[I wrote this article about Macbeth for my college's newspaper, and I thought this subreddit might enjoy reading it!]
I have joked before that Shakespeare’s two favorite subjects–surpassing love, murder, madness, and crossdressing–are botany and birds. If you’ve been to New York City you might be aware of the “Shakespeare Garden” in Central Park, whose theoretical aim (though it proves nigh-impossible in practice) is to house specimens of all the plants which Shakespeare mentions in his plays. As it turns out, Bard quotes make for quite a diverse garden: there are roses which assuredly would smell as sweet by any other name; there are daffodils, that come before the swallow dares, and take the winds of March with beauty; there’s holly, heigh-ho; there’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance, there’s pansies, that’s for thoughts, there’s fennel for you, and columbines–no word on whether or not they could find any violets, though. I suppose there’s no objection to be made against those who complain that Shakespeare’s language is “flowery”; even as vicious a villain as Iago deigns to express his philosophy on life by way of botanical metaphor: “Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners.” And, of course, the plot of A Midsummer Night’s Dream revolves around a magical flower which makes people fall in love.
I doubt anyone will object to my claiming of birds as Shakespeare’s other poetical fixation: I suspect that the majority of falconry knowledge which most non-falconers have today comes from reading footnotes in their copies of Shakespeare plays, explaining exactly what Richard II means by “How high a pitch his resolution soars,” or why Hamlet says “Hillo, ho, ho” to Marcellus. But while plants are so common in Shakespeare that I don’t know of one play which we might say is especially densely forested with references to them, there is one play that stands out as particularly full of birds in comparison with the rest of the Shakespearean canon. That play is Macbeth.
This is the sort of thing that one only notices after having read a play so many times that the actual events of the plot become akin to the meter of a poem–beats which must be hit, and which start to feel so natural that one hardly notices them–and one’s attention drifts away from the big, important speeches and toward the more utilitarian words and odd little moments that bridge them. I am not the first to point it out, but it is, all the same, a delightful quirk of the play, and could be a good way for Sophomores to throw their classmates for a loop in seminar [Note: Students at our college study Macbeth during their Sophomore year.]: why are there so many birds in Macbeth?
KING. Dismay’d not this/Our captains, Macbeth and Banquo? SERG. Yes,/As sparrows eagles… -Act I, Scene II
LADY. …The raven himself is hoarse/That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan… -Act I, Scene V
BAN. This guest of summer,/The temple-haunting martlet, does approve/By his loved mansionry, that the heaven’s breath/Smells wooingly here: no jutty, frieze/Buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird/Hath made his pendent bed and procreant cradle… -Act I, Scene VI
LADY. Hark! Peace! It was the owl that shriek’d, the fatal bellman… -Act II, Scene II
LADY. I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. -Act II, Scene II
PORTER. …come in, tailor; here you may roast your goose… -Act II, Scene III
PORTER. ‘Faith, sir, we were carousing till the second cock… -Act II, Scene III
LENNOX. New hatch’d to the woeful time: the obscure bird/Clamour’d the livelong night… -Act II, Scene III
OLD MAN. …On Tuesday last,/A falcon, towering in her pride of place,/Was by a mousing owl hawk’d at and kill’d. -Act II, Scene IV
MACBETH. …Light thickens; and the crow/Makes wing to the rooky wood… -Act III, Scene II
MACBETH. If charnel-houses and our graves must send/Those that we bury back, our monuments/Shall be the maws of kites. -Act III, Scene IV
MACBETH. Augurs and understood relations have/By magot pies and choughs and rooks brought forth/The secret’st man of blood. -Act III, Scene IV
LADY MACDUFF. …the poor wren,/the most diminutive of birds, will fight,/Her young ones in her nest, against the owl. -Act IV, Scene II
LADY MACDUFF. How will you live? SON. As birds do, mother. LADY MACDUFF. What, with worms and flies? SON. With what I get, I mean; and so do they. LADY MACDUFF. Poor bird! Thou’ldst never fear the net nor lime,/The pitfall nor the gin? SON. Why should I, mother? Poor birds they are not set for. -Act IV, Scene II
FIRST MURDERER. What, you egg! -Act IV, Scene II
MACDUFF. …there cannot be/That vulture in you… -Act IV, Scene III
MACDUFF. …O hell-kite! All?/What, all my pretty chickens and their dam/At one fell swoop? -Act IV, Scene III
MACBETH. The devil damn thee black, thou cream-faced loon!/Where got’st thou that goose look? SERVANT. There is ten thousand– MACBETH. Geese, villain? -Act V, Scene III
Above I have listed every ornithological reference that I’ve found in the Scottish Play; as we peruse them, we certainly cannot conclude that every individual reference is of the same kind, or carries the same import. I will not pretend, for example, that, just because geese and ravens are both birds, the Porter’s invitation for the imagined English tailor to cook his goose in Hell merits as much attention as Lady Macbeth’s ominous declaration that “the raven himself is hoarse”. Nor do I think that any individual reference particularly demands explication; by itself, any one of these bird-invocations seems perfectly natural. Shakespeare’s talent is such that he can repeat a motif in such a way that on the macro level it is obvious yet on the micro level it hardly feels present. But that macro level is what interests me here: what impression is created, on the whole, by the presence of so many birds in this play? I have a theory, which, though it may seem far-fetched, I think merits at least some consideration, and which, at the very least, I have not seen stated elsewhere, and so may make a novel contribution to the conversation.
Macbeth is both Shakespeare’s most supernatural tragedy and his most Sophoclean; these two superlatives are inextricably related. The appellative Weird given to the opening scene’s three Sisters–derived from the Old English wyrd, meaning destiny, and famously given its more familiar connotation by Shakespeare himself in this very play–is, among the Bard’s works, unique to Macbeth; and just as that word appears nowhere else in Shakespeare, so is the concept it represents absent in all tragedies but this one. Though Hamlet may cry out against outrageous fortune, and though Othello may rhetoricize about how no man can control his fate, it is only in Macbeth that we truly feel that the events we see play out before us are fated, predestined, inevitable. [See Note 1.] The ghost in Hamlet commands his son to revenge his foul and most unnatural murder, but does not tell him it is certain that he will succeed; indeed, would not the drama be sapped of its intrigue if that level of certainty were present? Meanwhile, the supernatural interlopers in Macbeth offer the Scottish thane not a mission, but a prophecy: All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter! From its mystical opening word–When, not If–the Scottish play makes us aware of the certainty of all that is to befall our tragic antihero. Macbeth is thus a different sort of tragedy than Shakespeare’s others, and it works by an inverted mechanism. While the tragedy of, for example, Desdemona’s death is that it may have been prevented, the tragedy of Macbeth’s destruction is that it represents the fulfilment of fate; and this is the very same mechanism by which Oedipus Rex operates, complete with its own “Weird” character in the form of the seer Tiresias. Though Calvin managed to accept that some men are destined for greatness and others for ruin, this idea is, to Shakespeare and Sophocles, nothing short of agonizing–the stuff of tragedy.
Now: what does all of this have to do with birds? Consider these words from Antigone, spoken by Tiresias to Creon:
You shall learn, when you hear the indications of my art! As I took my place on my ancient seat for observing birds, where I can mark every bird of omen I heard a strange sound among them, since they were screeching with dire, incoherent frenzy and I knew that they were tearing each other with bloody claws, for there was a whirring of wings that made it clear… (Lloyd-Jones translation)
Consider next these words from Oedipus Tyrannus, spoken defensively by Oedipus to Tiresias:
Why, come, tell me, how can you be a true prophet? Why when the versifying hound was here did not you speak some word that could release the citizens? Indeed, her riddle was not one for the first comer to explain! It required prophetic skill, and you were exposed as having no knowledge from the birds or from the gods. No, it was I that came, Oedipus who knew nothing, and put a stop to her; I hit the mark by native wit, not by what I learned from birds. (Lloyd-Jones translation)
The practice of divining the future from birds–be it from their behaviors, their cries, or their innards–was, to Sophocles and his contemporaries, not superstitious hokum, but a practical science at which one could be skilled or unskilled, and it bodes ill for Oedipus that he is so quick to disregard it in favor of his own native wit. [See Note 2] By Shakespeare’s day, the practice had long been relegated to the realm of outdated hocus-pocus, but the Bard still saw some truth in it; in Macbeth, there is a recurring sense that, when the world is sick with some great wrong, its first symptoms manifest in the behavior of birds. When the “fatal bellman” the owl shrieks in the night, Lady Macbeth takes it as a sign that her husband is about his bloody business. The day after the murder of Duncan, as Ross converses with an Old Man about the strange things they’ve seen the previous night, “unnatural/Even as the deed that’s done”, the killing of a falcon by a mousing-owl–an omen straight out of Sophocles–is mentioned before the madness and cannibalism of Duncan’s horses, even though the latter would surely be more immediately noticeable and ghastly than the former.
These are the most obvious examples of birds as ill omens in Macbeth; yet even the more innocuous invocations of birds throughout the rest of the play continually turn our thoughts back to the ancient Greek understanding of fate and prophecy, and thereby remind us that, however savagely he may fight at Dunsinane, Macbeth’s fate is as fixed as that of Oedipus. The birds have already foretold all.
Note 1: The closest thing there is to this kind of fatalness in another Shakespearean tragedy is the several superstitious occurrences in Julius Caesar–both the soothsayer’s message of “Beware the ides of March” and the bestial portents such as the lack of a heart in an offering and the whelping of a lioness in the streets. Still, I will insist that these omens do not convey a sense of fatedness to the audience as strongly as the Weird Sisters in Macbeth by virtue of their being told to Caesar himself, not to Brutus, the play’s true protagonist, and by the fact that Shakespeare elsewhere uses dialogue to throw some doubt upon the idea of predestination: "Men at some times are masters of their fates:/The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,/But in ourselves, that we are underlings." -I.ii
Note 2: The Liddell-Scott Greek Lexicon identifies at least two separate verbs referring to bird-based divination, both of which are present in the quoted passages: Tiresias uses ορνϊθοσκοπέομαι, observe birds, interpret their flight and cries, while Oedipus uses οιωνίζομαι, take omens from the flight and cries of birds. The latter term comes from οιωνος, a large bird, bird of prey, such as a vulture or eagle, and so distinguished from a common bird, while the former comes from ορνις, which more generally refers to a bird, including birds of prey and domestic fowls. Birds of both kinds are present in Macbeth; there are οιωναι, such as the “falcon, towering in her pride of place”, as well as ορνες, like the Porter’s goose and cock. I therefore see little value in interrogating the kinds of birds invoked by Shakespeare, the specific cultural associations and significance of the owl, the raven, or the wren; rather, if we reduce them down to their barest existence as birds, animals of the class Aves, and consider them in an ancient Greek light, then things become a bit clearer.

