Beautiful Even in Darkness - Caroline Tucker



I greatly enjoyed reading The Waste Land. I enjoyed it not only because it was short, but because it is simplistically beautiful while at the same time being full of sadness, grief, and darkness. How can a poem be beautiful but at the same time dark? It’s all about the words. The descriptions of the beauties of some sites and the elegant rhymes and rhythms. I found the same to be true of Silence. The simple words conveying deep and horrible events.  How can something so dark be beautiful? This idea is going to occur several times this semester. Of that, I am confident.


This semester has really ingrained the effects that words, put in a certain order, can have on a person willing to invest time into a story. Whether it is a book or a poem, a story has the power to propel its reader towards something. It conveys emotions and brings hope and despair. I am eager to see where The Waste Land, Silence, and our other readings push us to go. 

P.s. I commented on Rachael’s and Addison’s posts

Comments

Eliza Colbert said…
The way Eliot describes some things is really unexpected. The first few lines are a good example of this, describing blooming flowers in the context of death. It really makes you think differently about the world. This is going to be a thought provoking semester for sure.
Rebecca Belew said…
The simplicity of the actual words and length of this poem was refreshing compared to what we have read in semesters past, however, the way the words were combined seemed to redefine them as a whole on some occasions. It is most definitely beautiful the way Eliot combines these words to form twisted, complex sentence structures and sonnets. Though simply worded and short, there's no doubt meaning beyond what one can fathom in this poem.
The best word that I have to describe this poem would have to be "intricate." It's simple, but at the same time the complexity of it is so well planned that it's almost delicate. Eliot's use of words and symbolism and sensory devices is so impressive to me. You're completely right in saying that it really will make you realize how important words really are!