writer Nessa O'Mahony begins appropriately with a nod to Yeats's magnificent poem. We come down with a bump in A&E--and even here, the self-indulgent young are in favour. The voice of the poem begins angry. As the narrative develops, it seems more detached, and begins to resemble the voice we expect from someone old--the voice of patience and wry humour. Little jokes ("Eighth on the list", "You'd need a calendar in here" ) poignantly reinforce the sense of resignation.Yet, the poem is unforgiving.
from Carol Rumens: The Guardian: Books blog: Poem of the week: Accident & Emergency by Nessa O'Mahony
~~~~~~~~~~~
These verses are not poems. They are certainly not what anyone would recognise as "poems by Auden". In "Song One", the abysmally "unpromising source material" has been made to rhyme and scan in English. It doesn't take genius to versify a literal translation. There is no trace of Auden's unique voice or diction here, none of his playfulness, none of his "genius". How could there be?
from Carol Rumens: The Guardian: Books blog: The 'new' Auden poems aren't poems at all
~~~~~~~~~~~
No comments :
Post a Comment