After-Life Phenomenon in Two Poems - Essay Example

Nothing Last Forever Introduction Different people have various beliefs in regards to life after death. Various religionshave described the after-life as a paradise. Many people believe that life on earth is a journey that takes the human being through temptations and hardship. They believe in the judgement of a human being after death. The consequences of living is judged by a supernatural being, where, if the person in question led a good life, paradise is his or her destination and if the person led a life full of actions against their religious belief, he or she is condemned to external suffering. Many artists have displayed their work on the after-life topic. Paintings, songs poetry and images have and will continue to be created, describing this unknown phenomenon. This paper will focus on two poems, describing the after-life and compare the ideas found on both. The first poem is, ‘Sailing to Byzantium’ by William Butler Yeats, the second, ‘Ocean Mirage at Deng-Zhou’ written by Jong Yong Kim. The two poets came from different continents. They share the idea of an after-life phenomenon but they have different opinions on the description. The student will compare how the two poets treated the theme of after-life differently and yet wrote these two great poems. The student will focus on the various styles used by the two poets and came up with an analysis of the ideas, the poets, shared and the ideas the two differed on. The student will also look at the various poetic techniques used by the poets. Stylistic devices used in the poems For many years, poets have used many stylistic devices in writing their poems, regardless of the geographical location of the poet or the poets theme. In cases where two poems are contrary to each other, chances that the same stylistic devices used are very high. The devices are techniques used by the poets to help the reader understand, virtualise or interpret the poets’ theme of discussion. Stylistic devises are also used to intensify the poem making it have an emotional effect or have a logical emphasis. Although these two poems Sailing to Byzantium and The Ocean Mirage Deng-Zhou, were written by different poets at different times and from different geographical locations, the poems have same similar stylistic devices. The poems are talking about the personas’ journey to place they describe as place of discovery. The two poems are talking about wait the persona gets after dying. In Sailing to Byzantium, the old man, who is the persona, explains about his journey to the city of Byzantium while the persona in The Ocean Mirage at Deng-Zhou, goes to see the mirage famously told by old men. The stylistic devises used in the poems are: verses, the speaker, imagery, personification, tone and metaphors. Verses Verses are the basic structure of most poems if not all. A poem may have verses ranging from one verse to more than a hundred verses. In the two poems, the poet used verses for the smooth transition of the experience that each persona went through in their respective poem. The poem sailing to Byzantium has four verses. Each verse follows the other from the first one to the fourth one. The information in each verse is because of the previous verse. The transition of the old mans’ journey, from the country hated by old people to his nature less form while in Byzantium. The Ocean Mirage Deng-Zhou has twelve verses. Just like the other poem, the verses continue with the narration of the poem according to the actions and explanation of the previous verses. Speaker The speaker is the feeling, felt by the reader, as if the poem is being narrated to him or her. Poems using the speaker, as a form of stylistic device, have a narrative effect on the recipient of the poem. This affects the readers emotionally because the poem appears as if the person in the poem is telling it. It helps the reader connect with the episodes or the logic that the poet tries to pass along. In Sailing to Byzantium, the old man appears to be narrating his own story from his definition of the country that he travels from, to his final wish of becoming a lifeless figure. The reader goes through different series of emotions as s/he reads the poem because he relates the poem to the old man. In the second poem, the narrator starts by explaining how he had heard about the ocean mirage from the old people. He later explains that he wrote the poem after seeing the mirage. The speakers in the two poems play a significant role in the emotional attachment of the reader about the poetic articles. In addition, the old man in Sailing to Byzantium, tells his story, the poem, as if he is narrating it to us. In the poem, The Ocean Mirage at Deng-Zhou, the narrator or the speaker, tells the reader about the experience he has after seeing the mirage at Deng-Zhou. To the reader the narrator is telling or narrating the poem. Both poems have used these stylistic devices, the speaker, to make the reader understand the message that both poets want to pass. The difference in the use of this device is that in the first no explanation is offered in the beginning. The poem, Sailing to Byzantium, starts by explaining the situation of the country. The old man narrates the hatred he feels towards the country. In the second poem, The Ocean Mirage at Deng-Zhou, the narrator starts by explaining the title in an evasive way. He introduces the reader to his current situation and describes the title vividly. From the brief explanation, the reader understands the title and its relevance to the poem. The poets use the speaker, as a way to make the reader, to get a proper understanding of the situations they are both in. The tones, however, differ in the end as the speakers view of after-life differs. A reader who has read the poem can be easily convinced due to the stylistic device that the two poets have implied. Imagery While reading any poem, images develop in ones’ mind where the reader is able to virtualize images described by the words in the poem. In the poem, sailing to Byzantium, the images of a land that is harsh towards old people are formed while reading this great