The Soul Translated Self

Luis Alberto Ambroggio’s We Are All Whitman: #2: Song of/to/My/Your/Self translates Walt Whitman’s I Sing the Body Electric by focusing on ethnicity, and how each Self in the world creates the whole identity of who we are as humans. 

Whitman focuses on how the anatomy of the body is constructed, using electricity galvanizing through the body into life. This is followed through how the poem is structured, the poem coursing through the body like electricity, “Mouth, tongue… ribs, belly… man-balls, man-root… the womb, the teats” (Whitman 7, 14-15, 24). The comma used in each line further dissects each area of the body, and there is a rhythmic pattern in the stressed, monosyllables that the poem itself holds a sharp sound that strikes like electricity to each part. The focus on the genitals are also affected and create a metaphor to “sexuality” that Waltman comments (22). Waltman expresses how this electricity gives life even to the soul, meaning that it isn’t the body itself but the innermost feelings such as the sexuality of a person that is affected by this electricity. The cacophony heard in those lines parallels the sound of this electricity, triumphantly expressing to the audience “these are the soul” (36). The anatomical pattern also shifts to actions performed by humans, “food, drink, pulse, digestion, sweat, sleep, walking, swimming” (26). A consonance can be heard between food and drink, with the “s” sound repeating among pulse, digestion, sweat, and sleep, and the suffix between walking and swimming. The cacophony continues to be heard, but this shift to human actions reflects how even human acts are a reflection of the soul itself, that movement is similarly powered by this cacophonic electricity. 

Ambroggio focuses not on the body, but on the ethnicity that defines the Self. Whitman’s poem that shifts around anatomy is changed from that of ethnicity in Ambroggio’s poem. His poem brims with diversity, filled with “multitudes” that constructs the poem as the “universal soul.” Ambroggio establishes this in his first stanza, “This Self – Hispanic, Latin, blond, black, olive-skinned, native and immigrant… was here with everyone” (Ambroggio 1-2, 4). The poem sets up its diversity, but the lines contain multitudes of assonances between the “a” and “o” sound and consonances between black and olive-skinned. The shifting between ethnicities returns later in the poem, “Contrasting to Whitman, Ambroggio includes the conflicts that the Self confronts, “This Self is Puerto Rican, Chicano, from Cuba free dancer of merengues, from Santo Domingo and all the Caribbean” (43-45). The cacophony parallels this loud expression of one’s identity, and the switch between different ethnicities can be seen translated from Whitman’s electrical course between different parts of the body. 

However, these identities become threatened “by propellers and shrapnel…” but ends positively, “I celebrate myself, and sing myself” (60, 118). The war-like imagery to me becomes reminiscent of the Israeli-Palestinian war, where the Self becomes threatened. But the conclusion of the poem, where the Self shall endure, is spoken in euphony that changes this cacophony of conflicts and various identities into an acceptance of the Self and everyone included. Thus, Ambroggio’s rhythmic enumeration can be seen from Whitman’s poem by its cacophony, consonances, and overall structure of poetry embodying the Self/soul.

Phillip Gallo

Love is not always a Happy Ending

One Perfect Rose 

Brown desert turns to a passion garden 

   Volumes of petals lays on the wide ground 

Blossoming buds growing to the love is done 

One Perfect Rose, Rose for the lover 

   Stem long as the string connecting both hearts 

Deep shade of red stands for love

A Rose for the next heart in line 

A sole Rose blindly, 

the message stands 

even if picked differently

  Scarlet Rose lands on the hands of your lover

As the red bolds,

the love is restored at each glance

  Love finds no bounds, 

but the Rose grows thorns without notice

A red rose has a deep and emotional symbolism as it represents love and passion between two lovers. Love is a great emotion for somebody that when a red rose is given as a gift they would think about the romantic relationship between each person. In “One Perfect Rose” by N. Catalan, she grew inspiration from the traditional meaning of a rose as well as Edmund Waller’s poem “Song” which included the rose to be the main figure of the poem. However, N. Catalan, does not conclude with the happy ending that a rose could define, but rather with a dark conclusion that could also come from love.  

In the 15-line poem, N. Catalan presents an inconsistent rhyming scheme that does not also follow through to the last poem, but there could have been a purposeful point. Looking at the first stanza, having line 1 with “garden” and line 3 with “done” rhyme, it brings significance to the lines as roses could be grown in gardens in bunches as well as compare it to the amounts of love that was already found in the world that might’ve come from gifting a rose. Another example of the inconsistent rhyme scheme through the poem, the end rhyme of both lines with “blindly” and “differently” as if choosing a rose blindly with the potential of it blossoming to a romantic feeling. 

