Critical Themes In Both “Adam’s Curse” and “In My Craft or Sullen Art”
Introduction
There are many different forms of poetry recorded throughout history. Good examples include, “Adam’s Curse” by W.B Yeats and “My Craft or Sullen Art” by Dylan Thomas. While both are used to spread different messages, they both fit into the three common forms of poetic narration; these are the lyric, descriptive and narrative types of poetry. Lyric poems are mostly associated with the poet’s emotional life and are expressed through strong expressions, emotions and thoughts. Narrative poems, on the other hand, are based on creative storytelling similar to any prose story. This type of poetry follows the conventions of plot and includes critical elements of narrations such as climax, resolution, rising action, and conflict. Lastly, are the descriptive poems which primarily employ tonnes of imagery to explain the poet’s world. Such poems mostly have a singular poetic voice and rich emotional content. However, they are different from lyric poems as they concentrate more on the external factors or situations surrounding the poet and not issues within his or her life.
It’s also important to mention that in all these types of poems, powerful poetic devices are used to make the entire piece captivating, unique and attractive for any audience. A poem with well used poetic devices is more likely to withstand the test of time as compared to one which is shallowly written. Furthermore, a sufficient number of these devices draw their origins from the ‘roots’ of the poem and are follow the literary form speech. They rely heavily on creating a musical feel with rhythm and rhyme. With all that in mind, this comparative paper will analyze the various literal devices, styles and themes used in the poems, “Adam’s Curse” and “My Craft or Sullen Art” to how they fulfil the purpose of poetic writing. It will also attempt to answer questions such as, “what were the poets’ feelings and thoughts during the time or writing?” and “what message were they trying to communicate?”
“Adam’s Curse” by W.B Yeats
Although written in the early years, this poem by Yeats is one of his most captivating pieces. It comes with stylistic devices that over the years, have been uniquely connected to Years and easily ranks amongst his best works. It is merely an emotional recollection of an evening spent with his beloved and her friend (citation). Here, he frames a philosophical type of argument that because of the curse of toiling, and labour placed upon Adam after eating the forbidden fruit, everything that man does today require a considerable amount of hard work. This includes those activities meant to achieve beauty, whether through physical appearance or in poetry. The smooth speech-based rhythms in the poems iambic pentameter suit the poet’s message. The narrator, in this case, shares deep affections towards the woman whom the poem is written for. Although the scenes seem happy, their hearts are weary like ‘shells worn by the waters of time’ (citation).
Behind the unsophisticated, natural poetic feel is a considerable amount of structure and hard work. This is similar to what the narrator says to describe the truth behind lyric writing. For instance, the discussion of beauty and work is usually separated into three continuous: the author’s claim about poetry, love, and physical beauty. The final claim allows Yeats to blend these three messages and to soften the poetic mood. He looks towards the moon, which turns out to be a metaphor representing the timely effects of one’s heart. This could also be referred to as weariness brought about by difficult living as a result of ‘Adam’s demise.’
Lastly, “Adam’s Curse” follows the form of the heroic couplet of writing. This is the title customarily used to describe iambic pentameters rhyming couplets. A sufficient selection of the rhymes are used completely such as ‘years and ears’, while others are used partially, like ‘thereupon and clergymen.’
“In My Craft Or Sullen Art” By Dylan Thomas
The poem was published back in 1952 and contains Thomas’s legacy wishes in its 20 collections of lines. Just like “Adam’s curse” this poem does not use a consistent rhyming pattern but uses a similar group of end sounds in the text. These words are seen in the second, thirteenth and sixth lines which end with “-ight”. Also, at the start of the poem, Thomas introduces an image of loves by sharing their grief, and this is further mentioned in the poem’s closing lines. Structuring the poem using this method influences the thoughts and feelings of anyone reading this, emotionally captivating piece.
