Caution everyone! You will have quite a busy weekend clogging the virtual highways.
I would like you to look at Funeral Blues by W.H. Auden.
Share your thoughts with us on this thought provoking poem.
"Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone"
Don' t you think this is a bit over the top when dealing with grief?
Hello, Mdm Juridah and my fellow coursemates.
ReplyDeleteAgain, my comment below is personal and my deepest apologies if my words and personal thoughts offend anyone. I mean no harm because I don't kill... except mosquitoes and flies.... ANYWAY!!
When I read this poem, i feel as though the persona is trying to lash out to the world to acknowledge the fact that someone dear to her has passed away. And with the death of that person, there is something in the heart or life of the persona which has also died and can never ever be resurected because of the strong emotions felt for him. This brings about the feeling of despair.. as though like questioning where should the persona go from then on.
I think it is not that over the top when the persona request for everything to stop and everybody should moan for the loss too. After all, in many real-life situations, we as human beings tend to want people to give some sort of recognition when something bad happens in a person's life. Take for example, I am sure many of us in our real life, we had our hearts broken before, right? From the tiny weenie things like can't buy the favourite Ipod because it is all sold out and you really wanted one to show off; to seperating/ divorcing with a partner and finally to the life and death do us apart situation. In all these scenarios, when we are the losers, we tend to want people to come comfort us and we get angry when people go around feeling happy and gay as though life is a bed of roses when it is not. It definitely will not which is THE thought when your life takes a turn for a worse. In the death do us apart situations, life will no longer be the same and definitely there will be effects of the after death towards the persona. And what more does someone in this hell-like situation want than to have people in the whole wide world feel the same pain as he/she does to prove the greatness of her feeling towards that loss and be sympathetic enough to offer condolences (which is literally shown in the poem, too)
But then again, as I mentioned in my previous entry, at that time when you feel down and out and as though the world is closing in, by all means I feel you have every inch and ounce of reason to be sad, lost and downtrodden. At that time, you can let your emotional side take over and people around you will understand your circumstance. At least I will considering it is a life and a relation to someone thaat is gone forever. And yes, at that time, you can shout, bite, go out of control, be sad, brood and be 'ugly' and no one will judge you. But, I think it is not appropriate to possess and take the situation for granted just because people around is giving in. AFter all, other people have a life to go on and there is no reason for them to deal with you being so sad and unhelpful in creating the world a better place. I believe that there is a fine line between poor thing and pathetic. So when one goes on and on and on about their sadness and the grief, sometimes it is overwhelming, especially when other people can handle grief in a better way and start questioning why cant you do the same. I mean, come on, we are all human beings. We tend to judge other people and who better to compare them to anyone but ourselves. Have you ever get caught in such situations of passing judgemental remarks about someone compared to you? =)Yes yes.. Nod your head because we are all guilty of it though not in dark siatuations like this. Perhaps, passing a remark on the girl who wears scantily or smirking at the overweight guy who bought the largest size of Big Mac with extra cheese topping? You get the picture.. =]
So, time heals all wound and death is something that one will not forget. Go ahead, grief and show it as much or little as you want; be it man or woman. No one has any right to say that way of grieving is wrong or right. BUT, not too much and overly done especially over some time. Too much of something is always bad enough.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI guess that in this poem Auden writes from a woman's point of view. That woman in this poem talks about the death of her lover. While I can see how in the first two stanzas it could be said that a man is talking, I believe there are too many little details that a man would not think of. For example "put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves". it can be said that Auden was writing of the funeral for a fallen soldier, but if that is the case then why does he say in later stanzas "He was my North, my South, my East and West,/ my working week and Sunday rest," I believe that there is plenty of evidence to support that a woman is talking about the death of her lover and that the sense of emptiness you feel after the loss of a loved one is why she no longer believes life is worth living.
I have different idea with Suet Yet. In my opinion, "Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone" conveys the meaning of overwhelming grief. Author's demonstrates inconsolable grief by commanding the audience to do something which is not possible such "Stop all the clocks." This reference to time could also be an allusion to the death and brevity of life which cause the author such agony. Clocks ticking, telephones ringing, dogs barking, pianos playing, of the day in order that everyone may mourn this death are the words represent how the author wants to eliminate the distractions.
