After class, I was contemplating the bias and personal experience we bring into poetry interpretation. In a way, I think poetry lends itself to this, allowing it (to a point) to cross time and culture and the reader can still appreciate a poem and connect with it on the level of his or her own life. On the other hand, I agree that we can't interpret poetry any which way we want. Sometimes I struggle to interpret poetry at all, but that's neither here nor there.
Anyway. The class got into quite the tangle over #258, debating whether it is joyful or oppressive or what, so I'm tossing in my two cents from the safety of my blog. In my South Dakota winter experience, the slant of winter light is almost an oppressive bit of joy. Especially when we hit January, I'm fed up with winter and sunken deeply into the winter blues. The brief hours of winter light are a relief from the gloom, but almost an oppressive, sobering relief; winter light is nothing like the gorgeous, life-giving light of summer. Winter light teasing us weakly for a few hours and then goes, leaving us still in the dead of gloom and frozen tundra. Sometimes, winter light pretends like there could be a touch of warmth outside, tempting a venture outdoors. Then, BOOM! I get slapped in the face with frosty, biting air.
Just taking from my own experience, I read this with an eye to the fleeting promises winter light gives. It offers a bit of life and warmth, yet leaves despair. It tempts with hope, but rarely comes through. That's enough of that. I need to go outside and convince myself we aren't back in January now.
Wow! I loved this post. The same things happens to me as far as thinking it just may be somewhat warm outside, and it turns out to be absolutely FREEZING. To me, there is nothing worse in the winter than looking out the window and seeing sun when it is actually below zero. Sometimes it makes me laugh because I think of it as mother nature or God playing a little trick. A harmless trick, but very annoying as well.
ReplyDeleteI definitely did one of those awkward laugh out loud in the library while reading this!
I agree, Nikki. Interpretation is a difficult matter. On one hand, that is the beauty of art: it doesn't have to have one set in stone meaning like chemistry (yuck). I enjoy interpretation but at the same time I WANT to know what the author was meaning...it's a strange cycle in my head! Either way, I loved your post. Very beautiful imagery in your writing. :)
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ReplyDeleteWOw so well said Nikki, I very much agree with you. I think that is why for me it was hard to decide whether the reference of "winters light" was joyful or oppressive. For me just the fact that winter was included meant oppressive to me. But then it said light rays and that screams beauty to be. As you said though it is a bit of both and I feel that there are a lot of things in life that are that way.
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