Bismarck Salazar GTB 121-5 Response Essay 1 1/18/2021 Prof.Mark Julian D. Villaluna New Year: Three New Perspectives in Three Poems It has been a year since the last festive Filipino new year has been celebrated . Filipinos would go outside to make noises, such as banging pots and pans, making the car’s sound alarm, or blowing those plastic toy horns konwn as “torotot”. The use of firecrackers were also stunning, even though dangerous. I am never fond of firecrackers, but I see it is a way of how people express their courage. I have seen friends who were cowardly in many things seem to be courageous when using firecrackers. I have never thought that I would personally miss the Filipino festive new year celebration. I had always been wishing a solemn celebration, where people would be silent and reflect upon their actions in the preceding year. Now that my wish was granted this pandemic, I do not know why it still brings sadness. Perhaps, new year is not just a festivity, but rather, an important ideology that is vast that understanding it requires a journey through reading literature. Let us explore three poems which shows three ‘new’ new year perspectives. The first poem is a poetic elegy that Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote for his friend, Arthur Henry Hallam who, entitled “In memoriam A.H.H.”. Two of its 133 cantos, specifically cantos 83 and 106 provide the readers with a novel take on the typical new year ideology – one that is in the perspective of someone who lost a friend. Canto 83 compares the loss of a friend to the cold freezing winter months where flower buds are frozen just as how the loss of a friend renders someone unable to do his or her usual routine, specially when he or she does it passionately when his or her friend is alive. Further, someone who has lost a friend hopes for “spring” to bring changes to the unproductive frozen winter setting. In canto 83, Alfred Lord Tennyson used elements of spring season such as orchids, tulips and laburnum trees to depict the longing of a friend to finally move on and continue living after a friend’s death. This longing during a friend’s death is comparable to how we hope to have better life opportunities after the death of our last year’s self from unproductive actions and decisions. Canto 106 is straightforward in its message. It uses the symbolism of “ringing”, which is a ritual for invocation or cleansing. “Ringing in” is similar to how the priest sanctifies the hosts and wine by letting his altar servers ring a bell. Ringing out” is similar to how gongs are sounded during the Chinese new year to scare bad spirits .In canto 106, bad qualities or trait are rang out while good qualities are to be rang in. The second poem is written by Thomas Hardy, and is entitled “The Darkling Thrush” which depicts how an old frail bird, probably weakened by the unfortunate freezing conditions of winter finally retires to rest eternally from the gloomy winter setting, just how we wish for a gloomy unproductive year to end and monologue why people are happy and delightful when all of what happened during the year is misery. The third poem is written by Sylvia Plath and is entitled New year on Dartmoor. As a person from Phlippines, there is not much to gain interest from it, but when the geographical context of the poem was considered, it painted a gorgeous scenery of a mountainous and hilly place which is covered in ice hence the line, “The blind, white, awful, inaccessible slant.”, because the hill slopes are slippery from being covered in ice. The “glass hat referred to at the last line of the poem is a representation of how exquisite things a re covered in glass, seemingly how a much more beautiful scenery of Dartmoor is covered in glassy ice. The child she was talking to was being warned with delighting in things that are temporary, just how we must not delight in temporarily beautiful thing , but aim for things that last in every year for these are the things that are truly beautiful. The three poems are heavy on imagery, which helped the readers from the tropical regions experience new year in the temperate regions. Personification was also used successfully, specially when things associated with “spring” was seemed to be called. Alliteration and rhetoric was also used successfully in Canto 106 of Tennyson’s poem. In terms of tone, Tennyson was more optimistic than Hardy and Plath, even though all three authors successfully conveyed the idea of “newness”. Bismarck Salazar GTB 121-5 Response Essay 1 1/18/2021 Prof.Mark Julian D. Villaluna The New Year Cycle Once, a cyclist there was, Who would conquer the mountain roads Cycling for day and night Like this paradise is his abode. Cycling fast when he goes upstream. Cycling slow when he goes downstream. Cycling to the wish of his will, He never really knew upstream or downstream. For what is important, is the beauty of nature And the favor he is doing for his stature. For when you cycle you relax greatly or a bit And who does not know his body would be fit? Cycling his way up, he sees the picturesque periphery. For if he looked around, he would have ended in misery. His ears hear the beautiful singing birds And the horns sounded by men with beards. His eyes are focused afront To see the coming cars and trucks. From the blinding curve, they come out If he didn’t see them he’ll surely be of no luck Bismarck Salazar GTB 121-5 Response Essay 1 1/18/2021 Prof.Mark Julian D. Villaluna He cycles his way up and down Seeming like an actor for people inside cars Like a hero with great prowess He gathers these people’s great interest. At last an actor in him, has been realized He is gradually cloaked in spotlight And with a large sound of a trumpet The tired legs of the cyclist were met. Everything fell into a darkness Who knows it might already be night The cyclist can finally retire from this age old profession He can finally get good rest. Jolting from sleep, He sees Once again the picturesque periphery, but not clealy On the painting that hanged on the wall. Just as how he had seen the mountains. Faintly, someone clad in white appeared. For a moment, he is struck with fear “A pleasant morning sir, the lights must be Greater for your eyes to see” You had an occipital concussion caused by the fall When you were hit by a truck This have made your eyesight loose It has been a year since you have been in a coma. Bismarck Salazar GTB 121-5 Response Essay 1 1/18/2021 Prof.Mark Julian D. Villaluna