Unveiling the Allure of the Ghazal Form**
Summary:
A ghazal is a poetic form with Middle Eastern origins, typically composed of rhyming couplets and a repeating refrain. Each line of the poem shares a common meter, and the last word of the second line in each couplet rhymes throughout the poem.
Examples:

1. "The Beloved" by Rumi.
   
2. "Ghazal" by Agha Shahid Ali.
   
3. "The Ghazal of What Hurt" by Peter Cole.
   

Tips for Creative Writing:

• Embrace Repetition: The consistent refrain creates a melodic quality.
  
• Convey Emotional Intensity: Ghazals often explore themes of love, loss, and longing.
  
• Play with Imagery: Use vivid imagery and metaphor to enhance the emotional impact.
  

Questions for Exploration:

1. How does the repetition of the refrain contribute to the overall tone of the ghazal?
   
2. Can you think of other cultural traditions that incorporate similar poetic forms?
   

Additional Resources:

• Read the works of contemporary poets like Fatimah Asghar and Safia Elhillo for modern ghazals.
  
• Explore classical ghazals by Mirza Ghalib for insights into the traditional form.
  

Creative Writing Prompt:
Step 1: Choose a theme or emotion to explore in your ghazal.
Step 2: Craft the first rhyming couplet with a meaningful refrain.
Step 3: Continue developing the theme in subsequent couplets, maintaining the rhyme scheme.
Example:
In the night's embrace, a silent moonlight gleams (A) Lost in the echoes, the heart silently dreams (A) Whispers of love in the gentle night's streams (A) A ghazal's refrain, where longing redeems (A)

The War Scroll, also known as the "War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness," is a unique text within the Dead Sea Scrolls that portrays an apocalyptic battle between the forces of good (Sons of Light) and evil (Sons of Darkness). This scroll provides insight into both historical and symbolic elements.
Historical Accuracy:
The War Scroll, while containing detailed military tactics and an epic narrative of the ultimate confrontation, doesn't explicitly reference any specific historical event or timeframe. Some scholars believe it could be a product of the community's anticipation of a future messianic conflict or a reflection of their own community's struggles against opposing forces during their time. Interpreting the historical accuracy of the scroll often involves exploring the context of the Qumran community and the turbulent times in which they lived.
Symbolism and Esoteric Wisdom:
The War Scroll goes beyond a mere description of a physical battle. It portrays a cosmic conflict between the forces of light and darkness, reflecting not just a literal warfare but also a symbolic and spiritual struggle. The text emphasizes righteousness, divine intervention, and the victory of good over evil.
Within the study guide, activities and exercises could involve dissecting the symbolic elements present in the War Scroll, exploring the deeper meanings behind the battle tactics and the metaphysical implications of the conflict. Understanding the symbolism could involve group discussions, comparative analysis with other ancient texts with similar themes, and exploring the impact of this symbolic representation on the community's beliefs and practices.
Here are a few activities and exercises to explore the symbolism and historical context of the War Scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls:

1. Symbolism Analysis:

Provide excerpts from the War Scroll and encourage participants to identify and discuss the symbolic meanings behind elements like the "Sons of Light" and the "Sons of Darkness," various weapons, and the strategies outlined for battle. Group discussions or written reflections can help participants explore the deeper layers of meaning.

1. Comparative Analysis:

Compare the War Scroll's themes with similar apocalyptic or eschatological texts from different cultures or religions, such as apocalyptic passages in the Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible or apocalyptic texts from other ancient traditions. Create worksheets or discussion prompts to highlight similarities and differences in themes, symbols, and beliefs about cosmic battles.

1. Historical Context Exploration:

Present historical information about the era when the Dead Sea Scrolls were written. Discuss the political, social, and religious climate of that time, including the turmoil in the region, to understand how these factors might have influenced the composition of the War Scroll. Encourage participants to consider the possible motivations behind the text's creation.

1. Creative Interpretation:

Encourage creative expression by asking participants to create artwork, poems, or short stories inspired by the themes and imagery found in the War Scroll. This exercise allows individuals to engage more deeply with the symbolic elements and interpret them in their own unique ways.

1. Role-playing or Debates:
   Organize a role-playing activity where participants take on the roles of "Sons of Light" and "Sons of Darkness," debating their ideologies, motivations, and strategies for the ultimate battle. This exercise helps in understanding differing perspectives and interpreting the conflicts presented in the scroll.
   

Interpretative variations regarding the river's crossing in different ancient texts reflect the unique religious, philosophical, and cultural perspectives embedded within these narratives. These differences in interpretation offer insights into diverse worldviews and varying theological frameworks present in ancient texts:

1. Mesopotamian Context:

• In Mesopotamian mythology and literature, the Euphrates River often held symbolic significance as a boundary between the known civilized world and the wild, unknown realms. The crossing of the Euphrates could symbolize journeys into unexplored territories or transitions between order and chaos. This perspective reflects a worldview rooted in the physical and geographical division of lands.

1. Biblical Context:

• In biblical texts, such as those in the Book of Revelation or Old Testament prophecies, the crossing of the Euphrates carries eschatological significance. It may represent a divine intervention or a decisive moment in God's plan, marking the commencement of apocalyptic events. This interpretation aligns with the biblical narrative of divine judgment and the unfolding of God's ultimate purpose in history.

1. Gnostic or Apocryphal Context:

• Gnostic or apocryphal texts often interpret the river's crossing as a symbolic liberation or awakening. It might signify the release of spiritual forces or the ascent to higher consciousness, reflecting a philosophical perspective emphasizing spiritual enlightenment and liberation from material constraints.

1. Greco-Roman Interpretation:

• In Greco-Roman literature, crossings of rivers were often associated with mythological journeys or transitions between realms. The crossing of the Euphrates might symbolize a transition from mundane existence to a realm of mystery or spiritual significance, reflecting a cultural perspective rooted in mythology and cosmology.