There are many significant aspects within this poem that influence the theme of a narrative that love has been pure and ongoing in the beginning but sometimes realities ruin the romantic scene between people. With the first stanza, the lines include, “Brown desert turns to a passion garden / Volumes of petals alay on the wide ground / Blossoming buds growing to the love is done” (Line 1-3), as you can hear a certain meter of beat that could be translated being a  iambic pentameter. This is the only stanza that includes the 10 syllables that flow to a rhythm. The perfect rhythm happening in the stanza reflects on the idea of the happiness and goodness that love prevails. 

This poem provides the traditional symbolism of the rose as it continues to reflect love and passion, but there is a “turn” in the poem that could be found in the concluding lines as it follows, “Love finds no bounds, but Rose grew thorns” (Line 14-15), as through the poem the rose was always something a romantic gift, but thorns are not something that relates to the feeling of loving. There was a narrative in the poems as the rose started out in a garden of roses and will be used as the gift of love, but in the end, it would be turn sour quickly.

Naraint Catalan Rios

A Bit Like Shakespeare

William Shakespeare while quite a controversial character in history, without a doubt, has obtained such an influential effect on today’s society. His published works are seen everywhere, referenced in many movies and TV shows, and read in school classrooms. But yet, even so, the interpretations of the meanings of his works remain varied tremendously. People can’t seem to come to an agreement on what certain pieces, and plays of his represent.

This is primarily demonstrated in the BBC Comic Relief skit with Catherine Tate and David Tennant. Where Tate plays an ill-mannered English student and Tennant her new English teacher attempts to introduce the class to Shakespeare. Tate’s continuous lack of being able to voluntarily cooperate during the lesson and puns promptly made toward Tennant represents to us her refusal to absorb the material. She repeats, “I be not bothered” to play on the Shakespearean rhyme scheme and phrasing in order to bother Tennant’s character even further. On the other hand, though, the meaning of Shakespeare’s sonnet is transformed by this comedy skit right when she begins reciting, “My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun” perfectly from beginning to end. It shows that despite her seemingly uncooperative behavior, the irony is that the sonnet can still be followed and represented. Similar to how, despite all of the strict rules placed upon Shakespeare’s sonnet, it is often through breaking these rules that a true piece of art and poetry can be made. Just like how it was appointed within the classroom.

Patricia Brewer

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

In this post, we were asked to compare the rhythmic enumeration of Walt Whitman’s “I Sing the Body Electric” and Luis Alberto Ambroggio’s  “We are All Whitman: #2: Song of/to/My/Your/Self”. It feels almost as though they were both given the same prompt and went in separate directions for their writing. Comparing the two, Ambroggio sports a sort of chaotic good energy while Whitman’s writing is more of a lawful evil energy; Whitman’s a Blue Jay and Ambroggio’s a Red Cardinal.  This may be from his seemingly much broader topic than Whitman does, being centered around diversity with ethnicity rather than just the diversity of the human form. One key difference I noticed is that Ambroggio’s poem lacks the “I have to make this word count so I’ll use repetition” energy that Whitman’s has. Though the poets’ went in different directions with their writings, they both conclude with the same feel-good and inspiring energy with “O I say now these are the soul!” and “I celebrate myself, and sing myself”. 

Abigail Raven

Rhythm and Meter

Trying to decide between two poems is like trying to decide between ice cream and cake, both are great for certain days or different occasions. For today’s occasion, I suppose Ben Johnson’s “Still to Be Neat” (1609) is the poem that most effectively represents the nature of art, rather than Robert Herrick’s “Delight in Disorder” (1648).

Jonson’s “Still to be Neat” is written in dactylic foot, as each line starts and ends on a stress. The first line, for example, “Still to be neat, still to be dressed” can be read with breaks in the words almost like, “Still, to be neat, Still, to be dressed”. This similar format throughout the poem shows that the words: still, neat, still, dressed, still, powdered, still, perfumed are all emphasized and nearly have a rhyming sing-sound to them. The endings of each two lines rhyme together, and the poem speaks about a woman. Everything about this poem is out in the open, sort of like nature!

