In Goyas Greatest Scenes We Seem to See free essay sample

In this paper I will be exploring the social criticism that is conveyed by Lawrence Ferlinghetti in his poem â€Å"In Goya’s Greatest Scenes We Seem to See. † Ferlinghetti criticizes the industrial revolution in America; he compares its outcomes with war. Ferlinghetti alludes to various paintings by Goya that depict war, and links their interpretation to the industrialization in America. The poem contains various poetic elements such as alliteration, hyperbole and Ekpharsis all reinforce his rhetoric. Being a painter as well as a poet contributes to Ferlinghetti’s brilliant mixing of art and poetry, the poem’s appearance has a strong visual effect, one that transports the notion of war and chaos through its form. I will demonstrate Ferlinghetti’s use of alliteration, hyperbole and Ekpharsis, as a means to criticize the industrialization in America. The socio historical context of this poem is the economic growth that the American society has experienced during the 1950’s, also known as â€Å"the golden age of capitalism. Lawrence Ferlinghetti was a part of the â€Å"Beat Generation,† a group of poets that among other things were known for their criticism of capitalism and rejection of materialism. The poem was published in Ferlinghetti’s book titled â€Å"A Coney Island of the Mind† in 1958. It is written in an open form and lacks clear rhymes and structure; it follows the rhythm of natural speech. I will refer to the poem by lines, and as having two sections: the first discusses art, and the second discusses American society and highways. The speaker addressee relation in the poem is from one scholar to another. Ferlinghetti’s language as well as his reference to art indicates that the poem targets educated people, possibly his fellow poets. In this poem Ferlinghetti fuses two periods, the peninsular war as it was depicted by Goya, and the industrialization in the 1950’s. In the first section and lines, Ferlinghetti describes the pain and suffering that is inflicted on humanity using Ekpharsis, he refers to art and dramatically portrays its meaning, which later he links to industrialization. â€Å"In Goya’s greatest scenes we seem to see/ the people of the world† (lines1-2) The alliteration in the first sentence draws attention specifically to Goya’s paintings, combined with the plural ‘we,’ can be seen as referring to fellow scholars, like him, they are able to interpret Goya’s paintings. These lines contain a hyperbolic exaggeration; Ferlinghetti generalizes the people of the world, as all being portrayed in a particular painting. All the people in the world could never be depicted in a single painting. The use of hyperbole draws attention to Ferlinghetti’s interpretation of that particular moment, as if people from the 1950’s are depicted in it. He continues to portray â€Å"[the exact] moment when/ they first attained the title of /†suffering humanity† (lines3-5). Ferlinghetti refers to a particular moment that depicts collective suffering; however the specific moment of reaching the title of â€Å"suffering humanity† (line 5) cannot be determined. Ferlinghetti personifies the painted â€Å"suffering humanity† (line 5) they â€Å"writhe upon the page,† (line 9) as if twisting in pain in the painting. All these instances of hyperbole portray horrors of war as if they become alive today, at the climax of the industrialization. Ferlinghetti uses hyperbolic descriptions to dramatize and attract attention to the circumstances in the paintings; he links the outcomes of past war, to the present-day industrialization. Ferlinghetti reference to particular paintings is in order to connect the depicted war to industrialization. It is evident through the â€Å"suffering humanity,† (line 5) and specific elements such as â€Å"groaning with babies and bayonets/under cement skies†. These images allude to a series of painting by Goya called â€Å"The Disasters of war,† that depict realistic images of war. These images represent Ferlinghetti’s perception of industrialization. Lines 10 and 11 that depict a scene of battle, also display a strong contrast between babies and bayonets. Babies symbolize birth, giving life and continuation, while bayonets stand for death, murder, and the taking of lives. The description of Goya’s paintings provides a strong contrast between nature and industrialization. There are no natural elements in Goya’s paintings, the skies appear to be cement like, trees are â€Å"blasted,† (line12) hit, stricken, not by a natural force but by war. The â€Å"cement skies† (line11) have a double meaning; besides suggesting an image of a dark war they provide a connection to the concept of industrialization. â€Å"Bent statues bats wings and beaks/slippery gibbets/ cadavers and carnivorous cocks† (lines 13-15) these lines contain strong alliterations; the emphasis in their pronunciation creates drama that draws attention to the message of  death that is conveyed in these lines. The â€Å"abstract landscape of blasted trees,† (line12) also alludes to industrialization; Ferlinghetti contrasts natural elements with men made material. The theoretical scene of bent trees evokes the sense of war between natural vs. unnatural elements, through the destruction of natural elements, outcomes of war are linked with industrialization. Ferlighetti’s description of images from Goya’s â€Å"The Disasters of war,† mediate between his knowledge of art and poetry, transforming powerful and vivid scenes of war, to those of industrialization. The particular images that Ferlinghetti describes are termed in a very particular and precise word choice. Ferlinghetti’s language in the poem has a strong political connotation. Being a part of the â€Å"Beat Generation,† has influenced his writing and word choice in this poem. The main agenda of the â€Å"Beat† culture comprised of dismissing known conventions in writing, being modern and revolutionary, experimenting with drugs and sexuality, rejecting and criticizing materialism, and explicit depictions of human condition. Most of these elements are exhibited in the poem. Terms like â€Å"blasted trees† (line 12) and â€Å"bent