Original poem reprinted online here: "The Mysteries Remain" by H.D
Originally read: December 6, 2012
More information about the Poet: H.D
I'm not a fan of sing-songy rhyme or allusion for that matter. In my last post, I wondered about the use of allusion and context in a poem. How much does a person need to know to feel the poem is effective? What if the technique of the poem stands out more than the experience in the poem.
This poem is no exception, I suppose. The rhyme scheme is really irritating to me in the beginning: remain, same rain, "These rhymes are irritating and redundant. sing-songy." I wrote.
Yet this line, "Demeter in the grass" really got to me, "This image struck me the most out [of all the choices that day] and made me choose it [this poem to look at again]. I just had this image of Demeter in the grass."
So this is where allusion, at least for me, kicks in hard. Demeter lost her daughter Persephone to the god Hades. Hades "married" Persephone and forced her to eat a pomegranate. Persephone is cursed to stay in hell for 6 months out of the year.
I learned about Persephone in the 6th grade. I made a diorama of Zeus and the greek gods -- it probably got a C or a D because that's the only grades I remember receiving. This poem made me think about the mother's perspective.
I imagined the world closing up on the mother before seeing her daughter being taken away. She's pounding on the grass, then starts trying to rip them away -- something, as a god, she's sworn to protect she's destroying to get to her daughter, but all for naught.
I'm getting away of the intention of the line which is, I feel, focuses on the joy Demeter feels when her daughter comes back to her.
I just see something different I suppose.
Originally read: December 6, 2012
More information about the Poet: H.D
This poem is no exception, I suppose. The rhyme scheme is really irritating to me in the beginning: remain, same rain, "These rhymes are irritating and redundant. sing-songy." I wrote.
Yet this line, "Demeter in the grass" really got to me, "This image struck me the most out [of all the choices that day] and made me choose it [this poem to look at again]. I just had this image of Demeter in the grass."
So this is where allusion, at least for me, kicks in hard. Demeter lost her daughter Persephone to the god Hades. Hades "married" Persephone and forced her to eat a pomegranate. Persephone is cursed to stay in hell for 6 months out of the year.
I learned about Persephone in the 6th grade. I made a diorama of Zeus and the greek gods -- it probably got a C or a D because that's the only grades I remember receiving. This poem made me think about the mother's perspective.
I imagined the world closing up on the mother before seeing her daughter being taken away. She's pounding on the grass, then starts trying to rip them away -- something, as a god, she's sworn to protect she's destroying to get to her daughter, but all for naught.
I'm getting away of the intention of the line which is, I feel, focuses on the joy Demeter feels when her daughter comes back to her.
I just see something different I suppose.
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