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Quote from Matthew 6:12-15 of the Christian Bible. This verse is part of Jesus' “Lord’s Prayer,” also known as the “Our Father.” Through the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray.
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One of The Beatles’s undisputed masterpieces, the groundbreaking and influential “Strawberry Fields Forever” (1967) was based on John Lennon’s childhood memories in Liverpool. Lennon described it as one of his most personal songs, “psychoanalysis set to music”. His apparent vulnerability brings an ethereal quality to his singing. The song was one of The Beatles’s most complicated recordings to date, and made use of an arrangement of trumpets and cellos written by their classically trained producer, George Martin.
The orchestral textures were enhanced by the use of a relatively new instrument, the Mellotron, a precursor to the modern digital sampler. The Mellotron uses a keyboard to play samples of acoustic instruments and other real-world sounds that are recorded on magnetic tape. It is first heard in this song in the flute-like introduction, as played by Paul McCartney.
“Strawberry Fields Forever” was originally intended to appear on the band’s seminal Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, but was instead released the same year (1967) as a double-A side with Paul McCartney’s “Penny Lane.” George Martin has publicly stated that taking both “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” off of Sgt. Pepper’s was the biggest mistake of his career. Both songs are named after sites in Liverpool and are steeped in childhood and English nostalgia.
The song’s infamous “Cranberry sauce” outro, misheard by some fans as “I buried Paul,” became the locus of widespread rumors and conspiracy theories, making “Strawberry Fields Forever” one of the most obsessively analyzed songs in music history.
Gatepost to Strawberry Field, Liverpool. Image via Wikimedia
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Also should be noted, the Beatles felt that this song is psychology set to music. As previous comments (inline) have pointed out, Lennon’s “no one I think is in my tree” line is about seeing onself alone in thought and perhaps that means you’re hi (a gienius) or low (an idiot) thru self-reflection.
Paul is dead and was replaced by Campbell everyone knows that
Strawberry fields has at least 3 takes in the same song one of the takes ends in 1:01 and starts the other take.
taken as a whole, and becoming especially clear in the second and third verses, it has always sounded like someone who goes along with the popular opinion of the moment. this person had “eyes closed, misunderstanding all (he) sees.” because he can’t make up his mind and have his own opinions he just burrows someone’s opinions instead. for example he can’t even decide if the tree is high or low. then he goes on to mumble to himself opposing opinions finally settling on “I think I disagree” and he’s not even sure about that
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The most famous poem (1913) from the early twentieth-century movement known as Imagism. According to Pound, it was inspired by a moment he experienced while waiting for the subway in the Paris Underground. At first he “saw a beautiful face, and then, turning suddenly, another and another, and then a beautiful child’s face, and another beautiful face.” At first he couldn’t put the moment into words; later he described it in a longer piece; finally, inspired by Japanese poetry, he found a means of condensing everything about it into a terse 14 words and 19 syllables:
I wrote a thirty-line poem, and destroyed it because it was what we call work “of second intensity.” Six months later I made a poem half that length ; a year later I made the following hokku-like sentence :—
“The apparition of these faces in the crowd :
Petals, on a wet, black bough.”
The poem is Pound’s variation on a Japanese haiku, a short poem typically rendered in English as 17 syllables divided into three lines, and employing highly evocative allusions. This poem has two lines, not three. However, Pound does use a kigo or seasonal cue, which was traditionally used in a haiku; the word “petal” evokes the image of spring.
As the quotation above shows, Pound continued to revise the punctuation of the poem even once the words were pared down to their final form.
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If you add the poem’s title to its body then it has three lines.
The Metro in Paris was pretty new in 1913/15.
The word ‘Apparitions’ joins the lines of the the poem forming a conjunction of faces with petals. The wet reflection of those faces, the crowd, on the bough of a tree.
I think the station frames the first line, it is where these faces are, and in a similar way the bough of the tree acts as a backdrop for the second line.
Perhaps modern man sees himself as a kind of apparition, a spiritual distortion of and in nature.
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The appearance of “faces in the crowd” marks the viewer’s discerning of individuals from a group.
“Apparition” plays on all three meanings of the word:
- A ghostly figure; a specter.
- A sudden or unusual sight.
- The act of appearing; appearance.
The faces become suddenly visible, perhaps as the train pulls into the station or as the passenger exits; their appearance is ghostly and suggests a sudden, perhaps poetic insight.
The meter in this poem resembles the image and experience of a train speeding, then braking to a stop. The words in the poem quickly come and go, much like the faces you see for a brief moment when the doors of the metro open.
