This poem is rich in historical and political context, but before delving into its background, it's helpful to focus on the poem itself. Just to reiterate the advice I gave in class on Friday (it applies as well to the other long poems we'll be reading this semester):
1. Ignore (for now) all prefatory material and footnotes: just try to make sense of the poem itself.
2. Read it as you would read an essay or narrative, for its surface meanings.
3. Read sentence by sentence, from the capital letter following one period to the next period, and make sure that you include all parts of the sentence in your effort to understand it.
3. Better to read a portion of the poem with care and comprehension than run your eyeballs over all of it without understanding what you're reading.
To help you get familiar with reading this kind of poetry, between now and Monday's class, you can get blog credit by attempting a paraphrase of a single sentence of this poem.
To paraphrase something is to restate it in your own words. You should strive to retain as much of the meaning as possible while "translating" it directly into C21 language that is clear, comfortable, and accessible. Don't try to rhyme, preserve Dryden's line breaks, or copy his sentence structure! It's fine to use more than one sentence for your paraphrase.
Post your paraphrase as a "comment" on this post, indicating the line numbers of the sentence you have paraphrased. You should not paraphrase a sentence a classmate has already paraphrased, unless you think the paraphrase entirely misses the meaning (in which case, you should add a sentence or two to your post explaining why yours is more accurate). I will not, however, penalize inadvertent cross-posting.
Deadline: Monday (9/1), 10am.
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12 comments:
Paraphrasing lines (698-722).
"I am a victim of the irrationality that is embedded within unpredictable laws. My father, whom I respect and admire is unconcerned about his honorable reputation since he his willing to accept bribes from foreign countries. Furthermore, he abuses his power by favoring his enemies and destroying those he esteems and loves. For instance, he is willing to give away my divine right to the throne, but I do not care. However, are you willing to let yourselves be betrayed? I will wreck havoc against my father, and may the next successor reign without complain from the Israelites.
Lines 335-342
"Why should I encourage the bad, be rebellious and in this way act unlike myself? Was he a tyrannical ruler who without civic order, oppressed the Jews and raised the Jebusite, a tribe before King David? I could mourn but events will happen that will allow me to not take action. People may rebel and assert their rights yet what is right for them is considered crime to me."
Lines 817-828
(Of those that stood by David's side), the first was Barzillai, old and honorable, who had stood against the rebels in Ireland across wasted lands, bravely trying to keep the state afloat, but sinking along with his master. He went into exile with his master, and returned with him as well, practicing just law instead of the courtier's romantic game. His wealth was large, but his heart larger, and knew the noblest of professions, both the warrior and the author.
723-726
Charm and charisma are effective tools in garnering support. However, aligning oneself with popular ideas is far more useful. Thus he who advocates for the masses on their behalf will gain the support of those same masses.
Paraphrasing 90-96
After a devastating loss of men the Jebus made no progress, they were still
considered "Gods enemies." Because of the massive defeat they were forced to
submit to the government. They lost their power and their land and their
religion was mocked and discounted.
Lines 52-56.
The men were feeling like they lacked freedom, so they started looking at other ways of life. When the looked around and saw that there were some men who were governed by nothing, they wanted in on it. They desired to be bound to no one - God nor government. In their opinion, if you were not a wild savage living completely in nature and for nature than you were a slave. Enslaved by the laws pressed upon you.
Lines 98-103
The clergy were upset because their religion was being persecuted. In addition, the clergy are similar to the holy people of other religions; they believe their relative deity to be greatest of all and will fervently defend this belief.
Lines 682-691:
"Because he stood and looked over a crowd filled with friends and supporters, Absalom foolishly ignored the ever important members of the court. Instead, he begins to play up the crowd, working them for applause. The crowd indeed responds in kind, and eats up his performance before he even begins his speech. With a practiced ease and nonchalance, he recognizes many in the audience and calls out their names, to further stoke their enthusiasm."
Lines 79-82
Humanity is constantly tempted to commit mischief, it is how we are. Having a cause to stand for makes it easier convince normally moderate people to commit mischief.
Paraphrasing 67-74
The desire to overthrow the king of Israel was based in a small number of people. Most of Israel, specifically those who remained relatively faithful to the laws, realized that it was much better for everyone to avoid violence. This preference was based in previous experience with violent civil war and the havok it wreaked.
Lines 57-66
They (the Jews) made the foolish man Ishbosheth give up his crown after Saul died, and then they made David give up his position in Hebron to come to where they wanted him to rule, roughly proclaiming him King. At their very best, the Jews acted on their petty emotions more than their loyalty and began to think about why they followed under the power of the king they had influenced and appointed themselves. These Jews thought that in the process of possibly ruining the monarch, they could create an independent state.
lines 303-314-
When praise and flattery are involved, it is all too easy to become blinded by what it promises and become led to embark on a power trip for the crown.
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