Regards,
Yew
GS 25354
Good morning Pn Ju and friends.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Suet Yet that those confronted with death feel that everything is closing down on them and that no one else understands what they are going through. Auden is probably in that state too when writing the poem. He has just lost a loved one and he feels that everyone should mourn with him, hence the line "stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone". He feels that no one has a right to carry on working, things should come to a standstill, he is grieving and everyone else should grieve with him; there is no use continuing anymore, everything is lost, so why should the clocks continue ticking..
I feel that anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one would feel as Auden does even if they do not express it in words. It is as if their whole world is shattered, there is no meaning in life anymore. Of course this is a result of a lot of love and attachment for the dead person which would be difficult for an outsider to understand. So I feel that at the time when the death occurs, the first line of this poem is perfectly understandable . Only time can heal a wound like that.
Santha,
GS26611
I think that this is one of the most beautiful poems I have ever read, and I believe it is a poem about love and death and maybe he just wanted to put a little bit of himself in it .I do not know if this poem is about his lover or not but it is indeed about love and loss it by whatever way. So i am not trying to agree or disagree with anyone. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and what they think about the poem is their own choice and everyone should just appreciated that people have a right to believe in whatever they like.
ReplyDeleteThere has been a great deal of debate on whether this poem was directed to Auden's lover or not but as I see it there is no clear evidence to prove what have been said. The only true fact we can see from it is that he felt a great deal of love for whoever it may have been.
For example, in the first two stanzas, he wanted to show respect for the death of someone perceived as his lover. To affect the world as he thought the man who died affected him. The last two stanzas show his love for the man and his somber word usage shows his mourning as well as moping like his world as ended and he exhibits his hopelessness after the mans death.
Personally ,I think the poet should encourage others to come to terms with death rather than to take the view that "nothing now can ever come to any good." I personally think little good can come of the kind of fatalistic attitude that is expressed in this poem. I say, let the sun keep shining no matter how beloved are the dead. I say, let life go on. NO GREIF FOR EVER.
Hi Mdm Juridah and friends,
ReplyDeleteThe point of view for this poem is a woman’s view. This woman is grieving over her lover who has recently died. The first three lines of the first stanza tell about getting ready for the funeral. Gloomy and depressed are the moods that a reader feels as they read this poem.
I do agree with Suet Yet and Santha that some of us confronted with death feel that everything is finished for us and anyone should understand our feeling. We want people around us to come comfort us, be sympathetic enough to offer condolences and understand our circumstance. But we get angry when people feel happily and don’t care us.
In the first stanza "stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone …". He wants to deprive everyone and everything of any happiness or enjoyment e.g take the juicy bone away from the dog. He wants to silence everything except for the aeroplane because he wants to show how important this person's death is. To show the end of happiness and the start of mourning, the writer includes the silencing of the pianos and then low thudding drums used at funeral to describe the phenomenal sadness he feels now the relationship is over.
In my humble opinion, the first stanza of the poem is understandable completely when the death occurs. It describes exactly how you feel when someone close to you dies. You feel as if everything should stop and disappear and that everything should acknowledge that you are hurting. It is a so beautiful poem.
"my North, my South, my East, my West" is another line showing Audens love. It shows that his lover was everything to him. These markings are most often found on a compass, which gives direction. Having lost his 'compass' (lover) Auden's life loses direction also: he is lost without his partner. Finally, "the stars are not wanted now" again emphasises the uselessness and worthlessness of a life without his love.
Auden manifests an extremely bitter interpretation of hopelessness and eternal sadness on the part of the speaker as a result of losing a loved one.
Factors that play a part of how people deal with loss may include the relationship to the deceased, the circumstance on how they died, your religious beliefs, and spiritual and emotional support you receive from your immediate circle of influence.
In all, everyone deals and handles with funeral blues differently.
Regards
Vahideh
GS26717
Good evening Pn Juridah and friends,
ReplyDeleteStop all clocks,cut off the telephone is clear that the poet is depressed and a tragic event had taken place. There is a wish for time to stand still and unwillingness to carry on with her life. I think this is very natural when someone you love dies. You will be in a state of shock, denial and everything you name it. I think the poet was really in denial mode. Maybe she wanted to grieve alone that was why she refused to answer telephone calls from people who were trying to comfort her.She wanted to isolate herself from the others. At the moment she did not see much sense in the continuation of life after the special someone died. But I think her way of wanting everyone to mourn together with her was not so right because the dead is dead and the living have to continue living . How we cope with death is different but the poet chose a very drastic way to mourn, that is to isolate herself from others.I guess time heals and given time the pain felt by the poet will heal. I think the poem was written at the time of the death of someone that the poet really loved or attached to.At that time she tries very hard to cope with the pain.