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The ultimate Modernist image in many ways especially when juxtaposed with the next line. Ezra Pound encapsulates his plea to ‘make it new’. With just two lines he has managed to distill two images in one.
The first line “the apparition of these faces in the crowd”, reminds me of a train station. A train station is the perfect place to people watch, especially because all you see at first are the same types of characters but then your eyes graze on a sheep amongst a pack of wolves. You then realize that there is still some individuality left in humanity if you look the right places. This reminds me of the a scene from the movie Paris Je T'aime, when an American gets in trouble for spying on a couple kissing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfg4Mx1h2J8
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“Known” in this context may imply a hopeless, frustrated fantasizing.
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Prufrock uses the image of a patient under ether, a potent anesthetic, to suggest his complacency and impotence. The imagery of sickness here may also suggest the sickened state of language or even youth/manhood in the early 1900s—a time when the old romantic vocabulary of the Victorian Era was being used by politicians to justify ending young men’s lives in war.
After the sing-song rhyme of the first two lines, Eliot’s initial readership were primed for something more pretty-sounding from the rest of the poem. But the next line doesn’t rhyme, and the image he chooses is stark and deathly. The abrupt departure from a regular rhyme scheme and macabre imagery suggest, at the start of the poem, a break with the older, Romantic tradition and poets like Shelley, Keats and Wordsworth.
In the simile “like a patient etherized upon a table,” Eliot has linked two seemingly unrelated and totally unexpected images. (In this he was following in the tradition of the 17th-century writers Samuel Johnson called the Metaphysical poets; in their work, Johnson griped, “The most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence together.”)
There are multiple interpretive possibilities. The “ether” might evoke Prufrock’s addled mind, unable to think or act decisively. The atmosphere is also misty and fluid, constantly changing, like the indecisive Prufrock. The image of the operating “table” suggests that Prufrock himself is sick, psychologically or spiritually paralyzed, perhaps socially “unconscious” or sexually impotent.
At the time, anesthesia using ether was still rather high-tech (it had been around for over fifty years, but technology moved slower back then).
Ether has also been used since the 19th century as a recreational drug. Eliot would have known this somewhat scandalous history.
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Dylan’s 1965 single “Like a Rolling Stone” is widely considered one of the greatest songs ever recorded. In 2004 the critics at Rolling Stone magazine (whose name was partly Dylan-inspired) named it the #1 song of all time, and it retained its No. 1 position when Rolling Stone re-configured its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2011 and in 2017.
Though radio DJs initially hesitated to play it due to its groundbreaking six-minute length, the song became a smash hit, reaching #2 on the charts behind The Beatles’s “Help!”. Its combination of folk rhythms and electric rock and roll, its anthemic hook, and its defiant yet vulnerable lyrics had a massive impact on the music of the 1960s. Bruce Springsteen spoke for many in his generation when he testified to its influence:
The first time that I heard Bob Dylan I was in the car with my mother, and we were listening to, I think, maybe WMCA, and on came that snare shot that sounded like somebody kicked open the door to your mind, from ‘Like a Rolling Stone.’ And my mother, who was – she was no stiff with rock and roll, she liked the music, she listened – she sat there for a minute, she looked at me, and she said, ‘That guy can’t sing.’ But I knew she was wrong. I sat there, I didn’t say nothin', but I knew that I was listening to the toughest voice that I had ever heard.
While never confirmed by Dylan, many fans have believed that the subject of the song is 60s socialite and Warhol muse, Edie Sedgewick. In what could be considered the first diss song in a tradition that would continue later in hip-hop culture, Dylan tells her tragic story and how she got there.
The official video for the song finally popped out on November 19, 2013.
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There is a story that makes the songs legend even bigger: When he performed it for the first time live in the mid-sixties, people used to boo him and to leave the concert, some even called him "Judas". When this happend during the famoud concert of 1966, Dylan replied with "I don
t believe you. You are a liar.“ And to the band he said: "Play it f***ing loud!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxLMr784l0Q
Is the album version which ACTUALLY matches the lyrics
My personal interpretation is that the song is about someone who sold their soul to the devil in order to become invisible.
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Despite collapsing and eroding, the distinct images of power remain. Shelley notes the irony of such powerful, arrogant features appearing on a wasted, broken depiction.
Note the grim finality of the verb ‘stamped’. It almost acts as a form of branding: what is left of Ozymandias is one man’s living characteristics interpreted by others.
