There can be no denial about the fact that poetry has immense power to inculcate the masses with the revolutionary thoughts that have the potential to bring out the immoralities or shortcomings of the society. The literary artists grip over the form of art to appeal to the readers of their poetry and incite their minds with the revolutionary thoughts that have the capacity to bring change in the society or the system. As such, one can look into specific texts that embody this passion of subversive attitude. The paper aims to explore the potential of the form of art to engage and condition the human minds to think subversively or question the social institutions and to incorporate the evidence and citations from the four involved poetic works: Regarding Art by Nazim Hikmet, Black Woman by Leopold Sedar Senghor, To New York by Leopold Sedar Senghor, and Seven Laments for the War-Dead by Yehuda Amichai. These four poetic works aim to assimilate the readers with a specific kind of perspective and teach them to see the world differently. The quotes from the poems in context of the analysis of the paper would ensure a comprehensive process of focusing on the issues that exist in the world among people of cultures and communities all over.
Nazim Hikmet’s poem, Regarding Art, can be cited to be one of the best examples of poetry that assimilate the human heart with the spirit of change and freedom. Nazim Hikmet was a contemporary classic Turkish poet, who significantly contributed to the beginnings of poetic revolutionary changes both in political and aesthetical senses. In Regarding Art, he rejects the classical perception of poetry as the lyrical flow of sentimental thoughts and sees it as a concrete result of the human activities. He writes, “But my / poetry’s muse / takes to the air / on wings made of steel / like the I-beams / of my suspension bridges!” (Hikmet 324) The used similes distance poetry from something ethereal and ephemeral and make it closer to reality and earth. Then, Hikmet proves this idea stating that he would not notice the beauty of the god Adonis but could not help looking at real philosophers or firemen, in other words, real people around him, “I didn’t – wouldn’t – trade / my wife dressed in her leather cap and jacket / for Eve’s nakedness!” (Hikmet 324) In Regarding Art, Hikmet revolutionizes the idea of what poetry should be and makes it closer to reality without belittling its significance. Despite its ordinary, his poetry still remains the immense power and creativity that transcends the barriers of the society and the world around.
The poem Black Woman by Leopold Sedar Senghor goes on to portray the issue of racism and speaks for change in the society and perspective. Black Woman was first published in 1945 and revolutionized Western poetry. Since the times of Dante, Western literary traditions had followed the pattern of praising beauty and femininity of women with white skin and dark hair, and Leopold Sedar Senghor celebrated the beauty of the black-skinned woman that was a rare issue those days. The poem consists of four stanzas, three of which have five lines, while the last one has three lines. In the first stanza, Senghor highlights that the black color of the woman’s skin is life and she is beautiful, “Nude woman, black woman / Clothed in your color which is life itself, in your form which is beauty!” (Senghor 589) He calls the woman “Promised Land” and refers to her as to his Mother. In the second stanza, Senghor makes the connection between his image of the black woman and his poetry, “mouth that moves my mouth to poetry” (Senghor 589). Here, the woman is shown as the poet’s Lover. Senghor compares her beauty with the sculptured drum that emits passionate sounds under the fingers of a brave Conqueror and states that her voice is an anthem of love. In the third stanza, Senghor shows the black woman as a Goddess. He compares her with a heaven-limbed gazelle; her skin reminds athletes and princes, and her eyes reflect the dawning sun. Finally, Senghor writes that the beauty is fleeting and that he perpetuates it in his poetry forever. Thus, one can say that in Black Woman, Senghor presents the generalized character of a black woman. He refers to nobody specific but praises all black women in general. The poet turns the European stereotype about the Negritude nudity as an echo of primitive culture into a positive beauty; the black skin becomes clothing itself. Praising Black women, Leopold Sedar Senghor highlighted the problem of racial discrimination and challenged the established laws of the European poetry. Women with another skin colors are not worse than white women; their beauty just differs. Senghor writes, “And your beauty strikes me to the heart, like the flash of an eagle” (Senghor 587). The poem speaks of a societal change and brings in a better perspective about the black community while the world has seen extreme cases of racism and discrimination meted out to the people of the black community.
