Comparing Archilochus and Maya Angelou

Archilochus:

Lord Apollo, afflict the guilty ones with pain

And bring them to destruction, O destroyer;

But us…

Maya Angelou:

They dull my eyes, yet


I keep on dying,


Because I love to live.

In the Angelou fragment, without context, it is hard to know who the "They” refers to, or even if it is singular or plural. But “They” must be an enemy of the speaker because they “dull” the eyes of the speaker. “Dull” could have a few different meanings, but used as a verb here I think it has a negative connotation because of the clause that follows it. “Dull” in the first clause can be connected with “dying” in the second clause. Dying cannot be taken literally, because death only happens once. Therefore “dying” might refer to bearing a hardship, and dulling the eyes of the speaker is a manifestation of how “They” cause the speaker to “die”. The first two lines, especially the word “keep”, imply that the speaker has had to bear this hardship or a trauma several times. “Yet” brings about a shift in tone. The use of the conjunction prepares the reader for the last two lines, which seeming defy the first line. The final line of the fragment offers hope. The speaker qualifies their action of repeatedly “dying” by saying that doing so allows them to live. It is a paradox that dying leads to life, but the speaker seems to be saying that unless he or she shoulders the hardship they are facing, they cannot live.   

I think that the Archilochus fragment compliments the Angelou fragment. Both poems have a defiant tone, but how the speaker lives out their defiance differs. In the Archilochus fragment, the “guilty ones” are unknown to the reader, but since the speaker is asking for their “destruction” and for them to be afflicted with pain, it can be reasoned that “the guilty ones” have injured the speaker, just like “They” in the Angelou poem. The speaker in the Archilochus poem is addressing Apollo and asking for revenge. Their manner of seeking vengeance is loud and bold and is calling for immediate justice. In contrast, the speaker in the Angelou poem seems to be quietly bearing their hardship and continuing to “die” patiently. Also, the Archilochus speaker is appealing to a higher divine power for aid, Apollo, and addresses him as “destroyer”.  The Angelou fragment only contains the speaker, who is defying “They” on their own, instead of asking a higher power or someone else to do it for them.  Both fragments have a speaker who has been injured by someone else, but the way in which the speaker seeks revenge is different. Archilochus speaker wants a grand retribution brought down by Apollo, and the Angelou speaker is quietly defying their enemy by themselves.

Relating Archilochus to Jamiroquai Fragments

Jamiroquai excerpt

“And I'm thinking what a mess we're in
Hard to know where to begin
If I could slip the sickly ties that earthly man has made
And now every mother, can choose the colour
Of her child”

Archilochus excerpt

“Glaukis, Leptinos’ son, the hearts and minds of mortal men

are such as the day which Zeus brings upon them;

their thoughts are such as the happenings they encounter. “

From the excerpt from Jamroquai we can begin to dissect each part of the verse to begin to understand what he is referring to.  From simply reading the poem, we are given the idea that the author dislikes something. We can see that from him saying that they are in a “mess”.  A mess usually implies that it is chaotic and /or confusing, which is not a place a person likes to be. Next the reader finds out that there are actually multiple issues that the author has since he says that it is “hard to know where to begin”, implying that he can start his rant from multiple points. The reader obtains farther insight into the author’s displeasures with the world since he is wishing to “slip the sickly ties”, providing a better understanding of his level of displeasure with the issues. The author feels as if he is tied down to somewhere that he cannot escape. After that we find out that the author is religious by him the use of “earthly man”.  These words suggest that there is another man that is not found on earth. This man is usually referred to in most religions as God. Finally, we find out what the “mess” the author is referring to is mothers that “choose the colour” of their child. The spelling of the word “colour” also suggests that the author is of British descent.  So supposing that the reader is of modern origin, they can easily decipher the meaning of Jamiroquai’s excerpt.  The reader may also be able to infer from the poem that since a problem was raised and discussed, the next few lines following it should suggest a solution.

From the fragment from Archilochus, the reader can see that the author assumes the reader knows common knowledge of the time by his use of the names “Glaukis” and “Leptinos”.  The author does have a targeted audience though since he calls “Glaukis” by name. The reader also knows that the author is religious since, assuming the reader has knowledge of the Greek gods, says Zeus “brings upon them [the day]”. It is also suggested that Zeus influences the heart and minds of “mortal men” and what will occur in their lives. The reader can assume that the fragment is similar to a lesson to Glaukis by the way it is presented.