This line could be read more optimistically: power may fade, but something does survive the ravages of time, and that is art and the artist’s vision … and also the timelessness and popularity of a poem like Shelley’s.
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Also, make note of the sibilance between ‘sculptor’, ‘survive’, and ‘stamped’. This is very important as it praises the sculptor for emphasising all the correct features of Ozymandias as it still bears all the vivid expressions.
the “stamped on these lifeless things” could suggest Ozymandias' control over his people and that he treated them harshly.
This could be a reference to The Hebrews in the time of Moses and how Ramses treated them Badly
Even though person here finds this beat up statue, and his head is half sunk into the sand, he still notices the stamped writing on it. And even though it’s probably a filthy statue, it still holds its value of being a legendary statue of an ancient king.
‘stamping’ on things that are already ‘lifeless’ help reinforce how viciously primitive Ozymandias really was, by the way he reduced his people to mere ‘things’ and ‘stamp[ed]’ on them, dehumanizing them to that of an insignificant insect or bug.
Having “survive” and “lifeless” on the same line hints at how art can outlive human power, but the ruined statue shows that ultimately art can’t immortalise power
The next two lines states that despite all the decay and isolation, the sheer power and intimidation of the statue is still present while beholding it, as Ozymandias had intended while commanding its erection.
This shows that all great leaders lust for power and domination will one day fade away and be nothing more than tales left to rot in the dust.
The juxtaposition between “survive” and “lifeless” is oxymoronic, and causes the reader to think about art’s power of resurrection. Even though Rameses II is dead (and lifeless), we still know about him and his legacy survives.
The word “stamped” links to military drills and marching into war
‘Lifeless things’ possibly a metaphor for the people he ruled over
This simply means that the passions, which are stamped on the statue in the form of words, live on. Even after the sculptor who made the statue(mocked in this case, actually refers to a model; a mock up of something, in common speech) and the pharoah who felt them have been dead for a while.
“Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things” shows an example of primitivism. There is a underlying message with this quotes because when something is written, it can last forever. The writing below the statue has lasted the test of time, but the civilization and power of Ozymandias have not.
Even though years have passed since the statue stood tall, the image or response the monument gives has remained the same.
“Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,”
“perseverance of art over time” (Janowitz 478). When the “works” of Ozymandias decay the only remaining evidence of his greatness is the art of the sculptor. The “passing away of the worldly is counter-balanced by the skill of the Egyptian sculptor who is able to make passions permanent and imaginatively realizable” (Janowitz 478).
Janowitz, Anne. “Shelley’s Monument to Ozymandias.” Philological Quarterly 63.4 (1984): 477. ProQuest. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
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This classic sonnet uses a decaying statue of
Ramesses II, also called Ozymandias, as a symbol of the decline in time of personal possessions and power. Far from standing forever, even the most imposing of man’s creations wear away.
Shelley’s poem is thought to have been inspired by the news of the 1821 acquisition of a statue of Ramses II by the British Museum in London. It was also written in competition with Shelley’s friend Horace Smith, who produced his own “Ozymandias” sonnet and published it a month later.
Signed “Glirastes”– meaning roughly a “preaching doormouse”–Shelley’s “Ozymandias” has become one of his most famous poems.
The essence of the message is the hubris of a man who believed that he would be remembered forever. Shelley points out the power of nature, and its ability to destroy, a classic theme of Romanticism.
It is also a comment on humility — or the lack of it. The traveller is an ordinary man, yet he is the one who tells the story, not the great king. Shelley chose to give a voice to the ‘nobody’, often at that time forgotten by literature.
The poem gained renewed popular attention in 2013 when “Ozymandias” was used as the title of an episode of TV’s Breaking Bad. Actor Bryan Cranston recited the poem in promos for the show (see video above).
The sonnet structure also gives it formality and ‘dignity’, as does the stately, rhythmic iambic pentameter construction of the lines. Furthermore, sonnets are usually associated with love and harmony, however ironically, the only love here was the self-love of Ozymandias.
NB For more on sonnets see Glossary.
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The unique rhyme scheme of the sonnet also deconstructs the sonnet form through beginning with an ABAB rhyme that is true to the Shakespearean sonnet but disregards this across the course of the poem. Additionally, the disjointed rhyme scheme may suggest the breakdown of power represented in the poem.
