Oldjoe Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How about "The Voice in the Pines"?
>
> [
www.eldritchdark.com]
> e-voice-in-the-pines
>
> This is a subtle poem, but one that is rich with
> aural description, particularly striking at the
> end of the first stanza:
>
> The fainter sorrows of the past, that roll
> In undertones no ear nor thought defines.
>
> The phrase "undertones no ear nor thought defines"
> is a wonderful description of sound that exists
> only at the very edge of human hearing.
>
> CAS is certainly not the only poet who has mused
> on the passing of Beauty from the world, but his
> use of aural metaphors is uniquely powerful, such
> as right at the end of the poem, where the wilting
> of flowers is associated with a dirge:
>
> Or for the flowers, that, shed
> But yesternoon, find now their threnody,
> After the dews which were thy silent tears?
>
> Also of note is that CAS downplays the weird and
> the supernatural in this poem, and yet the merest
> hints of those elements are present throughout. I
> think it's a great example of CAS' range as a
> poet, something quite different than the more
> boldly fantastic work that he is best known for.
This is a *good* one, Oldjoe...
I agree that this is indeed a rephrasing of "But where are the snows of yesteryear?", but focused more narrowly not on all aspects of past events/objects, but the concept of beauty, alone, and in all of its forms.
So it's all about the recollection of past instances of beauty.
There are complexities introduced in his constructions, it seems to me.
He is directly addressing "Beauty", in the aesthetic and spiritual sense of the word. Hence, all of the verbiage of the poem is directed to this amorphous--but positive--personification.
First, I think it's significant--and important, too--to note that he never actually refers to any actual sound, but is in my opinion likening remembrances of past experiences of beauty to very faint sounds. They are, therefore, faint memories, and what's more, they never were expressed or codified in words, being simple, pre-lingual experiences ("....no
thought defines.".
In an odd sense, it occurs to me that if we look at it as remembrances being likened to very faint sounds, he is describing beauty, and its recollection, at the most primal level, very much akin to a dog, who has been absent from his master for a long time, and recognizing him instantly by his voice. The dog is matching to a recalled sound "...that roll[s] In undertones no ear nor thought defines...".
Faintly recalled, pre-lingual.
The second stanza is again directly addressing this personified "Beauty".
Now when you combine the first question (about instances of beauty from the long-distant past), followed immediately by the second question (about recently vanished beauty--essentially for petals shed yesterday, with the evening's dew still on them), you have him again both encompassing the *entire* existence of beauty, "Aeons, too, that are dead" versus "flowers that, shed But yesternoon", and in asking which one the ephemeral Beauty is currently thinking about, sadly, implying that both exist to be considered.
Too, note the nifty little pun in the first line:
Quote:CAS
Beauty, what mournest thou within the pines?
Here, when linked with the title, "The Voice in the Pines", it has a double meaning. The primary meaning is to convey that he's in a forest of pines, but the word "pines", in relation to mourning, fits both grammatically and semantically in this initial line.
Pretty spiffy, if you ask me! In reading his poems in this thread, I am becoming increasingly impressed with his intellect and mastery of the language.
He's really good, isn't he?
--Sawfish
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~