Interpretation of "The Contrapuntal Civilization"
Interpretation of ’The Contrapuntal Civilization’
The Contrapuntal Civilization is a poem from Michael Kammen and was written in the years of the Vietnam War in 1971.
After reading the poem my impression was mixed because the poet mentions good as well as dire aspects of American policy. The poem shows the deplorable situations America has and demonstrates its position in the world. In addition he points up its accomplishments.
To start with the poem is divided into 13 stanzas and they consist of 3 (tercet) or 4 (quatrain) lines. The poem ignores the fixed rhyme scheme and has no metre in order to concentrate on the context. One part of each stanza is loaded with words having negative connotations, like “died” or “bad” and the other part with words having positive connotations, for example “magnificent”. Furthermore the contrasting ideas are balanced against in grammatically parallel syntax. These formal means and the repetition of “I have […]. But I have […]”emphasize the contrasting arguments and the mixed opinion of America. Antitheses and the parallelism of sentence structure pass through the whole poem. The poet speaks to the reader directly and I can’t help thinking that the lyrical I in the poem stands for America itself.
The fifth stanza illustrates the conditions of blacks. The poet focussed on the prejudices against blacks and the situation that they couldn’t go to the same schools as white people. At this time public services were segregated, too.
With help of focussing on the good things America has done the poet plays the bad sides of American happenings down. For proof I want to refer to the seventh stanza. There the space based nuclear program is the main aspect for the reason that the first atom bomb was built by Americans. The destruction of a whole generation of nuclear weapons ensue until the INF treaty was signed. To belittle the purpose of such a bomb - “to destroy the world” (l.23) – Kammen uses an understatement and states it was used “to light a light” (l.24).
To put it all in a nutshell the poem deals not only with the Vietnam War but also with political, military, environmental, social and economic problems in America. The lyrical I sees the pros and cons of American achievements in history, policy and society. The antithetic structure of the poem demonstrates the oppositional view of a contrapuntal civilization.
Maria Hentsch 12/2
604 words
Inhalt
Gedichtinterpretation des Gedichtes "The Contrapuntal Civilization" von Michael Kammen
(englisch, ) (610 Wörter)
(englisch, ) (610 Wörter)
Hochgeladen
von unbekannt
Schlagwörter
Optionen
0 weitere Dokumente zum Thema "Werke"
82 Diskussionen zum Thema im Forum
82 Diskussionen zum Thema im Forum
- "The Contrapuntal Civilization" von Michael Kammen (2 Antworten)
- A Visit Of Charity - Eudora Welty (3 Antworten)
- Essay schreiben in Englisch (0 Antworten)
- interpretation (0 Antworten)
- Einleitung Abiklausur Science and Technology (6 Antworten)
- mehr ...
Wenn du dieses Dokument verwendest, zitiere es bitte als: "Interpretation of "The Contrapuntal Civilization"", https://e-hausaufgaben.de/Hausaufgaben/D2138-Gedicht-Interpretation-of-The-Contrapuntal-Civilization.php, Abgerufen 13.10.2024 19:45 Uhr
Es handelt sich hier um einen fremden, nutzergenerierten Inhalt für den keine Haftung übernommen wird.
Es handelt sich hier um einen fremden, nutzergenerierten Inhalt für den keine Haftung übernommen wird.
PASSENDE FRAGEN:
- "The Contrapuntal Civilization" von Michael Kammenleute! weiß einer wo ich das gedicht zum nachlesen finde? hab es leider unvollständig
- A Visit Of Charity - Eudora WeltyHallo ihr Lieben.. es geht nochmal um die shor story `A Visit Of Charity` von Eudora Welty. Ich muss zu morgen eine ..
- Essay schreiben in EnglischHi, Ich muss bis morgen ein Essay in Englisch schreiben. Das thema lautet:"no civilization without elite" Habt ihr..
- interpretationich brauch eine Interpretation von hintons buch the outsider in enlish
- Einleitung Abiklausur Science and TechnologyHi, Ich schreib morgen Englischabi und hab jetzt Gaunerhaft vorher eine Einleitung zum Thema Science & Technology geschrieben..
- mehr ...