But I wander like a minstrel with a harp upon his back,
Though the harp be on my bosom, though I finger and I fret,
Still, my hope is all before me: for I cannot play it yet.
In your strings is hid a music that no hand hath e'er let fall,
In your soul is sealed a pleasure that you have not known at all;
Pleasure subtle as your spirit, strange and slender as your frame,
Fiercer than the pain that folds you, softer than your sorrow's name.
Not as mine, my soul's annointed, not as mine the rude and light
Easy mirth of many faces, swaggering pride of song and fight;
Something stranger, something sweeter, something waiting you afar,
Secret as your stricken senses, magic as your sorrows are.
But on this, God's harp supernal, stretched but to be stricken once,
Hoary time is a beginner, Life a bungler, Death a dunce.
But I will not fear to match them-no, by God, I will not fear,
I will learn you, I will play you and the stars stand still to hear.
This poem very accurattely reflects the feelings that a beginner at any instrument feels when he first holds an instrument in his hand. The excitement of learning to play it, the dreams of crowds of people listening to you play beautiful music, and the fear of being embarrassed. I know these feelings myself from personal experience from playing guitar. You see someone play beautifully and seemingly easy, then you pick up your own instrument and get muffled unsure notes, and you wonder if you'll ever play like that.
This is a higly structured poem, and you can tell that the author had spent alot of time working on it. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, and there is a very definite iambic beat with 15 beats per line all the way through the poem, giving it a steady rhythm. Lots of imagery used, and example would be "the stars will stand to hear". This poem mostly appeals to your sense of emotion, trying to portray the feelings of a new musician and has alot of deep meaning inside the poem.
"In your soul is sealed a pleasure that you have not known at all;
Pleasure subtle as your spirit, strange and slender as your frame,
Fiercer than the pain that folds you, softer than your sorrow's name."
Hey Sasha,
ReplyDeleteI really like your explication of this poem. I agree that this is definitely a poem about a beginner picking up an instrument and attempting to learn how to play it. In my experience, learing to play an instrument, though challenging has many future rewards. As for the poem itself, I like the poet's use of poetic devices such as assonance (...stretched but to be stricken; mirth of many). It definitely creates a nice rhythm making it a pleasure to read! Great choice!
Sasha, you've chosen an excellent poem. i liked the rhythm of the poem, and, surprisingly, the ornateness of it. for some reason, this poem seems to be a better fit for the metaphors and similes than most. great work
ReplyDeletei really like all the metaphors and musical allusions/references in the piece. great choice, it really relates to your theme/topic. oh forgot to mention but the rhythm in this poem is great, ended up reading the whole thing more than twice!
ReplyDeleteA fantastic choice Sasha! I found your poem really interesting, and I can relate to the poem since I've had to learn how to play an instrument before. But like Suzanne mentioned before, there are plenty of rewards which come with music, and this poem makes sure to highlight that.
ReplyDeleteGood choice of Poem sasha. My favorite part was at the end where the musician was like i am going to play you and you can't do anything about it. A lot of good poetic devices used. This poem goes deep into the musicians soul and heart and that's what makes it unique! Good Work!
ReplyDeleteWow! What a great choice for a poem. I love how different it is, nice and long compared to others' choices. The explication is indepth and the rhythm in the poem is one that can't be ignored. Congradulations!
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