To begin I'd like to talk about what I found interesting about as a whole. If you didn't read the intro, In Memoriam is a book of poems inspired by the feelings and thoughts ALT had concerning the short life of his best friend. My fascination can be best explained via the questions I have. Did anything get lost when ALT translated his thoughts into the lyric rhyme scheme? Did the time that ALT spent crafting the thoughts into poems alter the initial ideas? I guess just in general what is the relationship between the lyric poem and the raw material of thought.
As for number 120 specifically, I did not find it entirely compelling. I did however enjoy the first two lines, "I trust I have not wasted breath:/I think we are not wholly brain." I felt it displayed the conundrum of these poems. I read it, I haven't wasted my time with these poems: I think you can hear me in a form beyond the physical. A metaphysical dilemma pops up. The brain is the source of tribute or form of communication, and yet he hopes there is something else that exist beyond, but can still comprehend in terms of brain functions, i.e., thoughts. After writing that, I am more confused than when I begun.
"I think I have not wasted breath" (1)? Is the speaker referring to the idea of a spirit, here? Does he now believe living beings, or, at least, humans, are more than mere constructs of science? It would appear so, as the speaker suggests in the second stanza that, after Science has proved what it sought to prove, it has no real meaning to him. This seems to contrasts his thoughts from Memoriam 56, which, in my eyes, is a good thing. The speaker now recognizes that not all living beings are the same, and that life IS meaningful and unique and wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Erica, I interpreted the poem in a similar way. I think Tennyson is saying that although science may explain the parts of the body and their functions, this is not all that humans are. "I think we are not wholly brain," (2) for me, this line made me think that although the brain is important the human soul is also a necessity. There are things that science cannot fully explain. This poem reminded me of one of my favorite Einstein quotes, "Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love."
ReplyDeleteIt is very telling that these poems were inspired by the death of a close friend. You can definitely feel Tennyson’s sadness and contemplation about life and death. I am not quite sure what Tennyson is saying about science and nature. However, I find it really interesting and clever that we read this at the same time as Dawin’s The Origin of the Species. Maybe that is still ingrained in my mind, as well as the wildlife science class I took last semester, but I viewed parts of In Memoriam to be about evolution and survival of the fittest. More so in #118 than 120, but anyway my point being I think he was trying to understand life and death. I agree with Erica that he may be saying science has no meaning for him. However, I believe this is because he believes it has failed him. It could be a coping mechanism to understand the death of his friend. He doesn’t seem to think he should have outlived his friend. He shows this when he says “Let him, the wiser man who spring/ Herafter, up from my childhood shape/ His actions like the greater ape” (9-11). This means to me that he was well adapted and superior, yet it wasn’t sufficient. Regardless of what Tennyson was actually saying I believe it was an awesome poem.
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