An Essay On Man

I have trouble reconciling the man I envision as the author of An Essay on Man and the person I read about in Alexander Pope’s biography.  Pope was an ostracized Catholic, a man of short stature, physically deformed and so skilled at maintaining his friendships that his “work earned him so many enemies that he refused to leave his house without a pair of loaded pistols” (Norton 87).  But his poems…they are epics, beatific and honorable odes to a world that has to wonder if it deserves to hear such verse.  Pope’s An Essay on Man is not his most famous work (That would be The Rape of the Lock) but it is his most ambitious.  Essay is an attempt to map out the workings of the world “a might maze! But not without a plan” and spell out- in heroic couplets none the less- the workings of that plan.  Pope seems to come to the conclusion that it is only foolish ambition that would ever lead humankind to believe that anyone is capable of understanding the order of the universe. 

Only “Presumptuous Man” would dare to question what he perceives as wrong or unrighteous in this world.  Pope explains “respecting man, whatever wrong we call, may, must be right, as relative to all” (91).  Our view of the world is so narrow, so lacking in wider perspective that there is no conceivable way to for us to wholly understand what is needed to balance the scales of the world.  But man is prideful, and we still “ask for what end the heavenly bodies shine/ Earth for whose use? Pride answers, “Tis for mine: For me kind Nature wakes her genial Power” (93).  Pope argues that innocence and ignorance are the “bliss of Man (Could Pride that blessing find)/ is not to act or think beyond mankind” (94).  Pope sees the true order of the universe as unknowable to a species as flawed as ourselves. 

Pope raises interesting questions.  I don’t know that it is possible for a person to understand the universe.  But I know I don’t think we should stop trying.  All the amazing things that Pope lists to show the wonder of the universe “this air, this ocean, and this earth, all matter quick, and bursting into birth”, it all makes me want to know more.   Even as he claims that we can never know the full extent of Truth and Knowledge Pope still revels in the beauty and wonder of the universe.  He is in awe that anything so magnificent has been given to us to enjoy.  So maybe he doesn’t want to jinx it by looking too close. 

Works Cited

Pope Alexander. An Essay on Man. The Norton Anthology of World Literature: New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2013.  86-97. Print.

Montaigne

Michel De Montaige was a compassionate honest man.  His essays remain a legacy of unflinching soul searching and wide eyed analysis of the world around him.  His most well-known essay “Of Cannibals” is perhaps the best example of his liberal and empathetic approach to the world.  In it hes describes a culture utterly foreign to his own, and manages to keep intact his own dignity and the dignity of the people he is describing.  Although the tribe of natives that Montaigne describes eat the flesh of their enemy and hold their “combats, which never end but in slaughter and bloodshed”, he finds their overall culture praiseworthy (1656).  “This is a nation… in which there is no traffic, no knowledge of letters, no science of numbers, no name for magistrate or political superiority, no customs of servitude, no riches or poverty, no contracts, no successions, no partitions, no agriculture, no metal, no use of wine or wheat.  The very words that signify lying treachery dissimulation, avarice, envy, belittling, and pardon- unheard of” (1654).   He goes on to describe the structure of the society, the expected activities of the day.  He calls attention to the equality of the people, the respect given to warriors, the role of wives.  While he finds some activities distasteful, namely the cannibalism, he considers it no greater a sin then those committed by his countrymen.  He believes “there is nothing barbarous and savage in that nation, from what I have been told, except what each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice; for indeed it seems we have no other test of truth and reason than the example and pattern of the opinions and customs of the country we live in” (1653).  Montaigne is willing to look beyond his own customs and admit that his own country has not cornered the market on right.

I tried to think of all the cultures I personally find barbaric.  I think people who practice female circumcision are barbaric.  I think countries that deny all access to outside information are barbaric.  I think countries that still practice stoning are barbaric.  I’m not appalled by these cultures at large, but I chose these particular atrocities for a reason; these acts are not crimes committed by individuals- these acts are culturally sanctioned and institutionalized.     I find these aspects of a culture to be barbaric because I think the world culture at large can agree that these things are wrong.  These acts hurt people, destroy quality of life and create a culture of fear and intimidation.  To borrow a line from “The West Wing” these cultures aren’t our “quirky little ally whose culture it's important to be tolerant of. They're not wearing wooden shoes” (Game On).  There are some things (many things) I find weird or off putting about other cultures (I’m looking at you Japan, with your creepy used underwear vending machines) but I don’t find those cultures barbarous- just odd.  It’s when a culture creates pain and suffering that I begin to judge.

Works Cited

                Montaigne, Michel De. Essays.  The Norton Anthology of World Literature: New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2013.  1647-1664. Print.

                “Game On”.  The West Wing: Complete Collection. Aaron Sorkin & Paul Redford.  Dir. Alex Graves.  Warner Brothers.  2006.  DVD.

Sunjata

Marriage happens everywhere.  Whatever society you come across there is going to be marriage in some form or another.  By extension, there are weddings everywhere.  And nothing brings out the traditional and ritualistic like a wedding.   It is the joining of two lives together, so the event can be fraught with bad luck, bad omens, and bad manners.  Best to be on the safe side by participating in any and all superstitions that ward off the bad juju. 

In Sunjata, the traditional oral epic of the Mande People, this adherence to the old ways is given an origin.  In a passage describing the meeting of Sunjata’s parents the wedding traditions of the culture are explained and given purpose.  Sogolon Conde, Sunjata’s future mother, has been cursed by her sister.  Her legs are twisted ad her head is bald, but she is still the most powerful sorceress around.  Before Sogolon came the Manden traditions was that a bride would walk into her future husbands hut.  But her twisted feet stirred up too much dust. This made the procession of sister brides behind her complain.  The co wives picked up Sogolon and carried her into the village, singing as they went.  After three trials with the co-wives and three trials with her husband Sogolon concedes that Maghan Konfara is her husband.  She does this through the ritual of the Kola nuts.  “The ten kola nuts that are given to the women,/ It was Sogolon who first put them into water,/ It is the woman who is supposed to put the kola in water,/And then hand it to her husband./ …/She went and knelt in front of Maghan Konfara/ She said  “He is my married Husband” (Norton 1538).  Food is often a part of marriage traditions. 