poem. The artistic goldsmith works found in Byzantium create the illusion of the city’s’ beauty. The narrator pays attention to details that helps to describe the images, in the readers mind. He makes it apparent to the person who reads that he had no choice but to evacuate the country and head to a place where he could die in comfort. The narrator creates an illusion in the readers’ mind of the journey to Byzantium and his expectation once he has arrived. In the Ocean Mirage Deng-Zhou the poet use words like cloudy sea, dragons, fish, god, whip among other words that have an imagery effect on the reader. These words are familiar to the reader; hence the reader can easily use the stated words to form familiar images. The two poems have used this stylistic devise extensively making the reader understand the poets’ message. Personification This is the art of giving life to lifeless objects. The use of this stylistic device is to intensify the reader. The reader can be amazed or shocked, depending on the poem, by the object that have been given life or the human like action done by these lifeless objects in the poem s/he is reading. In the first poem, either the old man want to be a gold statue to keep the drowsy emperor awake or a mechanical bird that sings to the men and women of Byzantium. Although the old man is dying, the fact that he chooses to be an object when he is alive gives the reader an understanding of his soon to be life or the life that the old man wants to live when he dies. In the second poem, the existence of dragons and gods are made to appear real. The god helps the persona in the poem by whipping the dragon. This happens after the persona has awoken the sleeping god. The use of personification has made the two poems have an intense effect on the reader. The thrills achieved from reading these two poems have made the poems to be impressive to most of the people who have read the poems. Tone Most poems, if not all of them, use this stylistic device to make the reader understand the poet’s attitude on the issues he or she is addressing. In the poem, Sailing to Byzantium, the poet starts with a sad tone progressing to a much positive one. The positivity comes from the narrator’s final journey to Byzantium. At the start of the poem the narrator express how he hates the country he lives in. He describes how he hates the young peoples’ negligence of the cycle of life. His tone starts to take a positive when he sails to Byzantium to free his beating heart from his dying body. Byzantium is symbolic for the after-life, but the poet use a welcoming tone despite his death. On the contrary, the poet on the second poem, The Ocean Mirage at Deng-Zhou, uses a sad continuous tone throughout the poem. Form the beginning of the first stanza to the end of the poem, the reader understands the theme of after-life is non-existence in the poem. The poet states, in his description how he looked forward to see the ocean mirage at Deng-Zhou and as soon as the poem starts the author tone saddens. This is because he does not see the after-life as a happy place. His thought of after-life is empty. The tone helps in connecting the reader to the personas’ feelings about his current situation. This sets the mood for the reader. Symbolism Symbolism is the art of associating specific things, place, person, animal or happenings with other living or non-living things or places. This happens when the poets makes the reader to thing hard on the issue s/he or is focusing on. The reader has to think critically on the issue the poet is addressing. In the poem, Sailing to Byzantium, the city of Byzantium is symbolic for the death of the old man. The old man sees death as a chance to move on to a lifeless form where hardship tends to increase with age. In The Ocean Mirage at Deng-Zhou, the mirage is also a symbol for the death of the narrator. The episodes experienced in Byzantium and the episodes that happened after seeing the mirage are the poets’ beliefs on what happens after death. Metaphor Metaphor is the transfer of meaning. This is a very common stylistic device used not only in poetry but also in literature. In some cases metaphors are almost similar to symbolism. Like in the two poems, the city of Byzantium and the ocean mirage are metaphors used to mean death. Metaphors can also relate closely to personification. In sailing to Byzantium the old man wants to become a mechanical bird or a golden statue curved by the talented goldsmiths in Byzantium. The mechanical bird and the statue are metaphors used to describe the forms, which the old man wants to have after his death. In the poem, The Ocean Mirage at Deng-Zhou, the episodes, which the dragon and artisan’s god appear, are metaphoric explanations on the poets view of what happens when he dies. Synopsis The poems are a good read for all who love poetry. They try to explain the poets idea on what happens when a person dies. The following is a brief synopsis of the two poems. ‘Sailing to Byzantium’ by William Yeats was published in the poetic collection, The Tower, in 1928 for the first time. It made up of four stanzas, each made up of eight lines. Each line has ten syllables. The narrator is an old man who has decided to leave the country of the young, and travel to Byzantium. This is because the country does not suit the old. The country is blessed with fish in its waters and birds in the plants. The narrator is just but a pathos and for him to escape this ill-fated situation, he sails to Byzantium. On his arrival, the narrator calls out to the elders of Byzantium, who are a part of God’s retinue, and request them to accompany him to his death. The narrator describes his old age as having a living heart fastened to a dead body, and he cannot live in that manner any more.The narrator hopes to be freed from his body and exist outside time, like a great work of art, ‘the artifice of eternity’. In the last stanza of the poem, he declares once he is freed from his body, he will seize to live like natural being. The narrator prefers to exist as a golden bird, which sings to the lords and ladies of Byzantium about the past, the present and the future. The