Herrick’s “Delight in Disorder ” conveys a similar feeling when breaking down the poem’s rhythm. If you look closely you may notice that the ends of the first two and last two lines rhyme. This poem is written in iambic and has a faster rhythm, for example, the line “A winning wave, dereserving note” has a stress on nearly every word. While this poem does more speciffically talk about art and both poems are alike in that nature in both these poems in represented by women, clothing, and appearance, I do belive that “Still to Be Neat” is the more rhythic and represts the nature of art.

Anne K. Anderson

Worthiness of the Lord

Kevin Vargas

George Helbert, a highly faithful Christian, wrote two poems titled “The Altar” and “Easter Wings.” In “The Altar” the speaker is talking to the lord through an implied broken Altar while in “Easter Wings” the speaker is directs his attention to the lord directly. “The Altar” creates a stronger poem due to the better uses of its thematic development. 

A man kneeled downed as if he punched the floor. Readers can visualize a terrified and remorse man in “The Altar” as this depressed state is felt through the whole poem. The rhymed couplet upon the first to fourth line explains the care and work upon the altar. Rears, as the realization of the broken stone, tears, as the realization, frame, as the displayed work, and same as the uniqueness of the altar. This format of rhyming couplets is held throughout the poem. Two couplets are followed in chunks of four lines. Additionally, in each chunk, the diction and thoughts of the speaker changes. For example, the introduction featured the speaker in remorse, followed by reflection, then through disappointment as the speaker questions the level of worship being worthy, and finally a worthy follower.  

“Easter Wings” contains a modified version of his rhyme schemes. Instead of using a direct sequential rhyme, a rhyme is used every other line. It enabled Herbert to produce a different kind of experience in which the tone of the poem is constant. The meter can be easily spotted in comparison to “The Altar.” Repeated low then true accents are more concise.  

                  Till he became 
 

                        Most poore: 
 

                        With thee (lines four through six) 

The tone of hope is felt with “victory” and “affliction shall advance the flight in me.” Also to note is the second stanza where the speaker talks about their sickness and their old age. This is important because the entire poem itself looks like a minute sand timer. In other words, the speaker is running out of time.  

Is an existential crisis more elaborate than of a remorse worshiper? “Easter Wings” may contain universal thought of pleading for more or better use of time. In theory, it is what most individuals would want. However, It is a different scenario to plead to be worthy of the lord through the single symbolical object of a broken altar. I say, the progress of thought is more effective in providing readers a better christian message about moving on with their lives when the lord is upon them.

That is what I find more unique and of a stronger essence in the two poems. (The Altar wins for me)

DON’T BREATHE

Diane Tarabay-Rodriguez

By reading and closely analyzing both poems: “I Sing The Body Electric” by Walt Whitman and “We Are All Whitman: #2: Song of/to/My/Your/Self” by Luis Alberto Ambroggio. It is inevitable to miss the close resemblance that both poems share. You can clearly see that Ambroggio’s poem translates the rhythmic enumeration of body parts in whitman’s poem. You can instantly tell that both poems are free verse because they contain an irregular form and meter, while still maintaining a poetic structure. As I began reading Ambroggio’s poem I instantly began to feel out of breath. Just like in “I Sing The Body Electric”, it was composed of run-on sentences with no chance of a pause. It felt like I was completely immersed into a completely new world of poetry. My body began to pulseate due to the pulsating sound of both poems. Take these lines for example:

“It comes from Mexico, Central America,

from Costa Rica, Tikal, Guatemala,

from their rainforests, lakes of salt and honey,

from Panama, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela,

the corn crops of the Argentine pampas…”(Ambroggio, 47-53)

This part continues with eight more lines, which contain commas but no periods. Despite there being commas, you feel the need to keep on going without a pause. Stopping for only a quick second for a small gasp of air. This is what makes this poem as majestic as “I Sing My Body Electric”. You are not only captivated by the message of both poems but for their use of rhythmic enumeration. The poems give the reader an experience of cacophony. The beauty of both poems is that they seem chaotic, yet there is order in the chaos. All the rhymes in both poems depend on the sound pattern and NOT on meter. If you closely analyze both poems you can see that they are both very long and they go on and on with only a few periods.

Expectations and Payoff.

Herrick’s poem “Delight in Disorder” begins with the setup for a simple rhyme scheme, pairing the word “dress” to the last syllable of “wantonness”. This in turn makes the reader expect for a word in the fourth line to pair with “thrown” from the ending of the third line, but we are given the word “distraction” witch also acts as a distraction. In addition, this subversion of expectations acts as an example of a “Delight”, the clever bit of using the word distraction as a literal distraction, within something that can be seen as “Disorder”, the unfulfilled rhyme. Therefore, the poem itself is a display of delights within instances of disorder.