Everyone cope differently with death .
Regards,
Yap Hwei Ping (GS25575)
Helooww...
ReplyDeleteHahaxx...well, my first impression of the poem - the poet is being sarcastic, he's just witnessed someone being over dramatic at a funeral and he's letting it out in this poem - but, of course, we can also see a sullen, sorrowful, mourning here.
That is, if you think existence itself should 'shut down' because someone dear to you has passed on. Yes, he or she was your everything, the cause and the need for you to continue existing, but...well, the person just left. And, what do you do next? If it were so natural for the person to be the center of your world, the moment the person dies, you should probably evaporate as naturally too. Sadly, it doesn't happen that way...the ones who live, will have to live through the phase. Life, goes on, whether you like it or not...unless of course, you opt to end it, on your own.
Grief...sorrow...mourning...are human reactions. To react, is to be human, and to get over it, is also human. One cannot be held guilty for not mourning long enough, nature has to take it's course...a comma(,) maybe, but not a fullstop(.)
-archanaa-
Hi Mdm Juridah and friends,
ReplyDeleteWhen you are going through a time of loss from a recent loved one's death, grieving and mourning is a normal process that occurs,and everyone differ in the way they handle the death.
"stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone …".
this is anormal reaction from a lover who lost his beloved,he sayed this in a depressed time, in a time when he felt lonely and that all what surround him is useless ,he want everything in the world to share him his sadness and grief.He want to stop all the clocks,It doesn't worth,there is no point for the clock to work.The clock is symbol for life and the poet feel that his life is coming to an end.
When the poet sayes“pack up the moon and dismantle the sun.” This means that the writer has lost all hope and thinks life is not worth living.
It is a sad exaggeration in the final stanza: the poet now is calling for the end of everything. He wants the stars to stop shining. He wants the moon and the sun to be put out. He wants the ocean to be “pour[ed] away,” and he wants the “wood” to be swept up. For him the world no longer exists, and his despair makes him feel that “nothing now can ever come to any good.
He also want to make the world silence in the funeral tim.
some can concider this a selfishness but for other who suffer from a loss they will sympathize with the poet because they realy know how sad and depressed he is.
Really i was attached and affected by this poem,especially these lines
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong
I sensed all what the poet felt of,Death is not an easy issue to deal with and we cant ask people to stop griefing because it is the begining of healing.
Regards;
Ahlam Alzahrani
GS23730
Hello Pn Ju,
ReplyDeleteI think this poem really expresses how the persona felt when losing someone special in his/her life. Death is inevitable and every human will have to face it someday in life. I understand how it feels like to have to deal with the pain and extreme sadness when mourning a person's passing. In this poem, the person wanted the world (including other human beings, animals and nature) to mourn the passing of his special someone. The emotion expressed was so intense that it felt as if the world has stopped for him to just take everything in and make sense out of it. I'm very sure that the deceased has a very special place in the persona' heart, hence the following lines:
"He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song"
I bet they have spent every second cherishing each other when they were still together. After that person's passing, not even the stars and the moon and the beauty and wonders of nature can put a smile back on his face.
TQ~
Chai Hui Ling
GS26896
Hi again Pn Ju and friends..
ReplyDeleteReading the poem over and over again( for 5 times to be exact!) My view is this, The poem depicts the poets deepest grief for the loss of a person dear to him. The world has stopped for him as mention in the poem 'Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone'.This shows that the death of this person who is dear to him has made him lost connection to the world. He felt the world is a meaningless place for him. Thus for me, this shows that these person actually meant alot for the poet.
Yes, I do feel this is abit too much when you mourn for someone. i do agree with Suet Yet, one should not grief to much as to show the world that you are griefing. You to have realize that humans are mere mortal being that one day all of us will die.Every start has and ending. Life has an ending too. I'm not saying you should not grief, you can grief not to the extent that you wanted the whole wide world to know! Just accept the fact that everyone dies. Give the dead person peace by letting them go!After all, that person is going to start a new life in the after life. Just be happy that God loves the person more that you do!