These varied interpretations highlight the richness and diversity of religious, philosophical, and cultural frameworks present in ancient texts. The river's crossing serves as a flexible symbol that adapts to different narratives, conveying themes of transition, judgment, liberation, or cosmic transformation based on the unique perspectives of each tradition.
Exploring these interpretative variations allows participants to appreciate the complexity of symbolism within ancient texts and provides insights into how different cultures and belief systems interpreted common motifs like the river Euphrates. It showcases the intricate interplay between religious, philosophical, and cultural elements shaping the symbolism and theological implications embedded in these narratives.
The river Euphrates, a prominent geographic feature in ancient texts, embodies universal themes that transcend specific cultural contexts. Identifying these universal themes helps reveal shared human concepts of transition, boundaries, and transformative events across diverse ancient traditions:

1. Threshold and Transition:

• The Euphrates often symbolizes a boundary between known and unknown territories. Its crossing represents a transition from one state to another, signifying a pivotal moment of change or passage. This theme of crossing a threshold echoes the human experience of transitions in life, moving from familiar to unfamiliar realms.

1. Boundary and Separation:

• As a geographical boundary, the Euphrates signifies separation between distinct territories or civilizations. This concept of demarcation resonates with universal human experiences of setting boundaries, delineating spaces, or marking divisions between different aspects of life.

1. Transformative Events:

• Crossing the Euphrates is often associated with cosmic or transformative events in ancient texts. This universal theme reflects the human fascination with the concept of epochal change, cosmic upheavals, or moments of divine intervention that reshape the course of history.

1. Symbol of Power and Control:

• The river might represent a symbol of power, control, or geopolitical significance. Crossing it could signify shifts in dominance, challenges to established authority, or the assertion of influence. This theme resonates with human narratives of power struggles and shifts in societal dynamics.

1. Metaphor for Spiritual Journeys:

• Across cultures, rivers are often used metaphorically to represent spiritual journeys or quests. The crossing of the Euphrates might symbolize the pursuit of enlightenment, the passage to higher realms of understanding, or the quest for spiritual transformation.

These universal themes associated with the river Euphrates highlight fundamental aspects of the human experience—transitions, boundaries, transformative events, power dynamics, and spiritual journeys. The river's symbolism in ancient texts speaks to shared human aspirations, struggles, and beliefs that transcend cultural boundaries and resonate across different epochs and civilizations.
By identifying and discussing these universal themes, participants gain a deeper appreciation for the profound symbolism embedded in ancient texts and recognize the timeless relevance of concepts such as transition, boundaries, and transformative events in shaping human narratives and aspirations.

1. Historical Context:

• What historical events or societal conditions might have influenced the composition of the War Scroll?
  
• How does the historical context of the Dead Sea Scrolls' discovery contribute to our understanding of this text's significance?
  

1. Symbolism and Esoteric Wisdom:

• How does the War Scroll use symbolism to convey spiritual or cosmic themes?
  
• What esoteric wisdom or deeper spiritual insights can be derived from the portrayal of cosmic conflict and divine intervention within the text?
  

1. Comparative Analysis:

• Compare the themes and symbolism of the War Scroll with other apocalyptic texts from different cultures (e.g., Book of Revelation, The Book of Daniel). What common motifs or differences in interpretation do you observe?

1. Parallelism in Biblical Texts:

• Explore connections between the War Scroll and other biblical texts. How does the language, imagery, or themes in the War Scroll intersect with passages from the Hebrew Bible or New Testament?

1. Community Beliefs and Practices:

• How might the apocalyptic expectations depicted in the War Scroll have influenced the beliefs and practices of the community that produced it?
  
• Discuss the impact of such intense anticipation of cosmic conflict on communal life and religious rituals within the community.
  

1. Cultural Significance of Cosmic Battles:

• Across various ancient cultures, why do you think depictions of cosmic battles and eschatological events were significant? What might these narratives represent in a broader cultural context?

1. Interpretive Variations and Unique Perspectives:

• Explore the diverse interpretations of specific passages or symbols within the War Scroll. How do different scholars or traditions interpret these elements, and what underlying factors might influence their interpretations?

1. Personal Reflection and Modern Relevance:

• Reflect on how the themes of cosmic conflict, righteousness, and spiritual warfare in the War Scroll might resonate in contemporary society or personal belief systems.

1. Theological and Philosophical Implications:

• Discuss the theological and philosophical implications of a cosmic battle between forces of light and darkness. How does this theme intersect with broader philosophical inquiries or theological doctrines?

1. Literary and Symbolic Analysis:

- Analyze the narrative structure and symbolic elements present in specific passages of the War Scroll. How do these elements contribute to the text's overarching themes and meanings? 

These study questions aim to provoke critical thinking, promote in-depth exploration of themes, encourage comparative analysis, and stimulate discussions on the multifaceted nature of the War Scroll's content and its significance within ancient and contemporary contexts.

1. Archaeological and Linguistic Analysis:

- How does the physical condition of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the War Scroll, impact our understanding of their preservation and historical context? - Discuss the linguistic peculiarities or unique textual features found within the War Scroll and their implications for translation and interpretation. 

1. Apocalyptic Expectations and Messianic Concepts:

- Explore the portrayal of messianic figures or anticipated saviors within the War Scroll. How do these concepts align with or diverge from contemporary expectations of a messianic figure in other ancient texts or religious traditions? 

1. Impact of Apocalyptic Literature:

- Analyze the enduring influence of apocalyptic literature, such as the War Scroll, on subsequent religious, literary, or cultural traditions. How have these texts shaped later beliefs or inspired artistic and literary works? 

1. Ethical and Moral Frameworks:

- Discuss the ethical or moral implications of the cosmic conflict depicted in the War Scroll. How do the themes of righteousness and wickedness contribute to the text's underlying moral framework? 

1. Role of Prophecy and Revelation:

- Explore the role of prophecy and revelation within the War Scroll. How do the prophetic elements contribute to the text's portrayal of future events and cosmic justice? 

1. Experiential and Ritualistic Elements:

- Investigate potential ritualistic or experiential dimensions associated with the teachings or beliefs conveyed in the War Scroll. How might the community have engaged with these teachings in their religious practices or communal activities? 

1. Literary Genre and Interpretation:

- Discuss the classification of the War Scroll within the broader genre of apocalyptic literature. How does its classification influence our understanding and interpretation of its themes and symbolic elements? 

1. Relevance in Modern Scholarship:

- Reflect on the ongoing scholarly debates or discoveries related to the War Scroll. How have modern interpretations evolved, and what implications do these new perspectives have on our understanding of the text? 

1. Intersection of Faith and Scholarship:

- Consider the interplay between faith-based interpretations and scholarly analyses of the War Scroll. How might religious convictions or theological frameworks influence academic research and vice versa? 

1. Future Research and Interpretative Avenues:

- Propose potential avenues for future research or areas of exploration concerning the War Scroll. What unanswered questions or unexplored aspects merit further investigation? 

The composition of the War Scroll, along with other Dead Sea Scrolls, was likely influenced by several historical events and societal conditions prevalent during the time of its writing, which is estimated to be between the 2nd century BCE and the 1st century CE:

1. Hellenistic Rule and Cultural Influence:

• The region where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found was under Hellenistic influence due to the conquests of Alexander the Great and the subsequent control by the Seleucid Empire. This era saw a clash between Hellenistic culture and Jewish traditions, leading to cultural tensions and a desire to preserve religious and cultural heritage.

1. Political Turmoil and Resistance Movements:

• The Jewish people experienced political unrest, particularly during the Maccabean Revolt against Seleucid rule. This period was characterized by resistance movements, attempts to preserve Jewish identity, and fervent anticipation of a messianic figure to deliver them from foreign oppression.

1. Religious Sects and Spiritual Expectations:

• Various religious sects existed within Judaism, each with its own interpretations and expectations of messianic redemption, purity laws, and theological doctrines. The community associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls, often believed to be the Essenes, likely had distinctive theological beliefs and a strong apocalyptic worldview.

1. Anticipation of Cosmic Redemption:

• There was a widespread belief in the imminent arrival of a messianic figure or a divine intervention that would bring about cosmic redemption, ushering in an era of righteousness and divine rule. This anticipation of apocalyptic events and a cosmic battle between forces of light and darkness is reflected in the War Scroll's themes.

Regarding the historical context of the Dead Sea Scrolls' discovery, its significance lies in multiple facets:

1. Preservation of Ancient Texts:

• The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the War Scroll, provided an invaluable collection of ancient manuscripts that significantly expanded our understanding of ancient Jewish texts, religious beliefs, and the diversity of Jewish thought during the Second Temple period.

1. Insights into Jewish Sectarianism:

• The scrolls shed light on the diversity of beliefs and practices among Jewish sects during that time. Understanding the beliefs and expectations of the community associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls helps contextualize the theological and apocalyptic themes present in the War Scroll.

