Failed Pas de Deux--Katie Fulks

In the essay “On Grief and Reason,” Joseph Brodsky focuses on the poetry of Robert Frost and how he uses tragedy, darkness, grief, and reason within his work, especially in the poem “Home Burial.” Brodsky believes that Frost relies on grief and reason because they are “language’s most efficient fuel” or “poetry's indelible ink.”  He argues that within this poem, Frost reveals his feelings towards his relationship with life and his wife after the loss of a child. There is a power struggle between the two characters in the poem due to their lack of adequate communication and understanding of the other’s feelings. Brodsky describes this power struggle by comparing the relationship to a pas de deux, or partnering dance, of misunderstandings. He does this by focusing on the physical positioning of the couple in relation to one another. I do agree with this comparison, because in ballet there has to be communication between partners; everything must be planned and discussed. If this does not happen, the partnership fails, just like in this relationship.

I found his analysis on the staging of the two characters and its relation to the power struggle between them very interesting. Most of the time, I fail to analyze the positioning of characters within literature, which causes me to miss important points of understanding.  Brodsky uses the gender, biographical, and new criticism lenses to examine this poem. Even though this is considered an autobiographical poem by Frost, Brodsky does not want to issue “actual date on Frost.” I am confused as to why he does not want to include all of that information, but maybe that is because he does not wish to take this one side of the story as the whole truth.

Comments

  1. Sophia HaddoxFebruary 27, 2018 at 1:36 PM

    While reading the section about the failed pas de deux, I only took it as a failed communication but one thing I love about your analysis is that since you are a dancer you could really elaborate that into a much deeper meaning and interpretation. It is an interesting dynamic between partners while dancing that I never thought to connect with husband and wife. In dancing the male is supposed to lead, a source of struggling for the man and wife in the poem shown by their switching positions at the bottom and top of the stairs.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownFebruary 27, 2018 at 4:16 PM

    I appreciate your usage of personal outside information in your response and understanding of the piece. I failed to understand the portion that referenced pas de deux because of my lack of knowledge of the topic. Foster would appreciate the many connections made to outside text and information. I would agree that their "dance" falls short of being one of careful choreography. The power struggle and misunderstandings between them create friction. Yet, Brodsky would disagree arguing that the poem is "about language's terrifying success, for language." Their dialog is neither choreographed nor successful for each movement is a stumble in the poem.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Writer Reader Connection (Prompt Four)

Selecting a book written by an author, who is unknown to the reader, is much like attending a blind date. The reader gains a first impression after methodically studying the cover of the novel, much like two individuals who meet for the first time. Both parties are aware that there is a chance the hours of preparation before the date were for naught, and no lasting connection will be created. The chemistry will be quickly noticed wither within the first ten minutes or one hundred pages. Once a connection is sparked it will be difficult to suppress and the first date will turn into dozens, in turn creating a metaphorical series. Then two series later and a shelf or drawer, must be cleared to place the newly collected items brought by a partner the reader never expected to have. This hypothetical situation of a blind date proves that the link between the reader and writer is necessary, and intimate. It is one that cannot be explained to another individual without car...
Read more

One Big Story

When Thomas C. Foster says, "writing and telling belong to one big story", he means that writers are influenced by what they have read and experienced and their works are reflections of that. There are many patterns in reading such as same settings throughout different stories or same plot with different characters. Foster also says, "stories grow out of other stories, poems out of other poems" (Foster 28), meaning that writers just add onto this one big story with their own twist. There are no original works because it is all one story. This idea adds to the richness of reading because if all stories are a part of one big story, then the connections between texts are easier to see once the concept is understood. The story has a new, deeper meaning if this idea is applied because it allows the reader to dig deeper into connecting stories to other stories. The plot of one story may connect to the reader more if the reader starts to look at the little things in the p...
Read more

Prompt two: King Solomon

Foster is exactly right when he says that all the writing is one big story. It's just like what king Solomon said, but why then, is it possible for us to keep revisiting the older texts year after year? The answer is two-fold and is present in the first chapter of this book. His students are all flabbergasted by his suggestion about the devil. This shows that all writings are connected through different allusions and references which he draws upon when he refers to the various Faust stories. A similar trope is present in books by J.R. Tolkien or C.S.Lewis. They both were devout Christians who included religious themes in their books. Additionally, the old texts can be repeatedly drawn upon and viewed in new ways. These different interpretations are the result of different experiences and lifestyles that cast some characters in different lights for different people. Considering that the prompt asks about art in general, I feel like the album cover for the Coldplay song Viva ...
Read more