As the for the poem itself,as i read the poem, i question myself is it really about the death of a lover??My view seems to be different, i feel ( correct me if i'm wrong) that the poem doesn't necessarily refers to the lost of a lover. It can be refered to clost friend or best friend! Love doesn't mean love between man and woman. It can also mean love between friend! Imagine this: two best friend, shares everything.Their secrets, their ups and down moments.Then suddenly one of them dies. The other friend could write this poem for the lost of his friend?? Possible right?? Think about it?? Why you might ask??... Well i have an answer for that, the friend do not trust any other person, not even his own family, thus when the best friend dies, his whole world goes black! The friend felt that he lost everything!and he has no one now that the friend has died. Auden might have also written this piece for his best friend!! What do you think??
Alicia Philip
GS26579
Good evening to Madam Ju and my classmates!!
ReplyDeleteLet's grief again.. It seems like everybody has their own opinion and intepretation regarding first the first stanza of the poem.
"stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone …".
In my opinion, the persona thought that her world have just been destroyed when the person that she loves the most is dead. Well, I think everybody would feel the same when this situation happened to us..For me, the persona feel really sad and in despair. That is why she wants the world to stop for a moment and grief with her. Actually, this the how a typical woman grief when her beloved died!!
In my opinion,the way the persona described her intention in the first stanza is not over the top. So, we know that the person that died must be very important to the persona or otherwise she wouldn't describe overly in the first stanza.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
This stanza shows how the persona loves her beloved.For her, her beloved was everthing to her and now she feel lost withoout him. I disagree with the last line of this stanza. I believe that love last forever. Even though, the person that we love is not with us anymore, our love will always remain forever.
Maybe, that is the persona's feelings at that time because she still couldnt accept the death of his beloved. Only time will heal and the persona will realize that even though we have lost someone, the world is still spinning and the life must go on..
SITI ALIAH AMIRRUDDIN
GS24371
I believe that most people do not understand the true meaning of this poem. The common misconception is that Auden is speaking of lost love... but it is in truth something completely different. A little-known fact is that he wrote this during world war I, in which he was killed. Also, notice that whenever he states the other person, it is capitalized. I think that he means that God is dead. The reason for this is that, after witnessing the horrors of war, he realized that if there really was a loving god, He would not let this happen. Thus, God must be dead. That is also why he says.."For nothing now can ever come to any good"... because without God, all is lost.
ReplyDeleteGood day everyone,
ReplyDeleteWell.. I agree with Alia that, again we are grieving and feel sad over someone or something that is gone. Again talking about sadness and dealing with emotions. This semester, we are really dealing with many sad...poems, but all these poems actually touch our emotions, feelings and not forgetting a flashback of our lost loved ones. Here again the Funeral Blues.. talks about the loss of loved one and how it is handled. As we know that everyone deals and handles funeral blues differently, but the factors that defer are the part on how we deal with loss, the relationship and closeness, the religious beliefs and the how much of emotional support we get during the grieving period. Firstly, I should that the tone of the poem, well it is more to melancholy and it has 16 lines, just like “When I am Dead”. . That describes that the poem is a sad one. Then the first two lines “Stop all the clock, cut of the telephone..”. The author is actually thinking of something which is not possible or something which is out of his control. W.H. Auden at that moment felt the whole world had stopped and he can’t continue his live because of the agony. As we understand that the degree of grieving will differ from one to the other. I certainly agree with some of my friends that, death is inevitable. Losing someone dear, is like losing direction in this world. The best way to deal grief is by taking one day at a time and as we know that each day embraces a different set of feelings. So friends, don’t mourn any more...and come back to reality.
SHAMMINE DHARMALINGAM
GS 24384
Really Affah? From the sources that I read, Auden died in 1973, not during WW1 which was from 1914-1918. Correct me if I'm wrong...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Puan Ju & friends, here's my view on the poem. I think he was mourning as he was out of love – or, rejected by his lover. There were so many sources that I read which gave different viewpoints about this poem and many are very interesting too! Some sources claimed that Auden was gay… And since during that time homosexuality is a taboo, he was a bit discreet on writing the poem. Readers are left thinking about the identity of the lover who had ‘dumped’ him and left him with the frustration that is portrayed in this poem. Hence, the usage of pronoun 'He' maybe tried to hint something. The language that he used symbolizes his grief of parting from the person and many of the metaphoric words that he used symbolize different connotation such as coffin – to connote that he ‘died’ after the break up. The line "Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves" says that everyone should be mourning even the doves, which are a sign of innocents."Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves" connotes that the traffic police used to wear white gloves and by wearing black gloves, it is as if Auden trying to portray that every hand signal is saying that 'He' is dead. "He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song " - this line is simply Auden's true feelings, his raw emotion which give quite a clear understanding of the grieve. "I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong" this is the most poignant line in the poem and is where the poem crashes. Frustration gives deep cut and might scar a person for decades!
