tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post1661412548039681587..comments2024-02-05T00:16:13.698-05:00Comments on Banjo52: John Berryman, "Dream Song 14"Banjo52http://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-656612821977297682013-07-23T16:24:34.502-04:002013-07-23T16:24:34.502-04:00Maybe I'm taking it too seriously, having deal...Maybe I'm taking it too seriously, having dealt with depression in the past. One can choose to focus on the depressing side of life -- or not. I read his poem and my reaction was, "Get away from that." That last line was forlorn, to me. He seemed to have an affinity for the dog, and even the dog has left him in solitude.John Evanshttp://www.on-scenic-routes.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-61147662521896822472013-07-23T10:16:44.774-04:002013-07-23T10:16:44.774-04:00When I was first getting interested in poetry (may...When I was first getting interested in poetry (maybe age 15 or 16), I LOVED what Berryman did. It just seemed so wacky and deranged....I couldn't predict at all what the poems would do. <br /><br />I went back to my first contemporary poetry anthology, and I'd marked Dream Song 45...it has a great opening line: "He stared at ruin. Ruin stared straight back."<br /><br />I think many of these Dream Songs end the same way--with a short list that seems to fall apart/break. This one does it, too.<br /><br />The "Peoples" bit I took to mean that not just people bore him....but vast populations, peoples...<br /><br />I do see such angst in these, and self-loathing, especially. I feel sad for him.<br /><br />His lines don't necessarily stay with me (and I don't count him in my favorite poets now, necessarily), but the mood of his poems does linger. Does that make sense?<br /><br /><br />Here's Dream Song 45: http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/john_berryman/poems/12154.html<br /><br />Hannah Stephensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15792203070774504501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-60648763080199885152013-07-21T20:27:31.577-04:002013-07-21T20:27:31.577-04:00Debit and credit. that's rich!Debit and credit. that's rich!Ken Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09100185198750536244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-21580087984412697752013-07-20T15:36:59.176-04:002013-07-20T15:36:59.176-04:00Can't say i completely understand the last lin...Can't say i completely understand the last line but the word 'wag' strikes me as funny. Peoples also - and part of why we named outr cat that 'Peoples'<br /><br />In terms of whine - seems he's laid the ground of critique on another<br /><br />I saw the humorPasadena Adjacenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09031325790590238246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-53492600646635154412013-07-20T09:18:24.198-04:002013-07-20T09:18:24.198-04:00AH, I do hear the humor but can't get past its...AH, I do hear the humor but can't get past its whine, its unconvincing attempt at self-deprecation (by including "Henry" as a boring thing), its sort of teenage sarcasm and rejection of pretty much everything. I can see how the ending tries to save all that from itself and make us realize all that might have been just a set-up for the last two words, which, I agree are affecting. <br /><br />And I'll give Berryman this: how those final words, or final two lines, achieve their power is almost a testament to the limits and the magic of language. All at once Henry and we find language too limiting to express how completely blocked he is (and we are?) from anything fulfilling, and not boring. <br /><br />But at the same the concluding language brings us to an understanding, and maybe empathy, that neither Henry nor we can explain with "normal" language. To grasp just how . . . bereft? . . . he is, he and we must rely on words that communicate in an almost supra-rational way. <br /><br />Have I said anything remotely connected to your point? Banjo52https://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-67672376465464088632013-07-19T13:59:01.448-04:002013-07-19T13:59:01.448-04:00I think we're coming at the poem from differen...I think we're coming at the poem from different angles. I found it very very funny up until the ending. I found the final image strangely sadly beautiful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-51808645090091547002013-07-19T12:38:59.808-04:002013-07-19T12:38:59.808-04:00AH, for what it's worth, I had the same feelin...AH, for what it's worth, I had the same feeling of familiarity about the poem; maybe I considered posting it once and chose not to. I wonder if you're thinking of another confessional poet, like Sexton. As for liking #14, I think you're in the majority. I like the parts I mentioned liking a LOT, but the rest . . . <br /><br />Rune, maybe it's a guy thing? And that bench makes me want to know who Bob and Ernie were. Accountants? Too witty a marker for accountants? :) Banjo52https://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-34099239991754011292013-07-19T11:44:33.466-04:002013-07-19T11:44:33.466-04:00I must lack "Inner Resources", because t...I must lack "Inner Resources", because this bored me. But I enjoyed Debit and Credit!<br /><br />Re your comment: I sincerely hope the comfort is better now, but I don't know about the fun :-)Rune Eidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01008247272056395901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-50635098834444368822013-07-19T00:48:39.372-04:002013-07-19T00:48:39.372-04:00Ok, you're right; wasn't Berryman. But ano...Ok, you're right; wasn't Berryman. But another poem ever so similar in the end, or the tail, as it were. Now it's going to haunt me, and until I figure it out, I won't be able to explain why I like this poem so very very much.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-18167322459119495342013-07-19T00:10:55.860-04:002013-07-19T00:10:55.860-04:00AH, here's from November 2009. It's the on...AH, here's from November 2009. It's the only thing I can find:<br /><br />http://banjo52.blogspot.com/2009/11/hawthornes-america-artists-and.html<br /><br />Banjo52https://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-39097850062855422292013-07-18T21:19:53.670-04:002013-07-18T21:19:53.670-04:00Didn't we discuss this poem earlier? If so, ca...Didn't we discuss this poem earlier? If so, can you link to that discussion so that I don't either repeat myself or contradict myself. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com