Author Archives: j.melville

For the comrades and lovers eyes only

Posted on by

Walt_Whitman_by_Mathew_Brady

While some take a sadden viewpoint on Walt Whitman’s No Labor-Saving Machine, I see it as a positive reminder. Mr. Whitman (1819 – 1892) is primarily known for a collection of poems called Leaves of Grass.  I believe there are three things at work here; first, a speaker coming forward realizes his shortcomings and openly admits to them; second, the speaker openly admits what he is able to do and what is able to leave behind. And finally, labor versus the introduction of production (machines). Judicious about his legacy, Walt Whitman’s last contribution to the world would be “Leaves of Grass”, to which he had collected a lifetime of reflections about society and himself. Whitman would only to be rediscovered and restored to the American public by a group of editors set out to gather his “vibrating carols”, after his death. These “vibrating cords” included six very different editions of Leaves of Grass, and thousands of manuscripts, letters and journalistic pieces.

To me, this screams the saying “life is too short” Life is too much to worry about the wealth you will leave behind or the patriotic actions for your country; even the book and stories to which you will write. What matters, as identify by the author, are ones nearest and closest to him/her, friends and lovers. This was Walt Whitman’s and Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s literary success. The art of simply caring for the little things. Whitman’s repetition of the word “Nor” in a list fashion almost seem to clarity the truly unimportance of what follows. “Nor literary success, nor intellect”; taken from his own life, Whiteman’s education ended with elementary school and at times he was chronically poor, but in the end he managed to  work hard and soon he enjoyed the fruits of his labor, only to be rediscovered years after his own death.

The title “No labor-Saving Machine” also tells another story. Walt Whitman live in the time of exponential growth the United States. It was the time of Carnegie, Ford, Morgan, and Rockefeller; where man was being replaced by faster machines and newly innovative methods. Similarly to no labor, save the machines seems to relieve the sadden implications outlined by a few. The death of labor? The death of the American worker per se? I am skeptical.  Labor-saving machines, does reduces demand for some workers but increases demand for others, more specialize. However, for the author this may be different or difficult to understand.

All in all, Walt Whitman acknowledges that there is nothing to gain from major success nor of a person to showcase their talents or materialistic items; but at the core, to do only what you think you can do even, in death, to leave behind few carols (stories), vibrating (traveling through generations) through the air (history).

 

 

A World Too much in itself

Posted on by

The sonnet, The World Is Too Much with Us by William Wordsworth (a 19th century English  poet), portraits an idea that people have become so involved in earning  money that they have not only lost touch with all things beautiful in the world but also within themselves. Born, raised and educated in the time of the Industrial Revolution, where the transition from old to new manufacturing processes occurs; William Wordsworth witnessed much of the changes in his beloved Great Britain. He conveys his frustration about the state, which he sees daily throughout the poem.

Stating his dissatisfaction, Wordsworth writes “Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers” to clearly portray that people have given up their “powers”, whether that meant their livelihoods, passions, or even freedoms, (since the industrial revolution introduce the time clock), for this form of efficiency. Would that be true today? William also goes on to say “we have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!” The word “boon” means to be helpful; however, he uses the word after writing “sordid” which means dishonorable, or ignoble motives. Elevating his tone from dissatisfaction to anger, William here, showcases the significance of the problem; all while depicting cynicism and the decadence of society.

In this poem, it seems that human society beginning in the speaker’s time as made a bargain with the devil. Literally or figuratively, society have lost our powers in the bargain, our lives revolve around a clock of work, earn and spend to then work again. A dark and empty pit, we, society are blind and find ourselves alone. But is it preventable? William writes near the end of his poem “Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea”; having the sight of Proteus, is define as one to have the ability to foresee the future or what the speaker notes as potential “glimpses”. The hopes that this ability can help him become less forlorn or sad about the world we see around us.

William Wordsworth criticizes materialism and distancing of humans from the nature of our world and most importantly ourselves. As I read this piece: I wonder. Are there forms like this that exist today? Would we as a collective agree with Sir William Wordsworth? Are there those out there, with the ability of Proteus to notice these changes? Have we, as a society, fell victim to our own problems too greatly to witness the changes to our world?