1. Confirmation of Scriptural Accuracy:

• The Dead Sea Scrolls' discovery contributed to confirming the accuracy and preservation of certain biblical texts, highlighting the continuity of textual transmission across centuries and supporting the authenticity of biblical manuscripts.

1. Impact on Biblical Studies and Scholarship:

• The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls revolutionized biblical studies, providing scholars with invaluable primary sources for studying ancient Judaism, the development of biblical texts, and the context in which these texts were composed.

The historical context of political upheaval, religious expectations, and the preservation of texts within the Dead Sea Scrolls contributes significantly to understanding the milieu in which the War Scroll was written. It provides a backdrop against which the themes of cosmic conflict, eschatological anticipation, and religious fervor within the War Scroll can be comprehended.

1. Explore a moment of existential reflection where the protagonist questions the purpose of their existence, echoing the philosophical inquiries found in Albert Camus's works.
   
2. Write a scene set in a dystopian society where characters resist against a regime that controls language, inspired by the linguistic manipulations depicted in George Orwell's "1984."
   
3. Craft a dialogue between characters that delves into the complexities of identity and societal expectations, echoing J.D. Salinger's exploration of adolescence and authenticity.
   
4. Describe a surreal dreamscape where characters confront their deepest fears, capturing the psychological and symbolic richness reminiscent of Clive Barker's dark fantasy.
   
5. Write a character-driven narrative set in a vibrant and chaotic urban landscape, capturing the raw and unfiltered observations of city life inspired by Henry Miller's works.
   
6. Explore the consequences of a character's encounter with a mysterious artifact that alters their perception of reality, drawing inspiration from Philip K. Dick's exploration of altered states.
   
7. Craft a scene where characters navigate a fantastical realm, capturing the whimsical imagination and linguistic inventiveness characteristic of Lewis Carroll's storytelling.
   
8. Describe a protagonist's journey through the gritty underbelly of society, where vices and desires lead to self-destructive paths, inspired by Charles Bukowski's unfiltered exploration of the human condition.
   
9. Write a satirical and darkly humorous critique of contemporary society, exploring the absurdities of the world through the lens of George Carlin's observational wit.
   
10. Explore the intersection of spirituality and social consciousness in a narrative inspired by the mysticism and philosophical musings of Timothy Leary.
    
11. Craft a dialogue-rich scene set in a seedy bar or underground club, capturing the gritty realism and dark humor characteristic of Charles Bukowski's works.
    
12. Describe a protagonist's journey of self-discovery and rebellion against societal norms, infused with the spontaneous energy and poetic freedom characteristic of the beat generation's spirit.
    
13. Write a hallucinatory account of a routine event, infusing the mundane with a surreal twist, capturing the disjointed narrative style reminiscent of William S. Burroughs.
    
14. Explore the consequences of a protagonist's encounter with a forgotten language or code, infusing the dialogue with layers of meaning and symbolism, inspired by the unconventional expression found in Allen Ginsberg's poetry.
    
15. Craft a poignant and socially charged poem or song addressing issues of racial inequality and systemic injustice, echoing the thought-provoking and emotionally charged style of Tupac Shakur.
    
16. Describe a crossroads in your story, exploring the diverging paths available to the characters and the uncertainties, fears, and hopes associated with each choice, inspired by the moral dilemmas found in the works of Ayn Rand.
    
17. Write a dark and atmospheric scene set during a severe weather event, capturing the characters' adaptation, struggle, or discovery of unexpected beauty amidst the chaos, drawing inspiration from the elemental and existential themes found in Cormac McCarthy's works.
    
18. Explore the consequences of a character's decision that leads to unforeseen challenges and existential reflections, capturing the moral ambiguity and psychological depth found in the works of Albert Camus.
    
19. Craft a narrative that delves into the dual nature of identity, where characters grapple with their inner demons and societal expectations, echoing the psychological complexity and philosophical themes found in the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky.
    
20. Write a dialogue-heavy scene between two characters with a complex history, capturing the subtleties, unspoken emotions, and underlying tensions that define their relationship, drawing inspiration from the interpersonal dynamics found in the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
    
21. Explore the consequences of a character's decision to rebel against a dystopian society, capturing the themes of resistance and individualism found in the works of Ayn Rand.
    
22. Craft a scene where characters confront the consequences of their actions in a surreal dreamscape, drawing inspiration from the psychological and symbolic richness reminiscent of Salvador Dali's surrealism.
    
23. Describe a protagonist's journey through a surreal dreamscape, exploring the intricate details, unspoken emotions, and underlying tensions, capturing the hallucinatory and symbolic richness reminiscent of Salvador Dali's surrealism.
    
24. Write a dialogue-rich scene where characters grapple with the consequences of their actions and the elusive nature of meaning, drawing inspiration from J.D. Salinger's exploration of identity and existential angst.
    
25. Explore a moment of existential reflection where the protagonist questions the purpose of their existence, echoing the philosophical inquiries found in Albert Camus's works.
    
26. Craft a narrative set in a haunted small town, where characters uncover chilling secrets buried beneath the surface, drawing inspiration from the atmospheric horror and psychological twists found in Stephen King's works.
    
27. Write a satirical and darkly humorous critique of contemporary society, exploring the absurdities of the world through the lens of George Carlin's observational wit.
    
28. Describe a pivotal moment of realization for your protagonist, delving into their thoughts, emotions, and the internal shifts that occur, inspired by the introspective and philosophical style of J.D. Salinger.
    
29. Craft a monologue for a character reflecting on the passage of time, capturing the regrets, joys, and lessons learned in a manner reminiscent of Charles Bukowski's raw and unfiltered honesty.
    
30. Explore the consequences of a character communicating solely through metaphorical language, infusing the dialogue with layers of meaning and symbolism, inspired by the unconventional expression found in Allen Ginsberg's poetry.
    
31. Write a hallucinatory account of a routine event, infusing the mundane with a surreal twist, capturing the disjointed narrative style reminiscent of William S. Burroughs.
    
32. Describe an unexpected encounter between two strangers in a bustling city, capturing the nuances of their exchange and the potential impact on their lives, drawing inspiration from the existential exploration found in Albert Camus's works.
    
33. Craft a narrative set in a vibrant and chaotic urban landscape, capturing the raw and unfiltered observations of city life inspired by Henry Miller's works.
    
34. Explore the consequences of a character's encounter with a mysterious artifact that alters their perception of reality, drawing inspiration from Philip K. Dick's exploration of altered states.
    
35. Write a character-driven narrative set in a vibrant and chaotic urban landscape, capturing the raw and unfiltered observations of city life inspired by Henry Miller's works.
    
36. Explore the intersection of spirituality and social consciousness in a narrative inspired by the mysticism and philosophical musings of Timothy Leary.
    
37. Craft a dialogue-rich scene set in a seedy bar or underground club, capturing the gritty realism and dark humor characteristic of Charles Bukowski's
    

I don't understand why American and to some extend - anglophone writers decided that rhymes and meters are awful and should be left for little children, but I genuinely think that American poems are much worse for that. The extra constraints of a rigid meter and rhyming ends test a writer's creativity and forces them to use different words and unusual metaphors.
It is particularly puzzling, given that there are some great english poems out there. "Raven" by Edgar Alan Poe is a little formulaic-sounding IMO, but at the same time it is a beautiful poem, and meter is a big part of its beauty. One cannot help but read it with a somber kind of rhythm to it. Here is an experiment - try to read this and see how you feel (changes are italicized):

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak October; And each separate dying coal wrought its ghost on the floor. Eagerly I wished the tomorrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore— For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore— Nameless here forever.

It sounds awful! What's even weirder is that sometimes I see a poem almost fill a meter, but then scoot away at the last moment. I am not even talking about deliberate broken meter, like "The Second Coming" by W.B. Yeats - I still don't like it but I understand it is meant to be broken - I am talking about where it feels like the author failed to write in a meter for no reason. I don't have a lot of examples ready to go, but here is one:

For all sad words of tongue and pen,

The saddest are these, 'It might have been'
It would have been so easy to just delete "these" and it would have - IMO - sounded so much better. Every now and then I listen to a song and get this same kind of "blunder" - and it ruins it for me every time. Please discuss!

1. Imagery: Prompt: Choose a setting (real or imaginary) and describe it using detailed sensory imagery. Imagine the sights, sounds, smells, and textures to create a vivid scene, just like a painter with words.
   
2. Metaphor: Prompt: Compare a personal experience to an everyday object or phenomenon in an unexpected way. For example, "My heart is a compass that always points to the north of your laughter."
   