By closing reading these two fragments, we can find similar features in each.  The first is that the God is as influence the lives of people today just as they did thousands of years ago. While the first fragment is more inclined toward a monotheist ideal, the second refers to Zeus and a more polytheist ideal. The first also doesn’t assume common knowledge like the second fragment. The reader needs to know about the Greek style and people to fully understand and appreciate the fragment from Archilochus. Finally, the second fragment by Archilochus speaks more plainly than the first fragment. Archilochus speaks in a more riddled fashion that can be easily deciphered with knowledge of the Greeks. The two fragments aren’t as different as time would make them seem.

Analyzing a fragment of the Anead compared to Archilochus

Anead Excerpt

long suffering also in war, until he founded a city

and brought his gods to Latium: from that the Latin people

came, the lords of Alba Longa, the walls of noble Rome.

Muse, tell me the cause: how was she offended in her divinity

Archilochus Excerpt

"Nothing is unexpected, nothing can be sworn as 

impossible,

or marveled at, since Zeus, the father of the Olympians, 

made night out of noonday, keeping back the light

of the beaming sun; and upon mankind came fear. 

Henceforth all things are to be believed, all things

expected

by men. None of you should in future be amazed..." 

            At first reading of the Anead fragment -assuming the reader is not previously aware of its source- we know five things. First, we know that this fragment gives away the conclusion of the work and the goal. We know this because of the words, "long suffering also in war, until he founded a city". "Long suffering" invokes the idea of a struggle to reach the goal of "found[ing] a city". Second, we know that this fragment is about the journey of a warrior, because he was "in war" for an extended period of time. Third, we know that the warrior is loved by the gods, because he "brought his gods to Latium". The possessive "his" and objectification of "brought" allows the reader to assume that "he" can control the gods in some way, which must mean that either he has conquered them or that they are cooperative. Fourth, we know that he is respected by humans because he was able to "[found] a city and...from that the Latin people/came". People followed him to a new place and established "the walls of noble Rome". Fifth, we know that the poet is merely telling the story; he calls for his "Muse" to help inspire his words. Sixth, we know that there were struggles with a goddess involved in the story, because "she [was] offended in her divinity". Divine beings are most commonly gods and goddesses and an offense of a human to a god typically involves struggles for the human on behalf of the god. From these five things, we can reasonably infer that "he" is an epic hero. If we can assume the reader is well-versed, it is also reasonable to infer that the reader now understands that this fragment is from the Anead, thus will fully understand its implications with regard to the complete epic. If we assume the reader is not well-versed and cannot decipher that this is from the Anead, they may also be able to infer that the fragment is from the beginning of the epic and presents them with the goal or moment of victory when they can become aware that the story has peacefully resolved. All people generally know that Rome was established, but the story is in how it came to be. We can assume they will infer this from the fragment because the final line invokes the Muses for additional information looking back on the details of the story. 

                 At first reading of the Archilochus fragment, the reader can tell that it is entirely in the voice of the author and represents personal religious beliefs and beliefs about the source of the natural world. At closer reading, the reader can infer that the fragment was written with the intention of addressing a large audience of people who might not agree with the author's beliefs. This can be inferred from "none of you in future should be amazed". Use of "none" implies more than two people, "in future" implies that the audience was previously amazed, "should be" implies that the speaker is pushing his beliefs onto the audience. The reader can also assume either innate hubris or wisdom of age in the speaker from his definite statements, "Nothing is unexpected, nothing can be sworn as/impossible". 

                Comparing these two fragments using the aforementioned analyses lead us to three conclusions. First, the speaker in the former is far less egotistic than the speaker in the latter. This is evident in their tone and the fact that the former is merely telling the story of another and invokes assistance from the Muses to do so, where the latter states his own ideas as definitive, clear-cut fact in a manner that is mean to change the minds of others. Second, the gods are a part of the lives of both speakers in a very deep but different way. While the former mentions "his gods" when mentioning the gods of the warrior, he also calls upon his own "Muse", which implies that he has a more personal relationship and connection to the Muses than other gods. The latter, however, speaks only of Zeus and his power over all mankind and the world as a whole. This implies that the speaker of the latter relates best to Zeus, which explains his self-assured nature as this is a nature similar to that of Zeus as he is portrayed in classical mythology. Finally, that the former speaker may not know as much about the world as the latter, as he only tells the stories of others and does not seem to learn and experience on his own. The words of the latter come from a place that speaks from experience. The way he talks about the day "Zeus...made night out of noonday" makes it sound like he was there to see that "upon mankind came fear". Thus, it is possible that the speaker in the latter can be trusted to tell a more literal story based on experience than the formal observer characterized in the former fragment. 

