From the Journal of a Disappointed Man by Andrew Motion Flashcards
Title: ‘From the Journal of a Disappointed Man’
-Title gives and eternal feel to the poem as it seems raw and honest without being edited carefully
-Noun ‘Journal’ is stereotypically considered a feminine activity as people tend to recollect their emotions and feelings - ‘Journal’ and ‘Man’ creates a sense of emasculation
-Personal element is juxtaposed with the anonymity of the noun ‘Man’ - This word ‘Man’ encompasses all of humanity suggesting that this poem takes a more universal approach
Structure
-No rigid rhyme scheme
-Water-downed stream of consciousness
-11 Stanzas each with 4 lines (quatrains) showcasing the rigid hegemonic masculinity within society - This could be deemed as contrasting against a more flowing structure in other poems, which could be seen as more feminine.
-Enjambment allows the poem to be perceived to be more story-like and easy to comprehend showcasing the simplicity in which working class follow
-Haphazard punctuation - constant element of uncertainty
Tone of stanza 5-7 is morose
Themes
Gender
Masculinity
Social Class
Society
Agenda
-Existentialist question to what our purpose is
-Neither the men or the educated narrator have and answer to what the secret problem could possibly be.
Soviet era heroism fades away in the face of listlessness and uncertainty in life
Poem is an existentialist one highlighting the mundaneness of life while also acknowledging the lack of power humans have (whether upper, middle or working class) in navigating each and every point in our life to the idealised outcome.
Highlights a sense of loss in direction for people who don’t know what to do in life and for the people who know what to do with their lives but don’t understand the point of it.
The poet tries to create an awareness to how everyone in some way is loss and instead of continuing this pathway of confusion alone we should find solace amongst one-another and form a sense of community and fellowship, showing support and compassion in order to avoid feelings of isolation which in the long run can be detrimental.
The poet wants to move past the superficial and materialistic characteristics within our society.
Context
Andrew Motion was campaigning interest in protecting the landscape and the environment form important themes in his poems, and have also been given voice in his work for the Campaign to Protect Rural England, where he served as President from 2008 – 2016.
Andrew Motion grew up in the countryside and later on became poet Laureate, perhaps his feelings of not belonging when moving from a rural area to the spotlight is expressed through this poem
Silent stoicism - hysterics are reserved for women - hysteria comes from the belief that it was associated with the uterus
Blue - collared men are presented to be much stronger than the white collared man
Stanza 1:
-“I discovered these men”
-“Pile into the pier.”
-“paraphernalia”
-emphasises the sense that the narrator does not feel part of the other group of men, once again raising questions regarding the societal expectations of men.
-Used in Victorian and Edwardian times as a symbolism of progress and support - Metaphor for Working class propping up our society - we are dependent on their labour while they receive little to no acknowledgement - In modern society the piers are rotting away due to salt water which acts as a symbol of decaying social order as time passes
-Evident of the disparity within the education systems - Speaker is more educated using polysyllabic vocabulary and elite language
Stanza 2:
-“Over the water on a long wire hawser.”
-“Massive” and “even the men; very powerful men; very ruminative and silent men ignoring me.”
-Poet highlights the difference between working class and upper class through extensive use of more intellectual vocabulary that the working class may not understand (hawser is a metal wire rope). - The speaker expresses the feeling of not belonging with the other men and presents himself as an outsider making this whole poem seem like an observation
-Water flows however, the flow of this line is abruptly put to a stop through the use of punctuation
-Repetition of the intensifier ‘very’ emphasises the speakers admiration towards these idealised, archetypes of masculinity
-‘ruminative’ mean to express deep thought which can be considered a rather feminine attribute and question their masculinity as men were expected to limit the emotions they’d show
-Speaker presents these blue-collared men as better than upper class white-collared men
Stanza 3:
-“Speech was not something that interested them”
-‘“Let go”’ and ‘“Hold tight”’
-The workers are only focused on building the pier - The pier is a remnant of the past time and hopes of a better future.
-These men are not privileged enough to speak - Sense of irony as the speaker is able to express his voice and thoughts quite literally through writing this poem.
-Monosyllabic imperative verbs indicates the working class’s limited speech - They are commanding and dominating yet also restricted.
-Use of paradox ‘Let go’ and ‘Hold tight’ alluding to the idea of how the working class want to let go of their strenuous and laborious life however they mustn’t as they have nothing else in life to support themselves or their family, hence why they ‘Hold tight’. They could also be holding tight to hope for a brighter future.
Stanza 4:
-“these men were up against great difficulty.”
-“great difficulty” metaphor for people blindly following social orders from the past that are no longer applicable in today’s society. The men blindly support the pier in the same way they blindly are romanticised without taking into consideration the struggles they face
Stanza 5:
-“I cannot say what. Every one of the monsters was silent on the subject”
-‘monsters’ is dehumanising and aligns with the idea that working class are considered primitive - highlights the lack of respect society gives to the working class
Stanza 6:
-“still saying nothing but crossing his strong arms over his chest”
-“for all he cared the pile could go swinging on until the crack of Doom.”
-The men speak through their body language rather than using his voice as they are presented as traditional stoic men who don’t convey any emotions.
-Crossing his arms acts as a protective yet dismissive gesture
-Colloquial phrase for ‘oh who cares’ - These men accept their fate and feel indifferent - The poem shifts towards a tone of meaninglessness in life
-Capitalisation of “Doom” to bring focus and emphasis to the point that working class men have no other outcome in life to look forward to
Stanza 7:
“to do the men justice”
“overcome the secret problem”
-The secret problem remains
unsolved, mirroring the unanswered
nature of many existential questions
-‘The secret problem’ - may refer to the everyday
issues that we can’t wrap our heads around,
whether it be personal or academic.
Stanza 8:
“One massive man after another”
“gaze down like a mystic into the water”
“No one spoke; no one said what they saw”
- repetition of “massive” highlights the speakers admiration for the men’s physique - No matter how high ranked you are in society there will always be a feeling of desolation and void you desperately seek to fill
- Simile - “mystic” comes from Latin word “mysticus” borrowed from the Greek word “mystikos”
Stanza 9 and Stanza 10:
“chewing tobacco”
“Smoked a cigarette to relieve tension”
“with a heavy kind of majesty”
- Repeated mentions of tobacco
Used as a means of escape, to
numb the pain of being lost
-Shows a social hierarchy within the working class. They respect the leader that can give respect back rather than the upper class boss who delegates orders without any gratefulness towards the hard work put in by the men
-The speaker continues to present admiration towards these men indirectly comparing the people from his class with working class. It is suggested that the upper and middle class uphold shallow and haughty demeanor whereas the working class are more in-touch with reality
Stanza 11:
“With this eclipse of interest, the incident was suddenly closed.”
“First in ones and twos, then altogether, the men followed.”
“That left the pile still in mid-air, and me of course.”
-Peer left in the pas to decay
-Representative of humanity moving alongside with social change following the crowd and what is deemed as acceptable
-The speaker is just a watcher, an observer and does not hold the power to alter the structure of society alone
Existentialism
Existentialism is a philosophy that stresses the concreteness and problematic character of human existence in the world.
The Myth of Sisyphus is a philosophical essay by Albert Camus. It explores the concept of the absurd and the futility of human existence. Sisyphus, a figure from Greek mythology, is condemned to push a boulder up a hill for eternity, only to have it roll back down each time. The story serves as a symbol of endless, futile labour
Camus offers 3 solutions:
Suicide
Acceptance
Embracing religion/spirituality
Absurdism is the philosophical theory that the universe is irrational and meaningless.