3. Simile: Prompt: Write a series of similes to express intense emotions. For instance, "As brave as a lion facing the storm, as fragile as a petal in the wind."
   
4. Rhyme: Prompt: Craft a short poem or lyrics with a consistent rhyme scheme. Experiment with different rhyme patterns (ABAB, AABB, etc.) to enhance the musicality of your writing.
   
5. Meter: Prompt: Compose a poem with a specific meter, such as iambic pentameter. Pay attention to the syllabic beats in each line to create a rhythmic flow.
   
6. Alliteration: Prompt: Create a tongue-twisting line using alliteration. Focus on the repetition of initial consonant sounds to add a playful or musical quality to your writing.
   
7. Assonance: Prompt: Write a passage where the vowel sounds within words echo each other. Experiment with different vowel combinations to create a melodic effect.
   
8. Personification: Prompt: Choose an inanimate object and personify it. Describe its actions, thoughts, and emotions as if it were a living being.
   
9. Symbolism: Prompt: Select an object or element and explore its symbolic meaning. Connect it to broader themes or emotions in your writing.
   
10. Enjambment: Prompt: Write a poem where the thoughts flow continuously from one line to the next without a pause. Explore how this technique can create a sense of movement or urgency.
    
11. Repetition: Prompt: Repeat a word or phrase throughout a poem for emphasis. Consider how repetition can enhance the overall impact and meaning of your writing.
    
12. Free Verse: Prompt: Embrace the freedom of expression by writing a poem without adhering to rhyme or meter. Allow your thoughts to flow organically, exploring the beauty of formless verse.
    
13. Stanza: Prompt: Divide your writing into stanzas to create distinct sections with varying themes or tones. Explore how the organization of lines contributes to the overall structure of your work.
    
14. Theme: Prompt: Choose a universal theme (love, loss, freedom, etc.) and explore it through your lyrics. Delve into the nuances and perspectives associated with the chosen theme.
    
15. Tone: Prompt: Write a poem that conveys contrasting tones. Explore how shifts in tone can evoke different emotions and responses from the reader.
    
16. Connotation: Prompt: Select a word with strong connotations and use it in a poem. Explore the emotional baggage and cultural associations tied to the word within the context of your writing.
    
17. Irony: Prompt: Craft a poem with elements of irony. Create situations or lines that convey a meaning opposite to the literal interpretation, adding layers of complexity to your writing.
    
18. Allusion: Prompt: Reference a well-known song, book, or historical event in your lyrics. Explore how the use of allusion can enrich the depth and meaning of your writing.
    
19. Syntax: Prompt: Experiment with sentence structure to create different effects. Play with word order, sentence length, and punctuation to convey specific emotions or rhythms in your writing.
    
20. Diction: Prompt: Choose a specific mood or atmosphere you want to convey and carefully select words that evoke that feeling. Pay attention to the impact of your word choices on the overall tone of your writing.
    

depression is a weighted blanket
too heavy to remove
too easy to get used to
depression is a gun against my head
pressed firmly on my temple
telling me to stay in bed
but if it really were as simple
as a simile or metaphor
maybe then I could explain
to my son, waiting by the door
if only it were as simple
as some words in structured rhyme
perhaps then I could tell him
why his dad can’t get up in time
perhaps I wouldn’t grapple
with the best way to explain
why his dad is always tired
how he lives with so much pain
what if today though I managed
to get up and out of bed
got dressed and showered
poured the cereal, toasted bread
listened to his stories
instead of the voices in my head
drank my coffee while he eats
avoided feeling blue
stopped myself from seeing red
if a day like that comes tomorrow,
my son would never know
the struggle it took to get there
what it took to make it so
even if I put it in a poem
I don’t think he’d understand
there’s too much joy in him to get it
and I truly hope he never can
a day like that may come tomorrow
or it may never come at all
so I’ll just focus on today
and hope I can walk more than I crawl
hope that I can hide it just enough
to stay afloat, and out of his way
I’ll count it as a win
if I can manage just okay
if I can manage just to love him
I won’t need to rhyme today
first second

Unveiling the Magic of Metaphor**
Summary:
Metaphor, a powerful literary device, involves comparing two unrelated things to convey a deeper meaning. It goes beyond a simple comparison, creating vivid imagery and enhancing the reader's understanding.
Examples:

1. Classical: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." - William Shakespeare, "As You Like It."
   
2. Modern: "Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time,' is like saying, 'I don't want to.'" - Lao Tzu
   
3. Modern: "The classroom was a zoo, students swinging from the chandeliers with wild ideas." - Educator's blog post.
   

Tips for Creative Writing:

• Be Original: Strive to create metaphors that are unique and fresh.
  
• Use the Senses: Incorporate sensory details to make your metaphor more vivid.
  
• Avoid Clichés: While some are timeless, challenge yourself to think beyond the ordinary.
  

Questions for Exploration:

1. Can you identify metaphors in everyday language?
   
2. How does metaphor contribute to the emotional impact of a poem or narrative?
   

Additional Resources:

• Explore poems by Emily Dickinson and Pablo Neruda for diverse use of metaphor.
  
• Read "Metaphors We Live By" by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson for a deeper understanding.
  

Creative Writing Prompt:
Step 1: Choose a concept or emotion (e.g., love, time, success).
Step 2: Brainstorm related images or ideas.
Step 3: Create a metaphor that captures the essence of your chosen concept.
Example: Love is a delicate butterfly, fluttering in the garden of the heart, leaving traces of colors in its wake.
Remember: The beauty of metaphor lies in its ability to evoke emotions and paint vivid mental images.

1. Imagery: Creating vivid mental images through descriptive language.
   
2. Metaphor: Using figurative language to imply a comparison between unrelated things.
   
3. Simile: Drawing comparisons using "like" or "as" to highlight similarities.
   
4. Rhyme: Employing words with similar sounds at the end of lines.
   
5. Meter: Organizing lines with a rhythmic pattern, often in syllabic beats.
   
6. Alliteration: Repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words.
   
7. Assonance: Repeating vowel sounds within nearby words for musicality.
   
8. Personification: Assigning human characteristics to non-human entities.
   
9. Symbolism: Using objects or concepts to represent deeper meanings.
   
10. Enjambment: Continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line.
    
11. Repetition: Emphasizing ideas or emotions by repeating words or phrases.
    
12. Free Verse: Unrestricted by traditional poetic structures like rhyme or meter.
    
13. Stanza: Grouping lines together to form a distinct unit within a poem.
    
14. Theme: Central idea or underlying message explored in the poem.
    
15. Tone: The poet's attitude or emotional stance toward the subject.
    
16. Connotation: The emotional or cultural associations attached to words.
    
17. Irony: Presenting ideas in a way that signifies the opposite of the literal meaning.
    
18. Allusion: Referencing another work, person, or event to enrich meaning.
    
19. Syntax: Arrangement of words to create specific effects or convey emotions.
    
20. Diction: Careful choice of words to convey a particular meaning or atmosphere.
    

I really want to find more poems like In The Desert by Stephen Crane or poems like Shel Silverstein's poems please

