Modernist Poets Discuss the Impermanence of Glory
In the period following World War I, citizens of all nationalities faced a dark disillusionment forcing them to grapple with personal identity and the purpose of life. People looked to artists of the age as builders of morale and shapers of societal perspective, yet the writers of that time had little more sense of direction than anyone else in the midst of ideological desolation. The only thing to be certain of was uncertainty. Two Modernist poets – Thomas Hardy, and A. E. Housman – chose to cope with such insecurity by depicting Glory meeting an undefeatable adversary and returning to obscurity; using allusions, imagery and tone to set a mood of either negativity or cheerful acceptance, each …show more content…
Where the glory of the Titanic was presented as prideful, self-adoration, this athlete seems to have every reason to receive praise for his accomplishments. There are no judgment-laced allusions or morose comparisons to spoil his moment of fame. However, like the ship, his glory is also fleeting and every step brings him nearer to that fateful impact. Rather than assign maleficence to the inevitable, the speaker of Housman’s poem simply calls it “…the road all runners come” (5). At some point, the strength of every athlete fails and years of grueling miles bring Death to the doorstep. By the second verse, the runner is being carried “[s]houlder-high” (6) once more, but this time in a coffin. By establishing that picture of being carried in triumph early in the poem, the speaker draws a connection between death and victory. But why was Hardy’s sinking ship so macabre and Housman’s dying athlete so exultant? In both cases the glory was profound, the obstacle invincible, and the outcome absolute. But the speaker of Housman’s poem chooses to move his focus from what has been lost to what has been gained. After watching icy death grind grandeur into dust, ship and athlete would agree that “glory does not stay” (10). Finding a silver lining on the darkest cloud man will ever face, the speaker of this poem praises the athlete for passing on when he did: “Now you will not swell the rout / Of lads that wore their honours out” (17-18). Dying with his name still on people’s lips – dying before someone younger and stronger came along, spat upon his victories, and crushed his laurels in the dust – that was the greatest win of all. Surely the athlete always knew his glory would end even while
In the period following World War I, citizens of all nationalities faced a dark disillusionment forcing them to grapple with personal identity and the purpose of life. People looked to artists of the age as builders of morale and shapers of societal perspective, yet the writers of that time had little more sense of direction than anyone else in the midst of ideological desolation. The only thing to be certain of was uncertainty. Two Modernist poets – Thomas Hardy, and A. E. Housman – chose to cope with such insecurity by depicting Glory meeting an undefeatable adversary and returning to obscurity; using allusions, imagery and tone to set a mood of either negativity or cheerful acceptance, each …show more content…
Where the glory of the Titanic was presented as prideful, self-adoration, this athlete seems to have every reason to receive praise for his accomplishments. There are no judgment-laced allusions or morose comparisons to spoil his moment of fame. However, like the ship, his glory is also fleeting and every step brings him nearer to that fateful impact. Rather than assign maleficence to the inevitable, the speaker of Housman’s poem simply calls it “…the road all runners come” (5). At some point, the strength of every athlete fails and years of grueling miles bring Death to the doorstep. By the second verse, the runner is being carried “[s]houlder-high” (6) once more, but this time in a coffin. By establishing that picture of being carried in triumph early in the poem, the speaker draws a connection between death and victory. But why was Hardy’s sinking ship so macabre and Housman’s dying athlete so exultant? In both cases the glory was profound, the obstacle invincible, and the outcome absolute. But the speaker of Housman’s poem chooses to move his focus from what has been lost to what has been gained. After watching icy death grind grandeur into dust, ship and athlete would agree that “glory does not stay” (10). Finding a silver lining on the darkest cloud man will ever face, the speaker of this poem praises the athlete for passing on when he did: “Now you will not swell the rout / Of lads that wore their honours out” (17-18). Dying with his name still on people’s lips – dying before someone younger and stronger came along, spat upon his victories, and crushed his laurels in the dust – that was the greatest win of all. Surely the athlete always knew his glory would end even while