The poet deliberately structures the poem as a corrupted sonnet in order to present time as omnipotent. The poem is a sonnet consisting of 14 lines, has iambic pentameter but fails to follow other criteria of sonnets, such as the lack of a regular rhyme scheme (ABAB in sonnets). The broken rhyme schemes of the poem reflect on the detrimental effect the passing of time has on Ozymandias’ statue and on human power because “nothing besides remains” of Ozymandias and his kingdom. The use of juxtaposition in the lines “Look at my works,” and “colossal wreck” further bolsters this effect by enhancing the contrast between the Ozymandias’ perception of his power and the unavoidable power of time.
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The remains of a statue of the great king Ramses II stand in the desert, the only part of a much larger statue still existing.
Ozymandias is the corrupted Greek version of the name of the actual Egyptian pharaoh, Ramses II.
‘trunkless legs’ informs the reader of the statue’s lack of body and therefore lack of heart. Additionally, this may signify a lack of connection between his body and his brain. Ozymandias had presence, but no insight or intellect to recognise his limitations.
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The enjambment could reflect how incomplete the statue is, emphasising how nature has destroyed it. (all of its parts are spread out- it is completely destroyed)
the word trunk-less implies that parts of his statue are slowly breaking down, this links to the power of nature, as all the power he had is slowly being destroyed
“Trunkless” is defined as ‘lacking a body,’ which is exactly what the stone statue of this Pharao is defective of. This, one more, emphasises the power of nature over time, which soon becomes a noticeably common theme throughout the poem.
In the modern world, Ozymandias' statue is now missing his whole torso, meaning that figuratively, he is missing a majority of internal organs, including his heart. This can be seen in many different ways, but in the context of this poem, this shows once again his lack of feeling and empathy for others.
Vast- suggests it as being overwhelming and that the statue shouldn’t be there.
It is clear that Shelley doesn’t not want to honour Ozymandias as he quickly moves onto the next line. Rather, Shelley evokes the negative influence of Ozymandias' power.
yes he is still standing, but he is standing in a lifeless dessert, subsequently he has power that means nothing.
Although everything else has decayed, his ‘legs of stone’ still stand strong. This could represent a perseverance for power and perhaps explains why he is reluctant to let go of it (his statue still remains, albeit weathered)
When this is said, I believe that it could mean its just legs and a face. No body, no soul, so the person could be cold hearted, emotionless, in capable of feelings/love. This could be imagery the author is trying to hint at us, of being cold.
The adjective ‘trunkless’ also alludes to elephants, who are powerless without a trunk, much like Ramesses is without his statues. This highlights Shelley’s use of natural imagery to show how power can not outlast nature, or time itself.
“vast and trunkless” is a juxtaposition, implying that the statue is big and powerful, but also broken and incomplete. It highlights how powerless it is as he is without his largest feature (his trunk), symbolising the power of nature over man.
As the poem mentions the legs are made of “stone” (“legs of stone”) it suggests that even if the body still existed then his heart would also be made of “stone”, which could suggest how he ruled Egypt.
shows the break down of power as a great leaders statue is broken and only parts remain like his once great power.
Powerful imagery to begin the story brings the reader right into the scene. The vast nothingness that surrounds whats left of the statue shows that, with all the power and command the statue describes, there’s nothing or no one around to yield to its might.
The disembodied statue in the desert has a double meaning. While being an actual statue of Ramses II it also illustrates how the power over the city has been long lost to time and now Ozymandias is powerless.
The fact that the king at that time thought of himself as being very powerful and believed himself to be god-like, suggests arrogance. But now, the statue of himself that he commanded to built for him is now “trunkless” suggesting that he is powerless and that the power of nature and the power of time is more powerful than himself. Nature has decayed the statue from many processes such as weathering and many other factors. Time will always pass by and will never be stopped or anything.
“…” Could present the traveller looking around for something else. Emphasises the absence of everything else he built and the rest of the statue – gives the reader time to wonder where the rest is.
“Trunkless Legs stand in the dessert” also suggests a lack of power over the city as he has been corrupt by God, meaning he is a victim of cosmic irony for thinking he is more powerful than God, therefore God has taken his power shown as he has a lack of power over his city/land as his body is incomplete conveying his city or land is corrupt. He has no more power over his land because his legs are “Trunkless”.
The words ‘vast’ ‘trunkless’ and ‘stone emphasises size, but also shows how incomplete the statue is too. This again, shows how Ozymandius’ importance has decreased overtime.
Stone can be a representation of his lack of emotions or the hardness and strength of his power. (Maybe, i dont know for certain obviously)
The word ‘trunkless’ also alludes to the sense of decay present throughout the poem
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