Shake it out - Florence + Machine

Regrets collect like old friends
Here to relive your darkest moments
I can see no way, I can see no way
And all of the ghouls come out to play

And every demon wants his pound of flesh
But I like to keep some things to myself
I like to keep my issues drawn
It's always darkest before the dawn

And I've been a fool and I've been blind
I can never leave the past behind
I can see no way, I can see no way
I'm always dragging that horse around

Our love is pastured, such a mournful sound
Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground
So I like to keep my issues drawn
But it's always darkest before the dawn

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
So shake him off, oh whoa

And I am done with my graceless heart
So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart
'Cause I like to keep my issues drawn
It's always darkest before the dawn

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
So shake him off, oh whoa

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
And given half the chance would I take any of it back
It's a fine romance but it's left me so undone
It's always darkest before the dawn

And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't
So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road
And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope
It's a shot in the dark aimed right at my throat
'Cause looking for heaven, found the devil in me
Looking for heaven, found the devil in me
Well what the hell I'm gonna let it happen to me, yeah

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa
And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back
So shake him off, oh whoa

Song Lyrics for Harvest Moon by Neil Young

Come a little bit closer
Hear what I have to say
Just like children sleepin'
We could dream this night away.

But there's a full moon risin'
Let's go dancin' in the light
We know where the music's playin'
Let's go out and feel the night.

Because I'm still in love with you
I want to see you dance again
Because I'm still in love with you
On this harvest moon.

When we were strangers
I watched you from afar
When we were lovers
I loved you with all my heart.

But now it's gettin' late
And the moon is climbin' high
I want to celebrate
See it shinin' in your eye.

Because I'm still in love with you
I want to see you dance again
Because I'm still in love with you
On this harvest moon.

Stevie Wonder - I Just Called To Say I Love You

No New Year's Day to celebrate
No chocolate covered candy hearts to give away
No first of spring
No song to sing
In fact here's just another ordinary day

No April rain
No flowers bloom
No wedding Saturday within the month of June
But what it is, is something true
Made up of these three words that I must say to you

I just called to say I love you
I just called to say how much I care
I just called to say I love you
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart

No summer's high
No warm July
No harvest moon to light one tender August night
No autumn breeze
No falling leaves
Not even time for birds to fly to southern skies

No Libra sun
No Halloween
No giving thanks to all the Christmas joy you bring
But what it is, though old so new
To fill your heart like no three words could ever do

I just called to say I love you
I just called to say how much I care, I do
I just called to say I love you
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart

I just called to say I love you
I just called to say how much I care, I do
I just called to say I love you
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart, of my heart,
of my heart

I just called to say I love you
I just called to say how much I care, I do
I just called to say I love you
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart, of my heart,
baby of my heart

"Stop This Train" - John Mayer

No I'm not color blind
I know the world is black and white
Try to keep an open mind but...
I just can't sleep on this tonight
Stop this train I want to get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't
But honestly won't someone stop this train

Don't know how else to say it, don't want to see my parents go
One generation's length away
From fighting life out on my own

Stop this train
I want to get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't but honestly won't someone stop this train

So scared of getting older
I'm only good at being young
So I play the numbers game to find away to say that life has just begun
Had a talk with my old man
Said help me understand
He said turn 68, you'll renegotiate
Don't stop this train
Don't for a minute change the place you're in
Don't think I couldn't ever understand
I tried my hand
John, honestly we'll never stop this train

See once in a while when it's good
It'll feel like it should
And they're all still around
And you're still safe and sound
And you don't miss a thing
'til you cry when you're driving away in the dark.

Singing stop this train I want to get off and go home again
I can't take this speed it's moving in
I know I can't
Cause now I see I'll never stop this train

(think I got 'em now)

Objects in the Rear View Mirror

There was a beauty living on the edge of town
And she always put the top up and the hammer down
And she taught me everything I'll ever know
About the mystery and the muscle of love

The stars would glimmer and the moon would glow
I'm in the back seat with my Julie like a Romeo
And the signs along the highway all said, Caution! Kids At Play!

Those were the rights of spring and we did everything
There was salvation every night
We got our dreams reborn and our upholstery torn
But everything we tried was right

She used her body just like a bandage, she used my body just like a wound
I'll probably never know where she disappeared But I can see her rising up
Out of the back seat now Just like an angel rising up from a tomb

And objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are
And objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are

"The Last One Alive"

Did anyone survive?
I swear I heard your voice beyond this side
Does anyone still try?
Does anyone still hope to set their eyes beyond this place?

