First off, this is highly unimportant but I must mention it: Platoon came out in 1986 and Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984. I was wrong. Sorry guys.
Now for the assignment:
I'm going to begin with a beautiful quote...
“No man or woman is an island. To exist just for yourself is meaningless. You can achieve the most satisfaction when you feel related to some greater purpose in life, something greater than yourself.”Denis Waitley
This is what I thought of after reading Wordsworth's "Floating Island." I'm going to be honest, I typically stay away from poetry and for one specific reason. I'm terrified of feeling those pesky things called emotions. As one who refuses to hug or say "I love you" to even my own family I do my best to steer clear of things that might invoke vulnerabilities. Yeah, I'm pathetic I realize but seriously if I let my guard down I cry, and NO ONE is supposed to see that. Now on the other hand one thing I really appreciate about poetry is that the author's write in a way that leaves interpretation wide open. I'm sure they all had specific idea's of what their works were meant for but we as readers can read into them however we like. And again back to the quote mentioned previously, that is where my brain went after I finished "Floating Island" and I interpreted it as parallel to the quote.
Now to explain why my head went in that direction...
The very first Stanza tells me right away that nature is not a jumbled accident, it is "harmonious powers" that are the reason that nature exists. With the upbringing I have had I'm immediately one to assume that the author is referring to God, but I'm also aware that the idea of nature as it's own living breathing entity could also be considered a higher power as later in the piece nature is referred to as a "she." Regardless, the spirituality of nature is represented instantly and within the first stanza I feel clearly that whether "sunshine" or a "storm" is taking place, neither of these events is an accident and they are a part of a unified structure.
The next few stanza's introduce us to the island. The island is functioning on it's own as it is separated from the earth, yet it still obeys the wind as it glides on the lake. I'm still working on what this means but the poet tells us that there is life on the island. Flowers and insects make this island their home and while there are surviving beings it's only a matter of time before the island has "passed away" because she[nature] has ceased "to give."
"Perchance when you are wandering forth
Upon some vacant sunny day
Without an object, hope, or fear,
Thither your eyes may turn -- the Isle is passed away."
I like the possibility that perhaps what Wordsworth is referring to here is the idea that a person, or even all of humanity is the island. We, at least I, tend to get so detached from the beauty of nature and it's only a matter of time before we, or I, are punished for ignoring the "sublimity of nature." This brings me back to the above quote. No one can be an island. To exist completely self-absorbed would be a pitiful existence. So we must function along with nature, become a part of it, worship it and appreciate it or nature will give as a giant spanking and re-use our remains to make someone better.
BTW-I'm really disappointed with myself for not being prepared for class yesterday because The Giaour was truly epic and awesome and there really was a Vampire! It should be a movie.
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you thought I was kidding about the vampire and the pirates????
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one who thought it may symbolize a person, but I think you interpreted it a little differently than I did and it made a lot of sense.
ReplyDeleteThe quote was a perfect fit - where did you find that?!
NOPE. Yours is still LONGER by like 250 words. Haha! OVER ACHIEVER. Just Kidding.
ReplyDeleteI like how you talk about how poetry is open for interpretation. That's what I LOVE about it. :-)
If the island does represent a person or people in general, what would the nature that surrounds it such as the lake and the wind represent?
ReplyDeleteThe end as well, how Wordsworth talks about how the island may disappear but return in another form, people end the same way, we all go back into the earth from which we originally came.
This poem could be interpreted so many different ways. I didn't look for any metaphorical aspects. I interpreted it more with a romantic vs. neoclassical point of view.
Nice Post
What an interesting way to look at it. If the island is a person, or humanity; then nature would represent the things that affect the existence of the island.
ReplyDeleteThis poem truly is amazing in the many different ways it can be interpreted. I very much enjoyed this one.
Nice post!
I always hate it when I discover that one of my classmates is smarter than I am, which is something that you'd assume would happen a lot…well it does. Unfortunately I seem to have met my match yet again, as I have no idea what your post means. I genuinely thought that my latest entry concerning "The Floating Island" had merit for once, and then I go and read yours…awesome.
ReplyDeleteYou and I are on the same page concerning poetry and vulnerability though, except for the fact that I am a very large man and therefore never cry (except when Vince Young ran all over my Trojans in the Rose Bowl four years ago. Stupid emotions…)
Kristi, one of these days you're going to have to trust me in matters of assignments AND movie trivia.
ReplyDeleteAnd also, with all due respect to Mr. Waitley, motivational speaker, that quote is a paraphrase of one of the most famous of John Donne's devotionals, specifically Meditation XVII which reads in part: "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." And yes, that's where the Hemingway title comes from too. And the Metallica song.