Its bareness is, however, quite deceptive. Such difficulties begin within the first lines with “craft or sullen art.” Here, the reader asks himself is ‘or’ implying the art and craft identity or is there a critical difference between these two phrases? Similarly, when it comes to the word ‘sullen’ which can mean morose, ill-humoured, and gloomy, in the poem, it means being lonely, unique or unsociable. This form of artistic writing draws connections from the symbol’ raging moon’ in “Adam’s Curse” which is full of inspiration and imagination.
There is also a similar view of writing poems between “Adam’s Curse” and this intriguing piece by Dylan Thomas. Both lyrics describe the unique circumstances and labour required to come up with a worthy poem. However, while “Adam’s Curse” states that this is because of the problematic tasks brought about by the sins of Adam and Eve, “In My Craft or Sullen Art” uses emotional imagery by juxtaposing the ideas of grief and love. The poet uses phrases such as, “the still night when only the moon rages” to describe a setting where negativity and violence are diminished but never entirely eliminated (citation).
Critical Themes In Both “Adam’s Curse” and “In My Craft or Sullen Art”
Poetry, according to Yeats, is a new form of art, which requires a lot of labour to produce a captivating piece. This is something which is vividly mentioned in this poem, and each line requires a sufficient amount of editing to create something which the reader can connect or relate to. When it comes to, “In My Craft or Sullen Art,” the poet states that he can only create a new poem at specific periods in time. Such moments only come during what he calls, ‘still nights’ when only the moon is seen commanding the night’s skies (citation). This, he says, is also when lovers lay in their beds and talk about their grief. That said, in both poems, the authors use different themes to communicate to their audiences, and these include:
The Theme of TimeOne of the most recurring themes in both verses is the role which time plays in our lives. By looking at ‘Adam’s Curse’ as the poem progresses, the audience can clearly see the changing tone which becomes sadder with each passing moment. To show this, he uses a form of imagery by mentioning how the moon which rises in the sky appears to wane out as the shell washed away by the waters of time. Time also seems to create a decaying effect on almost everything in this poem, and the love the poet/narrator has for his beloved does not escape it. For instance, he is seen contemplating that although showing deep affections for his love appears to be a bright idea, the passage of time has made them hollow like the moon.
Thomas in “In My Craft or Sullen Art” takes a different approach in his representation of time by saying that he can only write at specific periods like during “still nights”. He uses the time to describe how he must be within the right frame of mind to produce a powerful artistic poem. Interestingly, these are the hours when loves are locked in each other’s arms, sharing their personal grief. He, therefore, associates his work with deep emotional connections and experiences and wants all the words in his writing to draw inspiration from the dark allure that comes during night time.
- The Theme Of Love
Another important theme in ‘Adam Curse’ is that of love. The poem starts with a romantic connotation, where the narrator remembers the summer afternoon with his beloved. He recollects how they sat together with the woman he loves together with a gentle but mild friend and talked about poetry. Shockingly, just like time, love here also seems to be waning as the poem progresses. Towards, the end, the poem loses the romantic enthusiasm seen at the start. It is quite interesting to see how the three individuals keep quiet immediately the word love is mentioned. It shows that love has a demeaning effect on them instead of an exciting or enthusiastic one. This is further highlighted between the relationship of the poet and his beloved when he says, “they both had grown as hollow as the waned out moon that had risen on the sky” (citation).
“In My Craft or Sullen Art”, the theme of love is used to progress and improve the message the poet is trying to communicate. Unlike in “Adam’s Curse” where it continues to decrease, in Thomas’ poem, it is the climax of the entire piece. In its closing four lines, the poet clearly states the group of people whom he is trying to talk to, and they are what he calls, ‘lovers’. While there is no extra definition on the people poet defines as ‘lovers’, the reader can see that he is writing to those who find comfort in each other. He goes on to state that these people have a more profound ability and capacity of embracing world history. As their arms stretch around each other, they similarly spread out to conform to the world and the grief it brings. The poet goes on to promote love by saying that lovers seem to be taking on the world’s problems and cares of past years. This is similar to how Thomas embraces them in his writing.
Literary Devices In “Adam’s Curse” and “In My Craft or Sullen Art”.