As a Muslim, I feel that losing someone completely like - death can be mourned but we have to be sensible in portraying our feelings. For this one, I agreed with Alicia & Suet Yet. Crying and wailing profusely will definitely not bring back the dead although it might distress the mourners. Same goes to listening to sad songs and wearing black colour. Is it just to indicate that you are in a deep grievance or show off your loyalty to the deceased? Some just want others to see how loyal they are to the ex-lover (dead or break up) but I think everyone should know by now that, c’est la vie….
Cynthia: Sorry, its actually World War II because during World War II Auden was granted temporary status as Major when he went with the U.S. Army to Germany to report on the psychological effects of bombing on civilians. And i misunderstood the information saying that he died during WW1. My bad... thank you dear. He died in Vienna in 1973. Sorry Puan Ju!!
ReplyDeleteI figured I'd give some time for others to talk about this poem before I give my own opinions, really glad I did =) Well, for me, I saw this poem as a very direct expression towards someone whom the persona lost. Yeah, it can always be between:
ReplyDelete1. gf/bf
2. husband/wife
3. brother/sister
4. student/teacher
5. owner/pet (you'd agree on this, right?)
6. friend/enemy (err...you know...)
7. student/very-important assignment which was destroyed by virus (hahahaha =D)
Okay, seriously. I read it many times, but I could not figure out the hidden meanings like ""Stop all the clocks." This reference to time" (Yew's) or "the poet is being sarcastic" (Achu's) or "God is dead." (Affah's)...umm...err...uhh...maybe because I'm simple-minded =D Anyway, these visions are really good. Like I said, really glad I waited this time =)
Good evening to Prof. Juridah and my fellow friends.
ReplyDeleteIn “Stop All the Clocks, Cut Off the Telephone”,
W. H. Auden has written an unusual response to death in “Stop All the Clocks, Cut Off the Telephone.” The title itself demands that seemingly unreasonable actions be carried out. Why should all the clocks be stopped? Why should the telephone be cut off? The clock being stopped may signify the fact that he who died has run out of time and also to ask those who knew him to stop what they are doing and reflect. The telephone being cut off brings forth the idea of silence. Auden does this to show the deceased the respect they deserve. She believes in honoring the dead with a moment of silence to pay respect.
That`s all and thank you very much.
Good evening to Prof. Juridah and my fellow friends.
ReplyDeleteI am sending my comment again because I have forgotten to key in my matric number. Extremely sorry.
“Stop All the Clocks, Cut Off the Telephone”
W. H. Auden has written an unusual response to death in “Stop All the Clocks, Cut Off the Telephone.” The title itself demands that seemingly unreasonable actions be carried out. Why should all the clocks be stopped? Why should the telephone be cut off? The clock being stopped may signify the fact that he who died has run out of time and also to ask those who knew him to stop what they are doing and reflect. The telephone being cut off brings forth the idea of silence. Auden does this to show the deceased the respect they deserve. She believes in honoring the dead with a moment of silence to pay respect.
That`s all and thank you.
Margaret Anthoney
GS26688
Hi There...
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion.... The poem depicts the poets deepest grief for the loss of a person dear to him. The world has stopped for him as mention in the poem 'Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone'.This shows that the death of this person who is dear to him has made him lost connection to the world. He felt the world is a meaningless place for him. Thus for me, this shows that these person actually meant alot for the poet. The language that he used symbolizes his grief of parting from the person and many of the metaphoric words that he used symbolize different connotation such as coffin – to connote that he ‘died’ after the break up. The line "Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves" says that everyone should be mourning even the doves, which are a sign of innocents."Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves" connotes that the traffic police used to wear white gloves and by wearing black gloves, it is as if Auden trying to portray that every hand signal is saying that 'He' is dead. "He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song " - this line is simply Auden's true feelings, his raw emotion which give quite a clear understanding of the grieve. I think,the author is actually thinking of something which is not possible or something which is out of his control as what our friend.
