Typical Paris Scene? What do you ponder?
What thoughts come to your mind when you read this? Do you see any deeper meanings? Any thoughts at all would be greatly appreciated!
"I knew that James Whistler be part of the Paris scene,
but I was still surprised when I found the painting
of his mother at the Musée d'Orsay
among adjectives the colored dots and mobile brushstrokes
of the French Impressionists.
And I was surprised to notice
after a few minutes of benign staring,
how that woman, stark in profile
and fixed forever within her chair,
began to resemble my own ancient mother
who was presently fixed forever in the stars, the air, the earth.
You can get the message why he titled the painting
"Arrangement in Gray and Black"
instead of what everyone naturally call it,
but afterward, as I walked along the river bank,
I imagined how it might have broken
the woman's heart to be demoted from mother
to a mere composition, a study contained by colorlessness.
As the summer couples leaned into each other
along the quay and the wide, low-slung boats
full of spectators slid up and down the Seine
between the carved stone bridges
and their runny reflections,
I thought: how ridiculous, how off-base.
It would be like Botticelli calling "The Birth of Venus"
"Composition in Blue, Ochre, Green, and Pink,"
or the other agency around
like Rothko titling one of his sandwiches of color
"Fishing Boats Leaving Falmouth Harbor at Dawn."
Or, as I scanned the menu at the cafe
where on earth I now had come to rest,
it would be like drawing something laughable,
like a chef turning on a spit
over a blazing fire in front of an audience of ducks
and calling it "Study in Orange and White."
But by that time, a waiter have appeared
with my glass of Pernod and a clear pitcher of water,
and I sit there thinking of nothing
but the women and men passing by—
mothers and sons walking their small fragile dogs—
and almost myself,
a kind of composition in blue and khaki,
and, now that I have poured
some water into the glass, milky-green."
Does it sound similar to he is an American feeling out of place just resembling the American painting in Paris? Explain please! And why does the painting remind him of his mother?
Answers:
This poem is accurate and would be even better if one left out any 'had's in it.
They're unneeded.
Then it's close to just in the region of perfect. I really like it.
No, the poem does Not make me have a sneaking suspicion that of an American only "feeling out of place."
The poet is reminded of his mother because his mother is also departed and he dislikes thinking of her the way Whistler named the portrait he made of his mother.
There are great lines to reinforce this.
They are sprinkled throughout this piece, from various possible name of other art to even the cook at a cafe - then to the poet himself.
Fantastic poem.
Did you write it?
Is it unpublished?
If so, keep your copy (with the piece's name, your identify and a date in the header) always, always at home as your allowed copyright.
Then you're fine to publish whenever you can.
Thanks much for the share.
ADD: Sorry to get back so late on this; profoundly going on.
Since the poet sees various aspects of first art, then Paris, after even himself described as 'just' colors - this poem seems also to relflect the mortality of first art, then Paris, then even the poet himself. End ADD Source(s): UCLA Eng. Lit.; post-grad work. Career as writer, editor and Eng. most important tutor. Retired.
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"I knew that James Whistler be part of the Paris scene,
but I was still surprised when I found the painting
of his mother at the Musée d'Orsay
among adjectives the colored dots and mobile brushstrokes
of the French Impressionists.
And I was surprised to notice
after a few minutes of benign staring,
how that woman, stark in profile
and fixed forever within her chair,
began to resemble my own ancient mother
who was presently fixed forever in the stars, the air, the earth.
You can get the message why he titled the painting
"Arrangement in Gray and Black"
instead of what everyone naturally call it,
but afterward, as I walked along the river bank,
I imagined how it might have broken
the woman's heart to be demoted from mother
to a mere composition, a study contained by colorlessness.
As the summer couples leaned into each other
along the quay and the wide, low-slung boats
full of spectators slid up and down the Seine
between the carved stone bridges
and their runny reflections,
I thought: how ridiculous, how off-base.
It would be like Botticelli calling "The Birth of Venus"
"Composition in Blue, Ochre, Green, and Pink,"
or the other agency around
like Rothko titling one of his sandwiches of color
"Fishing Boats Leaving Falmouth Harbor at Dawn."
Or, as I scanned the menu at the cafe
where on earth I now had come to rest,
it would be like drawing something laughable,
like a chef turning on a spit
over a blazing fire in front of an audience of ducks
and calling it "Study in Orange and White."
But by that time, a waiter have appeared
with my glass of Pernod and a clear pitcher of water,
and I sit there thinking of nothing
but the women and men passing by—
mothers and sons walking their small fragile dogs—
and almost myself,
a kind of composition in blue and khaki,
and, now that I have poured
some water into the glass, milky-green."
Does it sound similar to he is an American feeling out of place just resembling the American painting in Paris? Explain please! And why does the painting remind him of his mother?
Answers:
This poem is accurate and would be even better if one left out any 'had's in it.
They're unneeded.
Then it's close to just in the region of perfect. I really like it.
No, the poem does Not make me have a sneaking suspicion that of an American only "feeling out of place."
The poet is reminded of his mother because his mother is also departed and he dislikes thinking of her the way Whistler named the portrait he made of his mother.
There are great lines to reinforce this.
They are sprinkled throughout this piece, from various possible name of other art to even the cook at a cafe - then to the poet himself.
Fantastic poem.
Did you write it?
Is it unpublished?
If so, keep your copy (with the piece's name, your identify and a date in the header) always, always at home as your allowed copyright.
Then you're fine to publish whenever you can.
Thanks much for the share.
ADD: Sorry to get back so late on this; profoundly going on.
Since the poet sees various aspects of first art, then Paris, after even himself described as 'just' colors - this poem seems also to relflect the mortality of first art, then Paris, then even the poet himself. End ADD Source(s): UCLA Eng. Lit.; post-grad work. Career as writer, editor and Eng. most important tutor. Retired.
Related Questions:
What's this roughly speaking an Older Renesmee?
Over a year ago, I had a dream. I dreamed that I was Renesmee, but older, physically something like fifteen years old, but really about three to five (because her growing slows as she... grows!)In my dream, Alice realised that she recognised Renesmee from somewhere; basically at adjectives of the crucial events that had lead to...
What is Oedipus's tragic flaw?
Im writing an essay about Oedipus's tragic flaw and have no idea how to start it. I also call for a quote that supports it. Please help! It's not that you don't know how to start. You don't know what his flaw is. First of all, did you read it? That's a good start.Here are some concept:PridePersistenceIgnoranceArroganceHe had...