Both poems contain a vast amount of literary styles used to describe situations and communicate particular integral messages. Some of the common literal techniques in these two captivating pieces include:
- Imagery
“Adam’s Curse” is rich with vivid imagery. For example, at the start of the poem, the narrator paints a clear picture by describing a summer when he sat and talked about poetry with two attractive ladies. When one woman was his beloved, the other was her companion. The poet describes this ‘other woman’ by painting a portrait of someone who as both mild and beautiful. The other form of imagery used in the poem is that of the moon, which is defined as a waned out and resembling a shell, washed away by ‘time’s waters’ (citation).
When it comes to “In My Craft or Sullen Art” the style of imagery is used to describe, “the still night” which the writer requires to write a beautiful poem. The description of the moon also comes to play here as he states that it is only when it is ranging in the sky when he can create (citation). There is also the act of people or lovers sharing their grief which describes the deep emotions the poet needs to write. Besides, as previously mentioned, the poet wants his writing to come from the dark allure brought by night.
- Symbolism
Both poems are also full of symbols. In “Adam’s Curse” the first symbol is seen when the poet mentions the ‘beautiful mild woman’. Here, the woman represents someone who can appreciate the more beautiful things in life, which require human labour or hard work. For instance, when the narrator says that the work of a poet is often unnoticed, this lady says that everything beautiful requires hard work. She is a vivid comparison of the work which it takes to write a poem and what goes into safeguarding physical beauty. Even though she is often quiet in Yeat’s verse, he uses her to showcase the things which he feels are divine and beautiful.
The moon is the other symbol used in both poems but describes different things. While in “Adam’s Curse” it is used to explain the passage of time, in “In My Craft and Sullen Art” the poet uses it to describe a peaceful night when he feels inspired to write. Thomas’ poem also used the symbol of the ‘singing light’ and ‘ambition or bread’. He uses them to show that he does not write to please or sell himself but instead his words come from a place that is undefinable and unreachable. He is merely giving expression to his needs and desires.
- Allusion
This is the other literal stylistic device that is used quite clearly in “Adam’s Curse” as compared to “In My Craft and Sullen Art”. The former refers to Adam’s story, as explained in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. The title basically refers to the fall of Adam and the consequences it brought. The same is echoed in line 23, where the poet states, “Since Adam’s fall but needs much labouring” (citation). He refers to the fact that from Adam’s fall, humanity has been forced to leave a cursed life full of toiling. Hence, today, for man to produce anything beautiful or worthwhile, he will need to work hard or put a lot of effort into it.
In, “In My Craft and Sullen Art” allusion comes in different forms. One good example is when the poet describes the still night he needs to write. He does this to allude to the fact that only calm comes during the night. That said, the highest form of allusion in the poem is seen at the title which describes Thomas’ craft of writing as a ‘sullen art’. It means that he does not write out of joy or enthusiasm but out of something like a stupor. He goes on to explain his artistic brilliance requires the right frame of mind, which only come during specific times during the day. The other form of allusion is his description of the ‘lovers’ he writes to. He uses them to show that his style of writing can only be understood by people with a deep connection of the world. They are those who do not praise, pay or feel indebted to him. They represent the entire group of readers who are unmoved by his writings because they are devoted to another life outside the world of literature.
Conclusion
Both “Adam’s Curse” and “In My Craft and Sullen Art” represents the poetic insecurities of their authors. While one describes poetry as something which requires a lot of time, attention and hard work to produce a masterpiece, the other one represents the ideal conditions for writing and describes the types of audiences who can understand the message in the poem. What is quite different about these two rhythmical poems is their reference to time and love. In Yeats poem, time seems to be the ‘enemy’ which causes the love he has for his beloved to wear off while in Thomas’ poem, time and love are the most essential parts of his life. He requires the ideal moment to write and needs the attention of ‘lovers’ to add thought and meaning into his work. Overall though, these are two brilliantly written poems from renown authors and have withstood the ‘harsh’ test of time.