124 I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. .
125 I do not think that they will sing to me. .
126 I have seen them riding seaward on the waves.
127 Combing the white hair of the waves blown back.
128 When the wind blows the water white and black.
129 We have lingered in the chambers of the sea.
130 By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown.
131 Till human voices wake us, and we drown. .
.
NOTES.
Other poems by T. S. Eliot . .
The poet's life and works . .
Composition Date: .
February 1910 - July/August 1911. .
Form: .
irregularly rhyming. .
1. .
The epigraph comes from the Inferno of Dante's Divine Comedy (XXVII, 61-66). Count Guido da Montefeltro, embodied in a flame, replies to Dante's question about his identity as one condemned for giving lying advice: "If I believed that my answer would be to someone who would ever return to earth, this flame would move no more, but because no one has ever returned alive from this gulf, if what I hear is true, I can reply with no fear of infamy." .
3. .
etherized: anesthetized. .
13-14. .
Michaelangelo: Italian painter, poet, and sculptor (1475-1564). .
29. .
works and days: Hesiod's Works and Days, an 8th-century (B.C.) description of rural life. .
42. .
morning coat: a formal coat with tail. .
52. .
dying fall: love-sick Duke Orsino's opening line in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, "That strain again! It had a dying fall" (I.i.1), referring to a piece of music. Cf. "Portrait of a Lady," line 122. .
60. .
butt-ends: the discarded, unsmoked ends of cigarettes or cigars. .
82. .
Herod gave John the Baptist's decapitated head to the dancer Salome as a reward (Mark 6.17-29; Matthew 14.3-11). .
83. .
I am no prophet: Amos said, "I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit" (Amos 7.14), when commanded by King Amaziah of Bethel not to prophesy. .
92. .
Cf. Andrew Marvell's "Let us roll all our strength, and all Our sweetness, up into one ball" ("To his Coy Mistress").
Poetry Poetry is a very deep subject; it can show feeling and emotion towards something or someone. ... Poetry is an art an ancient one at that. ... The first poetry was recorded in about 3000 B.C. ... Frost's poetry help provide a link between the American poetry of the 19th century and the 20th century. ... Poetry may have a beginning but it seems like it will have no end, as long as humans are here, Poetry will live on. ...
In the art of poetry there is not one right way or wrong way to write or there is not type of discrimination that comes along with it. You can be whatever you want to be when you write poetry and not have to feel that people are judging you on anything you write. In the Heath anthology of American literature there are a few "gay" poets that talk about everything from love to struggles to just plain poetry. The poets try to grasp the art form that you call poetry. ... Bitain compares his poetry to everything that you can imagine or think of in our society. ...
Poetry indeed derives from oral traditions, most spectacularly in the case of Homer, but continuing today in many less literate societies. ... Expositions are complicated, but the aims of poetry might be classified under Traditional, Modernist and Postmodernist. According to Traditional poetry has the greater store of principles. Such things as: Poetry is language organized for aesthetic purposes. Poetry must not only describe but also bear witness. ...
Yet, it is hard to talk about poetry. ... Thus, defining poetry is not an easy task. ... Poetry is the deepest expression of thought and feeling. ... Cummings defines poetry emphasizing its impact upon a man. "Poetry is feeling - not knowing or believing or thinking."" ...
Yet, it is hard to talk about poetry. ... Thus, defining poetry is not an easy task. ... Poetry is the deepest expression of thought and feeling. ... Cummings defines poetry emphasizing its impact upon a man. "Poetry is feeling - not knowing or believing or thinking."" ...
Poetry is created from several different key "ingredients" which feed the mind food for thought. ... The universal language of poetry is a bridge that transcends all languages. You need not understand the language of poetry to understand the inspired emotion and feeling behind it only tune in your natural instincts to the other aspects of the poetry and the door to a new world will be opened before your senses. ... Nature hums with these rhythms so it is no wonder that man finds poetry and rhythm so fascinating. ... Poetry will always exist to exercise the mind. ...
Poetry has a long history, dating back to the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh. ... One that seems to be trending lately is a type of genre called "poetry slam. " Poetry slam is "a competition at which poets read or recite original work. ... Jemilo (owner of the Jazz club) welcomed him, and on July 25, the Uptown Poetry Slam was born. ... Another misconception about slam poetry is that it only exists as a spontaneous performance. ... The poetry slam was born in a bar. ...
This simple definition only characterizes poetry on the surface, but there is so much more to poetry than just words. ... Poetry is not easily demarcated, rather it's a continuum. Poetry is an old mode of expression; among the variety of forms of human expression, poetry has always had an important place. ... The objective of poetry is to respond to emotions. ... Poetry can be portrayed as the art of language. ...
Many people have said that contemporary poetry just does not fit in; it does not follow the rules; it does not belong. ... Others say that the poets are purely defiant and refuse to follow the standards and rules of formal poetry. ... One of the first things that I learned from the video was how hard it actually is to write modern poetry. ... It can be seen how each poet has their individual ideas and unique creativity as poetry continues to advance. ... It helped me to appreciate the art of contemporary poetry and brilliance of the poets that wrote them. ...