I've been listening to this amazing album for 3 weeks, and wanted to share some thoughts that I have not really seen too much discussion about yet, and that I think tie in to whatever third surprise may be in store for us (that Taylor seems to be signaling). As a close listener of the Tortured Poets album, I think one of the big themes of the album, beyond the personal story, is the role of the artist as creator (and destroyer) of worlds, and the “tortured” bargain that artists make in our society. When life is inspiration for the art, does that degrade or restrict the real life, and the artist’s humanity? I'll get back to this, but here's my prediction: I wouldn’t be surprised if whatever is coming next will serve to undermine those who are treating this album solely as tabloid fodder and looking to "paternity test" each song. I think it will be intended to more clearly draw parallels with other “tortured poets” throughout history.
I have stumbled upon two examples, from two different poets, that really seem like they could have served as inspiration, or a guiding framework, for the narratives in the Tortured Poets Department.
· The first - “The Snakecharmer” poem by Sylvia Plath. Now I honestly don’t know anything about Sylvia Plath, other than that she was known as a confessional-style poet who committed suicide, but I saw some analysis linking the Tortured Poets album, and the Fortnight song in particular, to Sylvia Plath. I also remember seeing social media posts of pictures of and questions about a Target barcode for something called “Serpentine” around the time Tortured Poets came out. So I googled Sylvia Plath and Serpentine, and found the Snakecharmer poem. (https://allpoetry.com/Snakecharmer ) Check out the poem and the allpoetry analysis of that poem, Low and behold if it doesn’t mesh so, so well with what I think is the huge social commentary theme of this album and a big point that Taylor Swift wants to make about her art!
· The second – Check out this New Yorker article, from December 2020, about “The Secret History of T.S. Eliot’s Muse.” (https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turnethe-secret-history-of-t-s-eliots-muse) Do I believe that Taylor Swift would have read and been inspired by this article? Yes, yes I do. Does the story of this article have parallels with the overarching personal story of TTPD? Absolutely.
Let’s start with the Snake Charmer poem, and the social commentary of this album. The allpoetry.com analysis of the poem states: “Through the metaphor of a snakecharmer, the poem depicts the act of creating a world, one that is fluid and ever-changing. . . .The snakecharmer, through his music, has power over this world, shaping and controlling it. However, the poem also suggests the transience of this created world. . . . [T]he poem reflects the modernist preoccupation with the interconnectedness of life and the role of the artist as a creator and destroyer. It also echoes the post-war fascination with the subconscious and the power of the imagination to shape reality."
If I’ve learned anything as a new Taylor Swift fan, it is that people are so excited about the upcoming re-recording of Reputation, and that that album is all about the snake imagery. But I’ve also learned that Taylor Swift has been sending messages about a “red herring,” sending signals about “braided” stories with this album, and sending signals about burning down the Lover house and moving on from these eras. And as a close listener of the Tortured Poets album over the last week, I think one of the big themes of the album, beyond the personal story, is the role of the artist as creator and destroyer, and the “tortured” bargain that artists make:
-- The Manuscript explains why Taylor Swift puts art out into the world - it's an act of catharsis, a need to create - and most importantly, once out in the world, "the story isn't mine anymore." Other people relate to and appreciate the emotions she puts into words and really vivid stories, and that’s why she has such devoted fans.
--Clara Bow is about the trade-off ("It's hell on earth to be heavenly."). The making and unmaking of the celebrity. She knows that the celebrity part of her job is part of the bargain she made to be able to create art that reaches the world.
--The in Summation poem that accompanied the album talked about “restricted humanity.”
--I think a lot of the songs in Torture Poets are grappling with whether celebrity is a kind of restricted humanity that prevents real, lasting human connection.
--A lot of the angry songs on the album (But Daddy I love him, Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me, Cassandra), and one of the saddest songs on the album (How Did it End?) are grappling with the dark side of celebrity: Her life as tabloid fodder, the media and the public's literally constant attention and judgment, stirring the pot, looking to create or magnify any kind of drama, always ready to raise people up and then cut them down to size.
--And then we get to the Prophesy, which I think is a very poignant song and a key to understanding why this album is called "The Tortured Poets Department." She thinks she doomed to never finding lasting love because “I got cursed like Eve got bitten,” and she begs to speak to someone who can change the Prophesy. The comparison to Eve is interesting because like Eve, she actively chose her fate (see Clara Bow). Is the curse part of the bargain?
-- The Albatross, with all of its literary allusions, is a powerful and hopeful answer to the question about whether she’s doomed to be a burden, a case of “restricted humanity,” because of her celebrity.
Now, what about that New Yorker T.S. Eliot article? It is the story of T.S. Eliot’s letters to his muse. Let me just quote from the second paragraph: “Eliot’s letters to Hale [the muse], who for nearly seventeen years was his confidante, his beloved, and his muse, were another matter. They don’t just repeat “gossip and scandal,” they produce it. Scholars have known about this correspondence since Hale donated Eliot’s letters to Princeton, in 1956, but for decades, the trove of documents remained a tantalizing secret—kept sealed, at Eliot’s insistence, until 50 years after both he and Hale had died.” What else do we learn from the article? That while Eliot was still married to someone else, he carried on this romantic correspondence with his muse, she greatly influenced his art, he talked to her of marriage and they even exchanged rings, with Eliot telling her: “This ring means to me all that a wedding ring can mean. . .” But when his wife died and he was free to marry her, he refused. There’s so much more in the article – go read it. But does any of this sound familiar? Doesn’t it roughly track the entire personal narrative of the album? A muse written into songs for a decade, the muses fall for each other in real life, imaginary rings, a promise to marry that turns out to be fake? “In 50 years will all this be declassified?” Doesn’t it explore similar themes as the album, like whether creative process itself restricts the artists’ humanity?
I wouldn’t be surprised if whatever is coming next will frame the narrative set out in this album in the context of other tortured poets throughout history. Because she has a confessional style of storytelling, it gets dismissed and just treated like tabloid gossip but she wants to make the point that it is art and an act of creation. She’s exploring very deep themes about the “tortured poet”: Does the creative process itself impair the real life of the artist? Does the act of putting art out into the world, with all that entails in our celebrity-centered culture, further restrict the artist’s humanity? I wouldn’t be surprised if the stories of other poets besides Sylvia Plath and T.S. Eliot are hidden within the lyrics of these songs, and Taylor Swift is somehow going to pull it all together with whatever this third thing is that she’s been signaling.

tl;dr: The analysis interprets "Don't Carry It All" by The Decemberists as a song about a small community experiencing cycles of harvest, birth, and death. The lyrics suggest hidden secrets and multiple layers of meaning. The writer speculates that the deceased boy being mourned might be a bastard son, conceived out of wedlock during the previous spring's turning of the season. The song reflects themes of communal togetherness during times of work and grief, with metaphors tied to nature and the cycle of seasons. Ultimately, it's portrayed as a complex and richly symbolic piece that invites repeated listening and interpretation. The writer expresses a deep appreciation for the song's depth and invites discussion on similar works by The Decemberists. (Summary written by ChatGPT ;)

Intro

There are secrets hidden in this one, I think. For one, what exactly is it that “nobody knows”? I have one possible answer, and I thought I’d share. I think the boy whose death the townsfolk gather to mourn is a bastard son (a child born of unmarried parents).
Let me explain why I think this. I’ve copied the lyrics below and labeled them for easy reference. For instance, (1) refers to the whole intro section, and (1a) refers to the first line, 'here we come to a turning of the season’.

Lyrics

Intro

(1) a. Here we come to a turning of the season
b. Witness to the arc towards the sun
c. The neighbor's blessed burden within reason
d. Becomes a burden borne of all in one

Chorus

(2) a. And nobody, nobody knows
b. Let the yoke fall from our shoulders
c. Don't carry it all, don't carry it all
d. We are all our hands in holders
e. Beneath this bold and brilliant sun
f. This I swear to all

Verse 1

(3) a. A monument to build beneath the arbors
b. Upon a plinth that towers towards the trees
c. Let every vessel pitching hard to starboard
d. Lay it's head on summer's freckled knees

Repeat (2), the chorus.
Verse 2

(4) a. There a wreath of trillium and ivy
b. Laid upon the body of the boy
c. Lazy will the loam come from it's hiding
d. Return his quiet certitude to the soil

Outro

(5) a. So raise a glass to turnings of the season
b. And watch it as it arcs towards the sun
c. And you must bear your neighbor's burden within reason
d. And your labors will be borne when all is done

Repeat the chorus, (2), again.

Analysis

Setting the scene

In (1) the scene is set. The ‘turning of the season’ in (1a) is the turn from spring to summer, and with summer comes the harvest, a time of toil. The ‘arc towards the sun’ in (1b), then, is the corn or wheat in the fields, bending in the wind. (Side note: “witness to the arc towards the sun” is one of my favorite lines in the song. Whenever I hear it, I feel like I’m in a field on a clear day, watching the golden wheat sway—a scene familiar from my adolescence in the midwest). It is not lonely individuals in these fields, however. From (1c) and (1d) we know that to reap the bounty of the earth, which is the ‘neighbor’s blessed burden’, is to come together as a community. So harvest is a time of togetherness.
In this context, the first line of the chorus, (2a), might be rephrased as ‘there is nobody that nobody knows’. In other words everyone knows everyone. This is the hallmark of a small town or village. In (2b), letting the ‘yoke fall from our shoulders’ means that we relieve ourselves the burden of the hard work, and we do this, as related in (2d)-(2e), by relying on our community. Here, the ‘holders’ of (2d) are containers for grain or corn. More simply put, those of the village are all working together to harvest the crop. This is all done in the light of the ‘bold and brilliant sun’ in (2e). This is, of course, literally a description of working under the summer sun. But it is also metaphorical: to work under the sun is to have no secrets. As is common in such small towns, in which everyone knows everyone, everyone knows everything about everyone. (These images of fields and community bring Midsommar to mind for me. That is the community I picture for this song, though the differences are stark)
After the work is done, it will be soon a time of rest, as related in (3c)-(3d). But not yet. In (3a), there is a ‘monument’ to be built. Like the harvest, this too is not the work of one individual, but requires the community. For some, the monument means the end of their work, so as related in (3c)-(3d), they may finally lay their heads on ‘freckled knees’. For others though, a ‘vessel pitching hard to starboard’ (i.e., a bountiful harvest) means it is time for trade. Ships (‘vessels’) so loaded with trade goods that they are ‘pitching hard to starboard’ have come to the community’s shores (their ‘summer’s freckled knees), and the product must be bartered for.
Here the chorus in (2) repeats. It has mostly the same interpretation as before, with calm, happy air, though having our ‘hands in holders’ in (2d) now means that we are standing hand in hand, in celebration. But when we get to (4), the second verse, the mood turns somber. It seems that a boy has died. Fittingly, he will be returned to the soil, from which the crops were grown. In this context, (2d) can be reinterpreted: having our ‘hands in holders’ in (2d) now means that we are standing in solidarity against the pain. (3a) and (3b) may similarly be reinterpreted. The ‘monument’ in (3a) built on a ‘plinth’ in (3b) may be a gravestone, built for the boy. So what was a happy time, is now a solemn one. (Side note: I love (4c), ‘lazy will the loam come from its hiding’. The imagery of the rest of the song is so light and dry, so this line about the dark and damp hits hard)