statues,† and â€Å"beaks,† (line 13) may be interpreted as drug related. In terms of slang being ‘blasted’ means ‘high,’ ‘bent’ means intoxicated with drugs and ’beaks’ is a term for cocaine. Possibly, these terms were specifically selected, in order to keep up with the agenda of being modern, revolutionary, and explicit about the true condition of humanity. The form as well as the word choice are Ferlinghetti’s rebellion against the familiar conventions in poetry, the lack of symmetry and the double meanings in his phrases all live up to a reputation of a â€Å"beat† poet. Ferlinghetti’s fusion of past wars through Goya’s works, with present events as the industrialization, proves him to be unconventional, innovative, explicit and critical of current happenings, he successfully maintains his status as a â€Å"beat† poet. Goya’s â€Å"imagination of disaster† (line18) proves to be â€Å"bloody real,† (line19) as Ferlinghetti’s moves the reader to the present where it all â€Å"still exist[s]† (line20), and the threat of industrialization on the American society is the same as the threat of war, but with a different landscape. In the second part of the poem Ferlinghetti introduces a shift of periods; he focuses on events in the 1950’s. According to Ferlinghetti, there was a change in the landscape that consisted of billboards that advertised and encouraged capitalism, construction of freeways, cars and engines, all of these resulted from industrialization. â€Å"It is as if they really still existed/ and they do/Only the landscape is changed,† (lines 20-22) the capitalization of ‘only’ reinforces Ferlighetti’s claim that industrialization is war like. The most and only significant change is that of the background, the appearance of billboards and cars. â€Å"They are still ranged along the roads/plagued by legionnaires/false windmills and demented roosters,† (lines 23-25) Ferlinghetti’s word choice is original; he continues to fuse the concept of war with industry in the line â€Å"plagued by legionnaires† (line 24). legionnaires alludes to a legion in the army and thus to war, taking us back to the notion of destruction, on the other hand the use of the term to describe a disease is powerful. Legionnaire’s disease is known to be transferred by bacteria that thrive in pipes, water tanks and air conditioning systems, which have all been created with the help of industrialization. By using this term which associates two different meanings, Ferlinghetti skillfully inserts the idea that humanity’s largest enemy is the plague of industrialization. Ferlinghetti insists on portraying the change in the landscape as a disease, as a war in which humanity already lost. Ferlinghetti continues to fight against â€Å"bland billboards† (line 30) that are â€Å"ranged along the roads,† (line 23) and destroy the natural landscape. The landscape is plagued by â€Å"false windmills and demented roosters† (line 25) which represent capitalism at its best. Ferlinghetti’ choice of word is political, the windmills allude to ‘Don Quixote’ and the false giants he fights, and similarly Ferlinghetti fights the giant billboards, the giant corporations which stand behind them. The â€Å"demented roosters† (line 25) that plague Ferlinghetti’s landscapes are those who benefit the most of industrialized society, he alludes to the giants, businesses and corporations which subsidize industrialization. Ferlinghetti mocks their arrogance and claims them to be unreasonable, manic; they symbolize the destruction on anything that is normal and natural. Ferlinghetti sees humanity as â€Å"the same people,† (line 26) but nowadays they are distant from nature, they are â€Å"further from home† (line 27). Ferlinghetti inserts another hyperbole, he portrays all of humanity as grown apart from nature, they are on â€Å"freeways fifty lanes wide/on a concrete continent† (line 28-29). The exaggeration of a highway with fifty lanes  alongside with America as all made of concrete, reinforce his concept of a destroyed landscape. Concrete America is â€Å"spaced with bland billboards/ illustrating imbecile illusions of happiness,† (line 30-31) it is false and pointless, it became a place of untruthful imitations of pleasure. Another interpretation to these lines is available, the term â€Å"spaced† (line 30) may allude to American society as being ‘high’ on innovation, as consuming it like addicts, experiencing drug induced euphoria. The new concrete â€Å"scene,† (line 32) that once was Ferlinghetti’s natural landscape, reveals that there are less â€Å"tumbrils,† old fashioned cars, and â€Å"more strung out citizens,† (line33) addicts, who consume America. Ferlighetti’s political agenda is evident in these lines, the words to protest capitalism and industrialized America are cleverly chosen. The final hyperbole of â€Å"†¦engines/that devour America† (line36-37) displays Ferlinghetti’s perception of industrialization as equal to war, capitalism has won the battle, it took over the landscape and all of humanity. They are now captives of progress, America is threaded with highways, addicted to innovation that brings spiritual desolation and only illusions of pleasure. The poem approves Ferlighetti’s â€Å"beat† character, it dismisses known conventions, experiments with language, explicitly depicting human condition and criticizes industrialization. Ferlinghetti fuses two periods and two forms of art, painting and poetry in order to connect the notion of destruction to industrialization, making the issues in the poem more than relevant even today. The reference to art, the alliteration and hyperbole all transport Ferlighetti’s personal pain and suffering of the loss of natural landscape to false portrayals of happiness that will bring about America’s destruction. Ferlinghetti as well as Goya illustrated chaos and destruction, the appearance of the poem seems to be structured, like a landscape that lost any natural traits and all that is left is the chaos after the war. Ferlighetti’s acquaintance with art and his insertion of particular images to the language in this poem is no less than brilliant, his message is as vivid, emotional and strong as a painting created by Goya.