Another poem by Leopold Sedar Senghor, To New York, can very well be described to be a very close commentary on the society and civilization. New York is the financial center of the United States of America and its largest city. At first, Senghor admires its beauty, “Those huge, long-legged, golden girls / so shy, at first, before your blue metallic eyes and icy smile / so shy” (Senghor 588). However, almost three weeks later, he starts to see New York as an empty city full of artificial people, “No laugh from a growing child . . . / no mother’s breast . . . / no tender word, and no lips / only artificial hearts paid for in cold cash / and not one book offering wisdom” (Senghor 588). According to Senghor, New York does not have any saint things except money; people are obsessed with their impulsive desires, and even love becomes sewage. The poet highlights that it is time for changes and suggests “a green breeze of corn rising from the pavements,” the connection between Africa and America based on love and respect (Senghor 589). Thus, Senghor continues the theme of racism started in Black Woman. He writes about Harlem that has been the center of the African-American life since the 1920s. Writing about “streams of white rum and streams of black milk,” Senghor appeals to the final accepting of African-Americans and to the end of racial prejudices (Senghor 589). The commercialization of White Americans and the suggestion to accept African-American culture as a way to become alive again is a revolutionary and bold idea. The poem fulfills the aim to attract the people’s attention to the problems that continue to exist in society even nowadays. To New York by Leopold Sedar Senghor goes on to evoke the thoughts of the readers, as the poem ends with a resonating remark, “Just open your eyes to the April rainbow / And your ears, especially your ears, To God” (Senghor 589).
The poem Seven Laments for the War-Dead by Yehuda Amichai consists of seven separate poems united by the common theme of the protest against wars. Amichai lived in the twentieth century in the hard days covered with wars or threats of wars. He spent most part of his life in Jerusalem and Israel, fought in the Second World War and in the Israel-Arab Wars of 1948, 1956, and 1973. Thus, Amichai’s attitude towards wars and the reasons he wrote Seven Laments for the War-Dead become clear. The first lament of the poem describes the old man who lost his son, “He has grown very thin, has lost the weight of his son / That’s why he floats so lightly in the alleys and gets caught in my heart like little twigs that drift away” (Amichai 429). The second lament tells about the destined death, the future death of the child in the war showing it in the sacred light, “But for a dead man earth and sand are clear water, in which his body goes on being bathed and purified forever” (Amichai 429). In the next lament, Amichai ironically describes the two war monuments: the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier that is a good target for future gunners and the monument in Hyde Park that is similar to a cake. The fourth lament shows the memories about childhood in pre-Nazi Germany; quotes from an old zoology textbook remind about the absence of worries, but red-breasted robin quickly brings back to reality and to the good friend, the soldier who dies from the dead wounds, red-breasted. Here, the tone of the laments starts to be of a personal nature, and this idea continues in the fifth lament, where the poet tells about another his dying friend, Dicky. Dicky is a character of Amichai’s short stories and some of his other poems. The sixth and seventh laments deal with the deceased. In the sixth lament, Amichai questions the relations between commemoration of the deceased people and consolidation of those who remain alive. The poet stands in the cemetery dressed in the yellow color of life that opposes camouflage of soldiers. He writes, “Is all of this sorrow? I guess so. / “May ye find consolidation in the building of the homeland” . . . / leave a little love burning always like the small bulb in the room of a sleeping baby that gives him security and quiet love” (Amichai 430). Love towards the deceased soldiers should live in the hearts of people whom they protected. The last lament encircles the poem and returns to the old man from the beginning. Amichai rejects traditional consolations about death for the sake of patriotism and shows the real feelings and sorrow. He describes Memorial Day after the Israel-Arab War, “everything in three languages: Hebrew, Arabic, and Death” (Amichai 431). The beautiful ceremonies and monuments just temporarily soften the burdens of war; in reality, God is toothless and indifferent and does not wish the end of the wars and death. Except being a poet, Yehuda Amichai was a soldier who went through the horrors of wars, and Seven Laments for the War-Dead revolutionizes the real perception of the war victims making the readers think about the real sense of the beauty of consolidation.
The mentioned poems are quite different in their approach, but all of them aim at transforming and adding to the perspective of the readers and incite change in their hearts. Regarding Art by Nazim Hikmet reconsiders the nature and sense of poetry; Black Woman and To New York by Leopold Sedar Senghor raise the questions of anti-racism and praise the beauty of Black Women and the African-American culture; Seven Laments for the War-Dead by Yehuda Amichai strongly protests wars and makes it readers think about the reality of consolidation. The social issues that are raised in these respective poetic works attract the attention of the readers from the very inception of the writings.
Works Cited
Amichai, Yehuda. “Seven Laments for the War-Dead.” The Longman Anthology of World Literature. New York, NY: Pearson, 2009. 428-431. Print.
Hikmet, Nazim. “Regarding Art.” The Longman Anthology of World Literature. New York, NY: Pearson, 2009. 323-325. Print.
Senghor, Leopold Sedar. “Black Woman.” The Longman Anthology of World Literature. New York, NY: Pearson, 2009. 587-588. Print.
Senghor, Leopold Sedar. “To New York.” The Longman Anthology of World Literature. New York, NY: Pearson, 2009. 588-589. Print.
