Image of Angst, Alienation, and Hurt in Literature - Essay Example

Image Of Angst, Alienation, And Hurt In Literature It is indeed true that both the poems that are How Far that Sound and Imaginary Homeland do evince a sense of displacement, angst and alienation regarding the ambience they delve on. However, in a more literary context, the poem How Far that Sound does present the emotional content imbued in it in a more sustained, lingering and gripping manner as compared to Imaginary Homeland. The primary forte inherent in How Far that Sound is the imagery that the poem delves on, to pithily convey the angst, alienation and hurt that the poet intends to build on.

Unlike the Imaginary Homeland, which though being a good poem does predominantly rely on a resting sense of conclusion to convey it emotional content, How Far that Sound tends to juxtapose form and content, upbraiding them with much lilting and disturbing imagery to bring out a sense of acceptance and resolution. The confusion and chaos inherent in the atmosphere is conveyed in this poem by the use of such imagery that could culminate into varied resolutions. For instance the line, “the mother is leading her children down the hallway, /a school or hospital” indeed builds on the confusion immanent in the atmosphere in a very evocative and moving format.

The primary lacuna in Imaginary Homeland is that it mainly focuses on the innate sense of hurt and acceptance of the poet. In that sense it is a very pithy and concise poem that does convey the poet’s sense of eventual acceptance in an economical and restrained manner as it says, “stand out in a heavy summer rain /Ignore threats. Pray”. However the problem with this poem is that it fails to stimulate the sensory repertoire of the readers by exploiting sounds and imagery to convey a lasting emotive content.

In that context, How Far that Sound comes out as a full bodied creation, which well engages the sensory aspects of the readers to build on the inherent sense of pain and hurt. How Far that Sound is not an isolated act of creativity, but rather it appears to be a poem about the people. In this poem the poet manages to eke out of one’s personal angst to delve on the human imagery and ambience surrounding one. Thereby, it is not merely a personal act of sharing and confession, but rather a work of art that lays testimony to a collective, social and shared experience.

Unlike the Imaginary Homeland, the poet in How Far that Sound does manage to transcend the personal sense of dilemma, to care about and convey about the larger human context in which one is creating. Hence, it would not be wrong to say that How Far that Sound conveys the plight and circumstances of the people and the place it is talking about in a much stronger, sustained and prolonged manner. It lacks the concern with the self imminent in the poem Imaginary Homeland.