I must admit that I quickly became lost and confused within this poem but what stuck out to me was the very beginning, when the poem talks of the death of air, earth, fire, and water. From the paragraphs that describe the deaths of the elements, I think it is discussing the end of life itself. The air is what keeps life going and it is choked by the dust of all that clouds the soul. The earth is the foundations upon which a life is built, and it become malleable and washes away with the tides of time. Fire and water are what that life has accomplished and how they will flicker and fade away along with life. It is a rather bitter truth of the world that a life must come to an end and all that life was will eventually fade into nothingness. I wonder if there is a peace in that.
I commented on Nathaniel's post.
I really like your take on the beginning of the poem. I kind of got that as well but considering it's me I took it to mean the literal death of the Earth and not the soul. I think you're right though; the soul makes much more sense in the context of both this class and this poem.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading Little Gidding, I saw essentially the same theme throughout it. I really like this take on it.
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