Where angels fall and darkness reigns
Where time dissolves the brightest flame
(ever the same)

Whether I'm the last one alive
Or ascend before my time
Better I'm the last one alive
Than a soul denied

So this is how we break
And this is where we find the only hope within this place

By Demon Hunter

"Virtual Insanity" by Jamiroquai

And nothing's going to change the way we live
Cos' we can always take but never give
And now that things are changing for the worse,
See, its a crazy world we're living in
And I just can't see that half of us immersed in sin
Is all we have to give these -

Futures made of virtual insanity now
Always seem to, be govern'd by this love we have
For useless, twisting, of our new technology
Oh, now there is no sound - for we all live underground

And I'm thinking what a mess we're in
Hard to know where to begin
If I could slip the sickly ties that earthly man has made
And now every mother, can choose the colour
Of her child
That's not nature's way
Well that's what they said yesterday
There's nothing left to do but pray
I think it's time to find a new religion
Waoh - it's so insane
To synthesize another strain
There's something in these
Futures that we have to be told.

Touched by An Angel by Maya Angelou

We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.

Sebastian Corrochano: Composed upon Westminster Bridge by William Wordsworth

Earth has not anything to show more fair:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

A sight so touching in its majesty:

This City now doth, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie

Open unto the fields, and to the sky;

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

Never did sun more beautifully steep

In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;

Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!

The river glideth at his own sweet will:

Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;

And all that mighty heart is lying still!

Aeneid Book 1 (lines 1-19)

I sing of arms and the man, he who, exiled by fate,

first came from the coast of Troy to Italy, and to

Lavinian shores – hurled about endlessly by land and sea,

by the will of the gods, by cruel Juno’s remorseless anger,

long suffering also in war, until he founded a city

and brought his gods to Latium: from that the Latin people

came, the lords of Alba Longa, the walls of noble Rome.

Muse, tell me the cause: how was she offended in her divinity,

how was she grieved, the Queen of Heaven, to drive a man,

noted for virtue, to endure such dangers, to face so many

trials? Can there be such anger in the minds of the gods?

Hope by Abdul Wahab

I would not deny 
That I could not 
Dream or swim 
But it was in my dream 
Slipped in a deep of ditch 
My hands were tied 
Legs were not working 
I was drowning and drowning 
From deep to deeper I felt 
Suffocated and strangulated, 
As I would not be alive, I would 
Be dead, this gave me a cry! 
I had had a strong desire to be alive! 
A gust of energy in the form of help 
Entered in me as if it was dragging me 
With a help of a rope of hope 
To the shore of life, I jerked in joy 
I found myself alive and awake 
I gave a big thank and a tight hug 
To the rope of hope.

Sonnet Number 18, written by William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate.

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date.

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimmed,

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed.

Blog Post 1- Eminem "White America" Exerpt

See the problem is, I speak to suburban kids, who otherwise would of never knew these words
Exist, whose mom's probably would of never gave two squirts of piss, 'till I created so much
Motherfuckin' turbulence, straight out the tube, right into your living room I came, and kids
Flipped when they knew I was produced by Dre, that's all it took, and they were instantly hooked
Right in, and they connected with me too because I looked like them, that's why they put my
Lyrics up under this microscope, searchin' with a fine tooth comb, its like this rope, waitin'
To choke, tightening around my throat, watching me while I write this, like I don't like this,
Nope, all I hear is, lyrics, lyrics, constant controversy, sponsors working 'round the clock, to
Try to stop my concerts early, surely hip-hop was never a problem in Harlem, only in Boston,
After it bothered the fathers of daughters starting to blossom, so now I'm catchin' the flack
From these activists when they raggin', actin' like I'm the first rapper to smack a bitch, or
Say faggot, shit, just look at me like I'm your closest pal, the posterchild, the motherfuckin'
Spokesman now for...

“since feeling is first,” e.e. cummings

since feeling is first
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;
wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world

my blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don’t cry
—the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids’ flutter which says

we are for each other: then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life’s not a paragraph

And death i think is no parenthesis

The Lesson by Maya Angelou

I keep on dying again.
Veins collapse, opening like the
Small fists of sleeping
Children.
Memory of old tombs,
Rotting flesh and worms do
Not convince me against
The challenge. The years
And cold defeat live deep in
Lines along my face.
They dull my eyes, yet
I keep on dying,
Because I love to live.

True Happiness by Jonathan Ward

To feel the essence of true happiness

Rest your attention deep in your heart

Unleash the power of a deep sense of knowing

Enshrined in every part

Humility in every moment

A sense of wonder and awe

Perspective and modesty side by side

Peace and beauty that shine from your core

Instantly present to the authentic True Self

Nourishing your spirit, nurturing your health

Ever forgiving, always giving of your time

Silently grateful and curious of mind, in

Service with love to all humankind.