Reading “Still Falls the Rain” on the same day as “Church Going” was interesting, because they contrast so sharply with each other. “Still Falls the Rain” oozes religion and piety, and seems to recommend turning to Christianity for solace and salvation during World War 2, whereas “Church Going” talks about the end of religion and Christianity’s decline in Britain in the twentieth century, especially after World War 2. I’ll discuss “Church Going” in another post.
I was struck by the comparison of the British victims of the
Nazi bombing to Jesus on the cross. I’ve
seen this analogy in a lot of World War 2 literature – what sticks out
particularly for me is Night, by Elie Wiesel, where he describes the hanging of
a little boy, and says, “There is God, hanging there on that tree.” Given that Wiesel is Jewish and not
Christian, I’ve always been intrigued by him making that comparison. But back to “Still Falls the Rain.” When the author talks about the rain being
black – is it acid rain, or somehow a fallout from the fire bombs? Or is it metaphorical? I’m not sure what it means. Also, what does it mean, “the pulse of the
heart that is changed to the hammer-beat in Potter’s Field?” Is it talking about a person who’s been
buried alive, and whose heart is still beating?
Or is it about soldiers? I don’t
know what to make of the “hammer-beat.”
Another line that was confusing comes near the end: “Christ’s
blood…flows from the Brow we nailed upon the tree deep to the dying, to the
thirsting heart that holds the fires of the world.” Is the one who “holds the fires of the world”
the devil, since Hell is traditionally thought of as a pit of fire? Why, and how, is he thirsty? Thirsty because he’s deprived of water, or
because he secretly wants a connection with God? Or is the fire something else, like the Holy
Spirit, which came to the Apostles in tongues of fire? Is the “thirsting heart” the heart of humanity,
and their “thirst” for a relationship with God?
I’m not sure. This is a very
emotional poem, very traditionally Christian, kind of the opposite of Larkin’s. The images of the tortured bear and the
crucified man (Jesus) are particularly evocative for me.
I think "Still Falls the Rain" is so intense. We are definitely in the modernist era now. Holy imagery! (no pun intended, well maybe a little). I think we have to examine the (Raids 1940 Night and Dawn) when we are analyzing just what the "rain" is. To me it is clear that it's not rain falling, it's gunfire and bombs. The potter's field reference threw me for a loop too. I think if you look at it in the Biblical sense there is something there concerning the creation of man out of clay, but I do not know how to flesh that out. (okay seriously, that one wasn't on purpose). Potter's fields were used to mine clay but afterwards there was no need for them so they used them as large burial site. Maybe Sitwell was just trying to say that we had used the land for what it was worth and now all we can do with it is bury the dead. This poem is very creepy and cryptic.
ReplyDelete"Night" is an amazingly powerful book, and it is really interesting that you brought it up. I think that the comparison you made between Wiesel's statement and Sitwell's depiction of Christ on the cross was great because both images are very vivid, and are meant to indicate dread.
ReplyDeleteThere is a place in "Night" in which Wiesel declares that there is no God, and that he doesn't believe a God would allow something like the Holocaust to happen. I think that is a scene to keep in mind when reading this poem; Sitwell clearly believes that Christ still loves, forgives and will save people, whereas Wiesel (like many other Jews who were forced to live through the horror of the concentration camps) looses that faith (in God). I think that this difference is important to keep in mind, particularly when thinking about the space and place of these two writers.
I love your connection to Night, it's a wonderful book. I agree with Ashlee on the representation of the rain. I do think it symbolizes something bad, like gunfire or bombs. I think overall the poem allows the reader to establish a connection to what it was like to be in the war by using powerful imagery and cryptic phrases. It almost makes you look back and realize the sacrifices people made for you to live, and I guess making the comparison to Christ makes the connection to the people that have sacrificed themselves in battle that much more powerful. I definitely think it's a comparison to Church Going, even though this poem describes dark events of the war, you can really pull out an underlying comfort in faith. Even though all these bad things are happening, faith will still prevail.
ReplyDeleteI thought your detailed explanations of some of the religious allusions in "Still Falls the Rain" were very helpful. I have background in the Catholic religion, but the connections in the descriptions you made were helpful, even to me, when really thinking about this poem. I really liked the questions you brought up within your post, which evoked many thoughts when I was thinking about it and reading the poem over again. I like that you questioned why the rain was black; maybe it's because the rain was a metaphor for the bombs falling? I also liked that you pointed out his thirsting heart. He is definitely thirsty in a literal sense because in the Bible Jesus says that he has thirst, and the guards give him spoiled wine. I'm sure there is another type of thirst he has as well, but I'm not really sure what that entails.
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