The small part seen in the marriage ceremony often represents a life of plenty in the future.  In Western culture the most obvious example is the wedding cake.  There are many traditions surrounding the cake, but one that is becoming increasingly rare has to do with unmarried guest taking a piece of the cake home.  It’s said that if a person places a piece of the cake under their pillow, he or she will dream of their future spouse.   Not bad for a confection. 

This is one of the sweeter traditions, and has little to do with some of the more…eccentric customs discovered in my internet search.  In France they make married couples eat out of toilets, in Scotland they cover the bride to be in fish heads and spoiled milk before her bachelorette party, and in Nothern Borneo they don’t allow the married couple to go to the bathroom at all for 72 hours before wedding.  So in comparison, the tradition is more “quaint” than “terrifyingly antiquated and related to the subjugation and loss of status caused by marriage”.  The worst that comes out of this tradition is laundry.  Speaking of, I guess this superstition came about when the traditional wedding cake was fruit cake- which is very dense, and would not have made such a mess.

 There are a lot of traditions surrounding the wedding cake.  The three tiered cake comes from when the bride and groom had to kiss over the cake as it was raised higher and higher.  There is a Southern American tradition of groom’s cake, most often chocolate.  The bride used to do the cake cutting alone, as a sign of her first act as hostess.  Most of these traditions are still with us, in one form or another.  The cake under the pillow has fallen into disfavor, becoming an old wives tale and a children’s game.  Much like peeling an apple into one long strip and throwing it over your shoulder to find the first letter of your intended’s name, no one really thinks it will work.  I had heard of this tradition before, but mostly in romance novels and fairy tales.  There is a common variation of having to pass the cake through a ruby ring before it can work, but this could be the exaggeration of an author.  But the tradition still holds true to the idea that food is important in a wedding.  In every culture, from the Mande to the English, food at a wedding represents plenty for the future.  And everyone looks to the future at a wedding. 

Works Cited

               Conrad, David C., Djobba Kamara and Lansana Magassouba. Sunjata: A West African Epic.  The Norton Anthology of World Literature: New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2013.  1517-1576. Print.

Basho

This video is the story of a journey.  Matsuo Basho styled himself as a poet wander, detailing his adventures in the Japanese countryside along with his trusty sidekick.  While he did tour the countryside it seems that many of his poems were composed and edited at a later time (Norton 325).  While the immediacy of Basho’s words can be called into question, the power of the images cannot. 

Basho went on what was seemingly an epic road trip with his companion Sora.  While I would not personally travel in a car with the same guzheng music the author of this video has decided to use as a soundtrack, it does add a nostalgic air to the images and poems.  The editor of the video does a nice job moving the “story” forward, as the images and poems move through Basho’s journey. 

The poems the editor has chosen focus on the frailty of life.  The short life the cicadas and the crow overlooking the coming autumn both prove poignant against the mournful music.  This is further enhanced by the color wash and ink drawings used in the video.  There are no bright colors or fast movement, only slow moments captured in the page. 

Works Cited

               Pucher, Martin, eds.  The Norton Anthology of World Literature: New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2013.  Print.

Classics of Poetry

Does poetry have any obligation beyond making the reader feel something?  That answer can go either way in a myriad of circumstances,  but when it comes the Classics of Poetry the answer is a resounding “yes”.  The anthology, the compilation of which is often accredited to Confucius, contains 305 poems and is considered is the basis of the Chinese literary cannon (Norton 756).  These poems expressed Confucius’s belief that “political order depended on the individuals in society to cultivate their moral virtue and thus contribute to social order” (Norton 756).  These poems highlight a respect for ancestors and the state that Chinese society at the time held in deep respect.  There is a great deal of nature imagery, speaking to the agrarian nature of the economy, and many poems deal with the whims and machinations of a capricious river (Zhen and Wei) or a ravenous rodent (Huge Rat) (Norton 764).  The poems preach a steadfastness and acceptance in the face of theses hardships.  In a poem about the birth of the first people, She Bore the Folk Jiang is granted the honor of bearing the first people because she “knew the rite and sacrifice” (764).  There is a focus on ritual and tradition in these poems that can be both quaint and a little disturbing.  I’d personally like to see a little more emphasis on innovation and self-determination.  There seems to be an emphasis on honoring the past that I don’t think really leaves much room for changing the future.

There are some beautiful love poems, and I can’t really argue with familial devotion.  Boat of Cypress is an especially heartbreaking poem.  The unnamed narrator drifts along in a boat drinking heavily, abandoned by family, and unwilling to do some service.  It is unclear if the narrator laments a personal loss, or something more political, but the imagery is gorgeous: “this heart of mine is no stone; you cannot turn it where you will” (761).  It could be a woman forced into an unhappy marriage, or a bureaucrat forced to work for a worrisome ruler.  The narrator laments the situation, but remains in the boat, drifting with the current, unable to “spread wings to fly away” (762).   This is a moving piece, beautifully written, the repeating structure of the similes creating a kind of rocking motion to mirror the boat.  But there is an acceptance of fate that comes across as lazy to me.  It’s tragic certainly, but mostly I want to tell the narrator to get out of the boat and walk in the other direction. 

Works Cited

               Pucher, Martin, eds.  The Norton Anthology of World Literature: New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2013.  Print.