Is it???????
R. Shan
Good day Mrs Juridah & my fellow educators,
ReplyDeleteSuddenly I feel fine discussing about LoVe & DeaTH…simply because I went through the parallel moments in living…(I’m sure my other fellow educators too…)
I’m going to agree with Tam (like some others too..)
I’m going to say yes to archu also…
& Kudz with item 1 till 7.
I enjoyed this atmosphere…it shows the life experience of joy, love and ignorance.
Losing someone you love is always heartbreaking. The whole experience generates a crash of ‘tribute unites’ to closure pain. It makes us realise how insecure our lives are that when we lose someone we love so much our lives can become quite empty.
My fellow educators;
Do you agree that funeral services do deserve a stylish and attractive ceremony?
Regards
Kalpana Subramaniam
GS26643
Happy Morning Mrs Juridah & my fellow educators,
ReplyDelete“Stop the clocks, cut off the telephone” = sounds directive to me
“Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves”.
I feel that we have such circumstances during someone important in the country passes away. In the Malaysian context, when a Sultan passes away, the community for that state have to wear a black tag on their clothe sleeves. Everyone express grief together (has to pretend that they are sad) to convey respect. Certain happy gathering (which involves government & ministers) in the country has to be reschedule.
Regards
Kalpana Subramaniam
GS26643
Good day Mrs. Juridah and my friends
ReplyDeleteWe have looked at the definition of “death” from different points of view. I wonder if we asked different people about the definition of death, what their answers would be:
A physician: Death is the termination of the biological functions that define a living organism.
A history teacher: Death as a sentient entity is a concept that has existed in many societies since the beginning of history.
A philosopher: Death is the irreversible cessation of organismic functioning and human death is the irreversible loss of personhood.
An English teacher: Death is the absence of life or state of being dead.
We can investigate and figure out that how people define this mysterious concept. But by looking deeply into all the different definitions we all agree on the mysterious, important, irreversible nature of death and the fact that it is the end of living in this world.
Actually I really enjoyed reading my friends’ comments on the poem “Funeral Blues”. I think all of them are right for they have looked at it from different angles.
From my point of view it does not matter how one might be stimulated to be so depressed and hopeless to imagine that this is the end of everything for him or her. This person can be the one who has lost a beloved person or a depressed soldier in a bloody war. The fact is that this person is in a terrible situation that is not quite understandable for everyone unless they are in the same one. The situation that the whole world has stopped functioning or doing the other way around. When the poet says: “He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song” we can clearly see how one might feel in such situations.
Human experiences are so unique that not even two seemingly identical people can have the same experiences in the same tragic situations. This feature of human makes situations totally different from each other while we try to define them.
Regards
Mohammad Reza
(GS 25775)
Hi every one,
ReplyDeleteIn the poem "Funeral Blues", the speaker uses well-constructed poetic language and form to convey her attitude toward the subject of death. It explains how Auden manifests an extremely bitter interpretation of hopelessness and eternal sadness on the part of the speaker as a result of losing a loved one. The speaker in the poem is deeply saddened about the loss of her loved one and the fact that it was a force beyond her control. This person has been taken from her life in haste at a most inopportune time, and she feels as though her life has become pointless.
The feeling that Auden wants us as the reader to feel as we comprehend the poem is death at its worst, to feel like nothing good will ever come again. He also wants us to feel and know what he must have felt with love never lasting for ever when he says this paragraph:
'He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong'.
The themes of this poem are grief, love, death, mourning and unhappiness. The narrator's loved one has died, and it feels as if her entire world has been destroyed.
I am agree with Auden that losing a loved one can not be tolerable. In my opinion, when one of our close beloved dies, it is natural that we grieve a lot, because mourning is considered to be the beginning of the healing process. In experiencing a death of a loved one, we may go through an array of emotions that may include unbelief, shock, fear, overwhelmed, pain and loneliness. We need to understand that people grieve and mourn in the different ways. We should not compare ourselves with others who have experienced loss.
Best regards,
Saeideh.
GS25784
Good Evening Mdm Ju and dear friends..
