In “conclusion” the poem “DIVING INTO THE WRECK” is a highly symbolized and metaphorical poem. Basically, the poem is the struggle for women rights in the male-dominated society and tries to find the reasons for women suppression. The poet has dived into the water to find out not only the damages but also the treasures or the plus points done to the wreck or to the women of the past. The wreck though dead in apparent meanings yet living much better than most of the actually living but inwardly dead creatures.

 In other words, we can say that she is talking about the plight of women in the 20^th century where she is so much mentally crippled that she has become a mental androgyne. Her nature is still feminine but her function has become masculine.

“Feminism is not about making women stronger. 
Women are already strong.
It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength”

  But it also covers many other aspects of life including sentiments, reality, memory and journeys, but more prominently the feminist approach. It reflects the descriptive power which is evident by the imagery, the symbolism and the technique utilized extensively in the poem. Thus we may say that the poem is a reflection of the poetess’s approach, her descriptive and her capabilities . all these qualities make the poem highly appreciable.

“Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth"

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