The core of my argument

The outro, (5), which resembles (1), is the key to my argument. We have come again to a turning of the seasons, in (5a) and so from summer it has turned to fall. In the context of the funeral in (4), we are primed to read (5c) and (5d) as depicting each neighbor sharing in their ‘neighbor’s burden’:, i.e., helping each other grieve and overcome the pain of the child’s death. But there is a more literal reading here. To ‘bear’, in (5c), is to bear a child: to birth. Bearing a ‘neighbor’s burden’, then, is carrying their child (‘carrying’ in the sense of pregnancy). Where the ‘labors’ in (5d) at first glance seemed to refer to the hard work of the harvest, we now see that these labors are the labors of childbirth, after which the child will be ‘borne’. (Side note: so many of these lines have more than one meaning, which is why listening to it is such a joy: I find something new every time)
This reading of ‘bear your neighbor’s burden’ triggers a reinterpretation of the chorus, which repeats again now, at the end of the song. And now we are poised to answer the question we began with: What it is that ‘nobody knows’ in (2a) is that the child to be born the next year (at the turning of the seasons from spring to summer) is a bastard son. The mother and father must be worried: will the child have the blue eyes that will give our infidelity away? But for now, nobody knows.
We are also triggered to reinterpret the death of the boy in (4). Is this just any child? It might be, but also notice that the time from the start of autumn (when you must ‘bear your neighbor’s burden’) to the end of spring (‘the turning of the season’ from spring to summer) is 9 months: the exact time required to bear a child. With this context, the “neighbor’s blessed burden” becoming “a burden borne of all in one” is the community coming together to celebrate the birth of the child. (As they say, it takes a village)
Upon re-listening, when we hear (4), we might consider that it is this child’s death (or a child like this one, conceived outside a marriage in the previous spring). This child is stillborn, or did not survive long after birth. For the community, this is bitter and heartbreaking. But for the mother of the bastard son, the feelings are more complex. Though she lost her child, the guilt of adultery and the worry of discovery has been lifted. Now to be ‘beneath the bold and brilliant sun’ in (2e) is ironic: there were secrets here, though they died with the boy.

Overall thoughts

This is a song about a community coming together for harvest, birth, and death, over and over. And I think, like the cycle of the seasons, this is a song that is made to be listened to again and again.
Of the Decemberists’ songs I’ve listened to, this is my favorite. I suspect that this song is a momentary stroke of genius, and that the other music is not the same. But my knowledge of their music is limited. Are any of their other songs like this? If so, what are they about?
And surely there are things that I’ve missed: songs, like poems, can be open to multiple interpretations. I’m more than happy to hear your thoughts.

2024: Post #66 Watched April 14th On the Criterion Channel (Spine 466) IMDB Directed by: Nagisa Ôshima Written by: Nagisa Ôshima TSZDT: 5,522 TSPDT: 333
102 minutes. This movie has become a meme of sorts, but in case you haven’t seen it yet it is essentially a film about an obsessive, possessive love affair that quickly spirals into an addiction you would expect to see in something like Sid & Nancy. It’s hyper erotic and I think is an amazing movie to watch with a partner if you are looking to get aroused together.
We meet the two leads as a woman who works in a brother and a man who frequents them. Their affair quickly moves to something that should be kept in secret, as he is already married, and quickly becomes the type of lust that takes over the brain and interrupts normal life. They want each other all the time, over work and over the safety of keeping up the life they have built.
Although there is some unsimulated sex in the film, it is not quite to the level of pornography. It certainly walks the line, but whereas porn focuses on the sex itself, and the parts engaging in the act, Realm focuses more on the relationship between the two. They are willing to sacrifice everything in order to stay physically and sexually close. They both start losing weight, stop eating, they must f*ck constantly or the face withdrawals.
As erotic as this is, I really do feel it’s a movie about addiction. I think it’s a nasty trick from Ôshima to take something as beautiful as intimacy and sex and use it as a metaphor for the destructive effect of desiring someone over all rational behavior. I would put this up with Requiem for a Dream as far as movies that give an unflinching look into the pain and pleasure that accompany addiction. It’s a beautifully shot film, and their lives certainly seem desirable for moments.
I would say as a piece of art this is a must see. As a piece of erotic fiction it works well, and as a visual poem I found it effective. This works on multiple levels, and shows the artistry and talent coming from the criminally under discussed Nagisa Ôshima.

