Literary Memes
By: Brendan Boutilier
“Agaze blank and pitiless as the sun” - WB Yeats.
The Second Coming
“Their flowers the tenderness of silent minds” - Wildred Owen.
for
Youth
“Bent
double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through slide”
- Wilfred Owen. Dulce et Decorum Est
“Death destroys a man, but the idea of death saves him” - E.M. Forster.
Howards End
“All her deeper being might be yearning to help him”
- E.M. Forster. Howards End
“He slipped into the abyss where nothing counts and the statements of Democracy are inaudible” - E.M. Forster.
Howards End
Thefirstmemecomesfrom The Second Coming, byW.B.Yeats:“Agazeasblankandpitilessas thesun”. Inthepoem,thislinereferstothe terrifyingvisionofacomingeradefinedbychaos andviolence.Theuseoftheadjective‘pitiless’ describestheharshandcruelsocietyfilledwith lackofcompassionandemotion.Themodernist imageIselectedreinforcesthistone.Thefigure inthecenterappearstobestaringforwardin shockandhorrorasifheisseeingaglimpseof theominousfuture.Offtotheleft,twoshadowy figuresseemtobeapproachinghim.Theyare lurkingclosertothepersonatthecenter.Tome, thetwomenrepresentthesuspensefuldoomof thenewera.Thisimagecapturesthesenseofthe unknownthatwaspresentduringthemodernist era.
ThesecondmemeisalinefromWilfredOwen’s poem, Anthem for Doomed Youth: “Theirflowers thetendernessofsilentminds”.Owencontrasts thegruesomedeathsofthewarwiththelackof abilitytomournandgrieve.The‘flowers’that shouldbesatonthecasketatafuneralare replacedbythemelancholyofpeoplewhocan’t mournfortheirlovedones.Intheaccompanying image,ayoungwomanappearstoreflectalone onalovedonethathaspassedaway.Allshecan dotomournissitbyherselfwithherthoughts; theflowersthatshouldbeonthecasketarenext toherandsurroundher.
ThethirdmemecomesfromanotherWilfred Owenpoem, Dulce et Decorum Est. Itdescribes thebrutallivesofsoldiersinWorldWarI.It dismantlesthenotionsofheroismandpatriotism inwar.Astheytrudgethroughthetrenchwarfare therewasnohopeornotriumph;therewasonly death,sadness,andloss.Intheimagetheman appearssubmergedwiththetreesandshrubbery; nearlyindistinguishablefromhissurroundings. Thisremindsmeofthemenlosingtheirlivesin thetrenches.Theywouldbeleftthereandget ‘lost’intheearthitself.
ThefourthmemefocusesonalinefromE.M. Forster's, Howards End,thatisfocusingonthe poorman,LeonardBast.Thelinerepresentsthat deathishowyourlifeendsbutatthesametimeit iswhatsavesyou.Leonard’slifeisdefinedby economicuncertaintyandsocialexclusionwhere deathbecomesanescapefromsocietalpressures andoppression.Thepictureshowscharactersthat arerepresentingdeathhowevertheyarewatering flowers.ThisparadoxmirrorsForster’sideathat deathdestroys,yetitalsohaltssufferingand allowssomethingnewtogrow.Thetension betweendestructionandrenewalreflectsthe novel’sbroaderissuesonclass,fate,and modernism.
ThefifthmemeisanotherlinefromForster's novel.ItisMargaretSchlegel'sthoughts regardingherunderstandingofHenryWilcox,her husband.Shefeelscompelledtohelphimasshe beginstoperceivehisemotionallimitationsmore clearly.IthinktheimageresemblesMargaret's caringpersonality,lookingtohelp.Youcansee thewoman'swholefaceintheimage,sheis welcomingandopen.However,theman'sfaceis coveredandheishiding.Thisvisualcontrast effectivelymirrorstheirdynamic.Margaret embodiesempathyandconnectionwhereas Henryremainsreserved,guarded,and emotionallyrestrained.
Thelastmemecomesfrom Howards End andcenters aroundLeonardBastagain.Hehasfallenintoan endlesscycleofpovertythathecan’tbesavedfrom.
Atfirstglance,theimageappearstoshowtwo wealthycitizensrefusingtoacknowledgesomeoneor something.However,uponcloserinspection,the figuresarehandcuffed.Thislittledetailchangedmy interpretationoftheimage:ratherthanrepresenting thewealthy,thesefiguressymbolizeLeonard himself.Heisboundtohissocioeconomicstatus with“nokey”forescape.Thislayeredambiguity exemplifiesmodernistart,themoreoneexaminesit, themoremeaningsemerge.