Ocean Mirage at Deng-Zhou is a Chinese poem written by Su Shi. It is about an ocean mirage that old men have told about the narrator. His curiosity makes him wait for five days before he sees the mirage. When he felt that the mirage was not appearing, he even tried praying to the sea god, the prince of extensive virtue. His faith helped him, and he finally found what he was travelling to find. This poem begins on a pure melancholic note. The writer describes the loneliness that is felt around the sea that harbours Deng-Zhou (Su Shi, Pp1085). He does this by also emphasizing how even the hosts are not here to stay; they ‘appear and disappear’. The expression ‘cloudy sea’ might also mean that there is a mysterious feeling that also surrounds the sea. It could be that the appearance of the sea scared him or raised many unanswered questions. In the end, after having difficult and lonely episode, the persona has a change his mind on the reason he even came to the ocean mirage in the first place. However, he is happy. Although loneliness is still eluding this town, it is clear that this poem is all about living once because there is no ‘life after death.’ Theme There are several themes that the poets have used, the major one being the afterlife or what happens after a person dies. In Sailing to Byzantium, the old man speaks of a city where he will seek refuge after running away from the harsh country. The sailing to Byzantium has a metaphoric meaning that the old man plans to release himself from his dying body or in other words, he is dying. Likewise, in The Ocean Mirage at Deng- Zhou, the narrator is describing an afterlife experience. The ocean mirage at Deng- Zhou is the death of the narrator. The two poems have different tone regardless of their common theme. The first poem, the narrator looks forward to dying while in the second the narrator opts to live. Conclusion In the first poem, Sailing to Byzantium, the narrator show that there is satisfaction in death but he has not yet died, rather he is still sailing to Byzantium or to his death. His vision of death may have beautiful images of gold curving and mechanical birds but in the end he will have stopped existing. He argues that the would want to keep the drowsy emperor awake or that he would want to sing for the men and women of Byzantium, yet the people and their emperor are not existing. In the second poem The Ocean Mirage at Deng-Zhou, the narrator speaks of loneliness and emptiness on emptiness after seeing the mirage. The sight of the ocean mirage is the narrators’ death and as he explains, there is nothing but loneliness and emptiness in death. In ‘sailing to Byzantium’, the images of a land that is harsh towards old people, the narrator to help create images formed while reading this great poem uses the journey to Byzantium, and the artistry found in Byzantium.The narrator creates an illusion in the readers’ mind of the journey to Byzantium and his expectation once he has arrived. He praises the works of the goldsmiths found in Byzantium.The narrator believes that, life after death can be fulfilling to anyone dream. Despite the nature, living or dead, the narrator expresses his opinion on his chooses of after-life, which he is willing to live. The author of the poem The Ocean Mirage at Deng-Zhou had wanted so much to experience the mirage that he even stayed at Deng-Zhou for five-days. The writer describes the loneliness that is felt around the sea that harbours. Deng-Zhou is described as ‘the drifting world’ making the reader believe that this ‘world’ is not here to stay, that it is constantly changing or that this world is not here to stay. The two poems have used imagery distinctively to create images to the reader. The method of imagery used, however, differs, in Sailing to Byzantium; the images the poet is trying to create are associated with nature. The poet creates a natural surrounding by the use of natural beings like old people, the young, birds and fishes. The other poem, The Ocean Mirage Deng-Zhou, the images formed is lifeless. He states that loneliness accompanies him while at Deng-Zhou. The use of imagery has made the tone of the poem differ. The solution that the first poet has creates a positive tone in the poem. He sees solution in his afterlife. He goes ahead and sails to Byzantium in order to achieve his desired state in the after-life. The other poem, The Ocean Mirage at Deng-Zhou, has a relatively low and sad tone. The persona has used imagery to create a scenario that is not positive in any way. He states ‘in the cloudy sea off to the east, there is emptiness on emptiness.’ The picture in the readers mind shows how the author perceives the after-life. This is opposite from the authors view of Sailing to Byzantium, where he states This shows that the persona in this poem has, and the reader gets, an image of the persona in a beautiful after-life and the freedom to choose the nature of existence he wants. The poet used common stylistic devices. The devices were used differently but still made these two poems great. The poem expressed different opinions about after-life but delivered the poets imagination in a way that is clear to the reader. The theme of life after death has been used in both poems. The situations; however, differ from one poem to the other. The poets used the theme differently in both poems. The first poet is enthusiastic about the form he will take once he dies or arrive at Byzantium. The other poet is sad about the loneliness and the emptiness after he dies or sees that oceans mirage. Poetry has and will continue to be used to entertain, teach and explain situations experienced in the past, the present and the future. It is a fundamental part of the human literature. Poems written in the past still have major influence in today’s society. The scholars of literature will continue to cross paths with poetry to the very end. Works Cited Deng Zhou hai shi. The Ocean Mirage at Deng-zhou (1085). Poem by Su Shi. Translation by Stephen Owen, in An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911, pp. 672-673. Yeats, William B. Sailing to Byzantium. London: Phoenix, 1996. Print. Read More