In “Still to be Neat”, written by Ben Johnson, we are presented with a fairly consistent rhyming pattern throughout the entire run of the poem. The rhyme and choice of imagery gives the poem a sense of sincerity and emotional depth. However, it is a totally insincere exploitation of language and feelings so that in the last line when he states,” …They strike mine eyes, nut not my heart.” he reveals the hidden lack of deeper meaning, subverting our expectations.

Both of these poems work to challenge our expectations and agree that that is a major force within art, however, I do not believe that these writers completely agree on the total nature of art.

Andrew Hardy

Fight for pride and keep the hope alive

When Claude McKay decided to leave his native country of Jamaica to pursue an education in America, he walked right into a skin-color-based oppressive society that tied him into the shadows of the white man.  Surprisingly (maybe or maybe not), Claude McKay thought that the benefits of living in “free” America outweighed the costs of experiencing racial violence and discrimination as a black minority.  In both of his sonnets, “If We Must Die” and “America,” McKay offers a critique of societal intolerance of minorities in America, but only “America” offers true hope for African Americans.

“If We Must Die” was written as a response to the Red Summer of 1919 (a white lynch mob that targeted African Americans).  In lines 1 and 5, “If we must die- let it not be like hogs… While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,” and again in lines 10 and 14, “Though far outnumbered, let us show us brave… Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back,” McKay, through rhyme and meter, creates a pump-up, rebellious tone to encourage blacks to fight for pride, but he understands that blacks have all odds against them in this society at the end of the day.  “America,” on the other hand, uses the sonnet form to create a contradictory tone that critiques racism in America and offers true hope.  In lines 5 and 6, “Her vigor flows like tides into my blood… Giving me strength against her hate,” the speaker says that American racism is feeding him with hate.  However, in line 4, “I love this cultured hell that tests my youth,” the speaker says that there are so many aspects of America that he loves.  The sonnet ends with, “Like [America’s] priceless treasures sinking in the sand.”  McKay leaves blacks with a sense of true hope by saying that there are beautiful opportunities in America that are currently being wasted because of racism, and the opportunities may be uncovered if generations of blacks keep fighting for the pride that is illustrated in “If We Must Die.”

 

 

Herrick vs Jonson

The prosody (which is iambic tetrameter), rhyme scheme, and alliteration of “Delight in Disorder,” help to provide the poem with a light and playful mood.  I found this piece to be extremely easy to read and understand due to the primarily unchanging meter alongside several changing poetic elements.  For one, this poem has a rhyme scheme that includes numerous couplets, such as the last two lines which end in “art” and “part,”  which make the poem fun and simple to read.  However, lines like 3 and 4 contain ending words that require some vocal alterations in order to rhyme, like “thrown” and “distraction.” In addition, Herrick frequently uses alliteration, especially in the beginning of the poem. The first line places an emphasis on the letter “d” in the words “disorder” and “dress,” while the second line places an emphases on the hard “k” sound in the words “kindles” and “clothes.”  This element provides the poem with a smooth flow in many of the lines.  On the other hand, lines like 3, 4, and 5 clearly do not contain alliteration, and  therefore produce a different kind of flow when read allowed.  To summarize, the various modifications in the rhythm of “Delight in Disorder,” along with the light-hearted mood that marks the poem, allow Herrick to demonstrate the main theme of his piece: delightful disorder.  The poem’s narrator is attracted to slight disorder, specifically in terms of clothing, and attempts to openly attract the reader to the disorder of the poem.

The theme of disorder in “Still to Be Neat,” on the other hand, is not so obvious when studying the rhythm of the poem.  Each of the couplets in this poem are very clear; the ending words in each line rhyme without any effort or alteration.  Thus, the entirety of the poem can be read very naturally.  However, the theme of Jonson’s poem, similar to the theme of Herrick’s poem, is that disorder is preferable to perfection. The narrator of this poem prefers his lady to have be simple; rather than wearing a fancy dress, she should casually be wearing a “loosely flowing” robe with her hair “free,” (line 9).  So, Jonson does a great job at displaying a preference for disorder through imagery.  Herrick, on the other hand, uses rhythm to assist him in displaying the theme of disorder.  For this reason, I prefer Herrick’s approach, because it more creatively displays the central idea.