ReplyDeleteTalking about the poem,there are something came out in my mind.After reading up for so many times,6 times I guess, I think this poem has is own meaning.When we talk about death, I guess everyone must feel lost,sad, mourn, and dont know what to do next.And I do agree with Yew where this poem is something about overwhelming grief.
To tell the truth, this is one of my favorite poems. It describes exactly how you feel when someone close to you dies. You feel as if everything should stop and disappear and that everything should acknowledge that you are hurting. It is a beautiful poem isn't it?.
It also makes me realise how precarious our lives are that when we lose someone we love so much our lives can become so utterly meaningless.
Sometimes, we always pretend we can't see lights in front even though we are not blind.I always remind myself to appreciate someone we love and care while the person are still alive, are still in front of us, can give their smile to us, can be besides us, but when the person are gone forever, there are no use, meaningless to do something meaningful to them but only the memories....
Siti Nuha Ab Aziz
GS24085
Good day guyz.....!
ReplyDeleteMourning and grieving again.....erm.....no choice....let’s do it again then......
"Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone". I think such a feeling or remark is standard when we, the human lose someone very dear to us. We often feel that we ourselves too want to go along with those who are dead (though it is only for a few days when the death takes place and after a week probably we realize that life goes on). But I just can’t deny...that all these are part of us (unless you are made of solid rock, without any feeling at all). But maybe it’s just a little too much if we plan to stop all the connection with the outer and living world. I think it’s a little easy for me to say things here, whereas in actual fact I might react in such a way too. So I think it all depends on the situation and the stability of an individual and at that moment that’s what the pesona felt of.
Harbans Kaur Harpal Singh
GS 24356
Gopalan said...........
ReplyDeleteHello, Mdm. Juri and Coursemates,
I believe that being blue is being a bit depressed and down, no devastated with grief with grief .
Who or what is he writting about?Is it about a lover. It is a satrical piece which covers the themes of loss, the loss of his lover who was a politician .Over exageration and creating urgency in the line 'stop all the clocks ,cut off the telephone ' to show how ridiculous love can be viewed but it could be seen as a bitter devastation for him.
May be this Poem was written for a lover.No-one would take that much care to stop the world , or create the sense that the world has stopped if an 'Important figure ' died.
He uses sentences such as ' Stop all the Clocks ' and surely this is an indicator that Auden wants everyone to stop what they are doing , and to mourn the loss of someone important to him.It was a poem tgo express his morning at the death of his lover.'For nothing now will come to any good'- is the line which ultimately makes clear his emotons.
This poem is packed full of imagery .Perhaps this is to show the importance of life , and so give better a sense of just how much Auden feels he has spiritually dies along with his lover.
An interesting aspect of the imagery used is light vs dark.Throughout , any reference to the past is light , and any referene to the present or future is dark.
In my view , anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one would feel as Auden does even if they do not express it in words.
Thank You.
Hi Madam Juridah and my dear colleagues…
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Margaret, the poet is honoring the death for a moment of silence to pay some respect.
My personal thought is it is a direct and spontaneous emotion of grieving someone’s. The poet starts with unsatisfied interest and trying to show her most difficult emotions to her reader. May be nobody heard her. Like what John Donne said…..
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main.
Thank you.
Hazreen Binti Haji Abdul Hamid
GS24475
hi everyone..
ReplyDeletei guess, the poem concur the saying "it's the end of the world". losing a friend is very different from losing a best friend, for some, losing a mother is sadder than losing a father, losing a husband is very different from using your better half.
i don't think it's too much. some cultures allow people to grief and cry over the passing of the loved ones. Some people just decide to grief in their own way, perhaps driven by emotion at that particular time. Some people just throw their tantrum at the thought of losing someone be it literally or figuratively.
hi all,
ReplyDeletefor my point of view about this poem, i do believe that each person has their own way to express feeling.. same goes to the author.the way he express the feeling is through out the words.Actually sometime we can say that man is egoistic and do not have feeling when there is someone that he love passed away but it is not the thing.this is because the way they express it is different to woman.Sometimes we can actually see the strong woman also and it depends on how we accept it. there are also man who mourn and cry for the loved ones too.
"Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone" for me this word only show that he is mourning and grieving. it was just how he express his sadness and i agree with most of the friends that time will heal but it depends to the person to accept it.
norashikin,
GS25973