The ghost of Mandela, hope my flows they propel it Let these words be your earth and moon You consume every message As I lead this army make room for mistakes and depression And with that being said my nigga, let me ask this question: When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? When shit hit the fan (one two, one two) When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? The ghost of Mandela, hope my flows they propel it Let these words be your earth and moon You consume every message As I lead this army make room for mistakes and depression And with that being said my nigga, let me ask this question: When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? Want you look to your left and right, make sure you ask your friends When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? Do you believe in me? Are you deceiving me? Could I let you down easily, is your heart where it need to be? Is your smile on permanent? Is your vow on lifetime? Would you know where the sermon is if I died in this next line? If I'm tried in a court of law, if the industry cut me off If the government want me dead, plant cocaine in my car Would you judge me a drug-head or see me as K. Lamar Or question my character and degrade me on every blog Want you to love me like Nelson, want you to hug me like Nelson I freed you from being a slave in your mind, you're very welcome You tell me my song is more than a song, it's surely a blessing But a prophet ain't a prophet til they ask you this question: When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? Want you look to your left and right, make sure you ask your friends When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? The ghost of Mandela, hope my flows they propel it Let my words be your earth and moon you consume every message As I lead this army make room for mistakes and depression And with that Do you believe in me? How much you believe in her? You think she gon' stick around if them 25 years occur? You think he can hold you down when you down behind bars hurt? You think y'all on common ground if you promise to be the first? Can you be immortalised without your life being expired? Even though you share the same blood is it worth the time? Like who got your best interest? Like how much are you dependent? How clutch are the people that say they love you? And who pretending? How tough is your skin when they turn you in? Do you show forgiveness? What brush do you bend when dusting your shoulders from being offended? What kind of den did they put you in when the lions start hissing? What kind of bridge did they burn? Revenge or your mind when it's mentioned? You wanna love like Nelson, you wanna be like Nelson You wanna walk in his shoes but you peacemaking seldom You wanna be remembered that delivered the message That considered the blessing of everyone This your lesson for everyone, say When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? Want you look to your left and right, make sure you ask your friends When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? The voice of Mandela, hope this flow stay propellin' Let my word be your Earth and moon You consume every message As I lead this army make room for mistakes and depression And if you riding with me, nigga I been wrote off before, I got abandonment issues I hold grudges like bad judges, don't let me resent you That's not Nelson-like, want you to love me like Nelson I went to Robben's Island analysing, that's where his cell is So I could find clarity, like how much you cherish me Is this relationship a fake or real as the heavens be? See I got to question it all, family, friends, fans, cats, dogs Trees, plants, grass, how the wind blow Murphy's Law, generation X, will I ever be your X? Floss off a baby step, mauled by the mouth of Pit bulls, put me under stress Crawled under rocks, ducking y'all, it's respect But then tomorrow, put my back against the wall How many leaders you said you needed then left 'em for dead? Is it Moses, is it Huey Newton or Detroit Red? Is it Martin Luther, JFK, shoot or you assassin Is it Jackie, is it Jesse, oh I know, it's Michael Jackson, oh When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? That nigga gave us Billie Jean, you say he touched those kids? When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? The ghost of Mandela, hope my flows they propel it Let my word be your earth and moon you consume every message As I lead this army make room for mistakes and depression And if you riding with me nigga, let me ask this question nigga "I remember you was conflicted Misusing your influence Sometimes I did the same Abusing my power, full of resentment Resentment that turned into a deep depression Found myself screaming in the hotel room I didn't wanna self destruct The evils of Lucy was all around me So I went running for answers Until I came home But that didn't stop survivor's guilt Going back and forth trying to convince myself the stripes I earned Or maybe how A-1 my foundation was But while my loved ones was fighting the continuous war back in the city, I was entering a new one A war that was based on apartheid and discrimination Made me wanna go back to the city and tell the homies what I learned The word was respect Just because you wore a different gang color than mine's Doesn't mean I can't respect you as a black man Forgetting all the pain and hurt we caused each other in these streets If I respect you, we unify and stop the enemy from killing us But I don't know, I'm no mortal man, maybe I'm just another nigga" Shit and that's all I wrote I was gonna call it Another Nigga but, it ain't really a poem, I just felt like it's something you probably could relate to. Other than that, now that I finally got a chance to holla at you, I always wanted to ask you about a certain situa--, about a metaphor actually, you spoke on the ground. What you mean 'bout that, what the ground represent? The ground is gonna open up and swallow the evil Right That's how I see it, my word is bond. I see--and the ground is the symbol for the poor people, the poor people is gonna open up this whole world and swallow up the rich people. Cause the rich people gonna be so fat, they gonna be so appetising, you know what I'm saying, wealthy, appetising. The poor gonna be so poor and hungry, you know what I'm saying it's gonna be like... there might be some cannibalism out this mutha, they might eat the rich Aight so let me ask you this then, do you see yourself as somebody that's rich or somebody that made the best of their own opportunities? I see myself as a natural born hustler, a true hustler in every sense of the word. I took nothin', I took the opportunities, I worked at the most menial and degrading job and built myself up so I could get it to where I owned it. I went from having somebody manage me to me hiring the person that works my management company. I changed everything I realized my destiny in a matter of five years you know what I'm saying I made myself a millionaire. I made millions for a lot of people now it's time to make millions for myself, you know what I'm saying. I made millions for the record companies, I made millions for these movie companies, now I make millions for us And through your different avenues of success, how would you say you managed to keep a level of sanity? and by my faith in "all good things come to those that stay true. " You know what I'm saying, and it was happening to me for a reason, you know what I'm saying, I was noticing, shit, I was punching the right buttons and it was happening. So it's no problem, you know I mean it's a problem but I'm not finna let them know. I'm finna go straight through Would you consider yourself a fighter at heart or somebody that only reacts when they back is against the wall? Shit, I like to think that at every opportunity I've ever been threatened with resistance, it's been met with resistance. And not only me but it goes down my family tree. You know what I'm saying, it's in my veins to fight back Aight well, how long you think it take before niggas be like, we fighting a war, I'm fighting a war I can't win and I wanna lay it all down In this country a black man only have like 5 years we can exhibit maximum strength, and that's right now while you a teenager, while you still strong or while you still wanna lift weights, while you still wanna shoot back. Cause once you turn 30 it's like they take the heart and soul out of a man, out of a black man in this country. And you don't wanna fight no more. And if you don't believe me you can look around, you don't see no loud mouth 30-year old muthafuckas That's crazy, because me being one of your offspring of the legacy you left behind I can truly tell you that there's nothing but turmoil goin' on so I wanted to ask you what you think is the future for me and my generation today? I think that niggas is tired of grabbin' shit out the stores and next time it's a riot there's gonna be, like, uh, bloodshed for real. I don't think America know that. I think American think we was just playing and it's gonna be some more playing but it ain't gonna be no playing. It's gonna be murder, you know what I'm saying, it's gonna be like Nat Turner, 1831, up in this muthafucka. You know what I'm saying, it's gonna happen That's crazy man. In my opinion, only hope that we kinda have left is music and vibrations, lotta people don't understand how important it is. Sometimes I be like, get behind a mic and I don't know what type of energy I'mma push out, or where it comes from. Trip me out sometimes Because the spirits, we ain't even really rappin', we just letting our dead homies tell stories for us Damn I wanted to read one last thing to you. It's actually something a good friend had wrote describing my world. It says: "The caterpillar is a prisoner to the streets that conceived it Its only job is to eat or consume everything around it, in order to protect itself from this mad city While consuming its environment the caterpillar begins to notice ways to survive One thing it noticed is how much the world shuns him, but praises the butterfly The butterfly represents the talent, the thoughtfulness, and the beauty within the caterpillar But having a harsh outlook on life the caterpillar sees the butterfly as weak and figures out a way to pimp it to his own benefits Already surrounded by this mad city the caterpillar goes to work on the cocoon which institutionalizes him He can no longer see past his own thoughts He's trapped When trapped inside these walls certain ideas take roots, such as going home, and bringing back new concepts to this mad city The result? Wings begin to emerge, breaking the cycle of feeling stagnant Finally free, the butterfly sheds light on situations that the caterpillar never considered, ending the internal struggle Although the butterfly and caterpillar are completely different, they are one and the same." What's your perspective on that? Pac? Pac? Pac?!

I have studied online interaction for some time, and a consistently touchy subject is the use of metaphors. Accusations of Gnosticism, along with claims of low intelligence, have been thrown around because of this.
While it might seem like a banal topic to some, I’ll explain why it is actually an issue of eschatological dimensions (dramatically speaking): Traditionally, in the West, the more popular way a metaphor is received is as a description of an underlying principle.
poem:

“The ass looks in the well,
Even getting up at dawn…
The well looks at the ass.
…there’s already someone going by night.
Wisdom is all-embracing,
All the mendicants in the land cannot leap out”

The non-deterministic factor of this throws a number of people off. A refusal to engage is fair, but dismissal and antagonism in reaction is anti-human and anti-Zen.
National Teacher Zhong said:

“It is like a crown prince is just an individual before he has inherited kingship, but after he inherits the throne, the whole land belongs to the king - is the land enthroned separately?”
"There is the completely unborn and undying, and the half born and half dying, half not born or dying"

note: apparently Zen masters understood category theory before it was a thing, hm I suspect we're not dealing with technical noobs here.
My postulations:

• In Zen terms, any metaphor by default has the associative prelude of Mind behind it.
• Antagonism in reaction to metaphors is an indication of an unstable theory of Mind.

If you ask me, I think this is a smoking gun test of the true Zen gamers; the simple juxtaposition of the care of refinement vs. the stress test of extrusion. An unmasking of greedily clutching claws.
Why do you think people dislike metaphors? luv 44-greatrknin <3

Unveiling the Allure of the Ghazal Form**
Summary:
A ghazal is a poetic form with Middle Eastern origins, typically composed of rhyming couplets and a repeating refrain. Each line of the poem shares a common meter, and the last word of the second line in each couplet rhymes throughout the poem.
Examples:

1. "The Beloved" by Rumi.
   
2. "Ghazal" by Agha Shahid Ali.
   
3. "The Ghazal of What Hurt" by Peter Cole.
   

Tips for Creative Writing:

• Embrace Repetition: The consistent refrain creates a melodic quality.
  
• Convey Emotional Intensity: Ghazals often explore themes of love, loss, and longing.
  
• Play with Imagery: Use vivid imagery and metaphor to enhance the emotional impact.
  

Questions for Exploration:

1. How does the repetition of the refrain contribute to the overall tone of the ghazal?
   
2. Can you think of other cultural traditions that incorporate similar poetic forms?
   

Additional Resources:

• Read the works of contemporary poets like Fatimah Asghar and Safia Elhillo for modern ghazals.
  
• Explore classical ghazals by Mirza Ghalib for insights into the traditional form.
  

Creative Writing Prompt:
Step 1: Choose a theme or emotion to explore in your ghazal.
Step 2: Craft the first rhyming couplet with a meaningful refrain.
Step 3: Continue developing the theme in subsequent couplets, maintaining the rhyme scheme.
Example:
In the night's embrace, a silent moonlight gleams (A) Lost in the echoes, the heart silently dreams (A) Whispers of love in the gentle night's streams (A) A ghazal's refrain, where longing redeems (A)