My oh my what a year it has been! With all of the book we have read, I choose to speak about poetry! We have recently ready Black Walnut Tree, Eyes in your Eyes and other poems from AP Exams but my favorite poem is the one that I choose to recite in front of the class. The poem is Meru by William Butler Yeats. It reads:
Civilisation is hooped together, brought
Under a rule, under the semblance of peace
By manifold illusion; but man's life is thought,
And he, despite his terror, cannot cease
Ravening through century after century,
Ravening, raging, and uprooting that he may come
Into the desolation of reality:
Egypt and Greece, good-bye, and good-bye, Rome!
Hermits upon Mount Meru or Everest,
Caverned in night under the drifted snow,
Or where that snow and winter's dreadful blast
Beat down upon their naked bodies, know
That day bring round the night, that before dawn
His glory and his monuments are gone.
Under a rule, under the semblance of peace
By manifold illusion; but man's life is thought,
And he, despite his terror, cannot cease
Ravening through century after century,
Ravening, raging, and uprooting that he may come
Into the desolation of reality:
Egypt and Greece, good-bye, and good-bye, Rome!
Hermits upon Mount Meru or Everest,
Caverned in night under the drifted snow,
Or where that snow and winter's dreadful blast
Beat down upon their naked bodies, know
That day bring round the night, that before dawn
His glory and his monuments are gone.
I love this poem because I had to learn it and understand each and every word. This poem questions man's existence, it's purpose, it's duties as a civilization - all of the things I wonder about , all in one poem. This poem is one of my favorites because of the history behind the poem. During the time that Yeats wrote this poem he was transitioning religions. He was an unfaithful christian due to the fact that he questioned many of their beliefs and ideas on the world. He settled for a more buddhist ideal on religion. He also followed hinduism. What he enjoyed about those religions is that they believe in life as being more than one state of being. When Yeats mentions Mount Meru , he is referring to the "mountain-like chart" of being that many spiritual religions both buddhist and hindus follow.
I am no philosopher or religion major. Most of the information concluded here comes from my own research (google) and interpretation of the poem. For an in-depth analysis, check out:
http://jackhdavid.thehouseofdavid.com/papers/ENG5371_ppr2.pdf
http://themountainlibrary.com/2011/08/25/meru-william-butler-yeats/
https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-166945591/the-influence-of-hinduism-in-william-butler-yeats-s
I don't even remember reading this poem! It would have been good to bring up with the Heart of Darkness.
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