"Dream Song 14: Life, friends, is boring" by John Berryman is a clear example of his confessionalistic approach and his unique personal style. As representative of confessionalism, he openly admits his boredom in life. He acknowledges the many aspects of the world that people find incredible (the sky, the sea) and speaks of them as common as the readers and himself. He also admits to his audience that he "must have no inner resources," something his mother used to tell him is the case for those who confess they are bored. Additionally, Berryman brings Henry, his brainchild alter personality, into the poem to drive his message home further. He speaks of Henry's, "plights and gripes" as annoying and boring to him, yet consistent with Berrryman's use of Henry throughout his work, it is likely these are his own boring, "plights and gripes." The tone of the poem made me actually feel the boredom while reading it. Even though it is short, it seems to drag on and not serve any purpose other than to point out the boring parts of life. I don't really enjoy reading this poem, if anything it makes me feel a little bit down and negative towards the simple things that usually make me happy. But, I did find it...unique.
Berryman's language throughout the poem uses modernist technique. It is written in spoken language and is easy to read. The messages are clear and I didn't have to feel like I needed to dig or over-think the work. In this sense, I enjoyed the simplicity of the read. But, the combination of very common language and confessionalistic approach made the poem feel extremely -- boring. I assume this must have been his purpose?
No comments:
Post a Comment