Select one of the literary works inspired by any of the Bible Chapters we've read and
reviewed (1, 2, 3 or 4) and explain how you understand the connection between the literary work
and the chapter that inspired it. Do you understand the Bible chapter differently or in a new way due to the way it is presented or described in the literary work? Please be
specific in your discussion of both the chapter and the literary work.
I chose the poem Let There Be Light, by D.H. Lawrence. I think it connects to chapter one, because it is talking about the creation of everything by God. It is told in Gods perspective and at the beginning talks about how there was only darkness and void just like in Genesis. Then he talks about how the Light is everything, and that is kind of true because light is a form of heat energy with which we cannot live, and because there could be everything, but without light we couldn't see it, so there is not much point in it being there. God then describes how we created the sun, and how he is proud and content with that. This all fits in with Gods character from Genesis where he is content with all that he has done including creating the sun. Though after this where the line about George Washington's Grandpapa is, I am a little confused about what the poem is saying.
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DeleteAfter reading Suki's response, I have come to the conclusion that it does mention the creation of all things, but I believe that the poem, "Let There Be Light" emphasizes the creation of light more. I agree with Suki when she says this poem specifically relates to chpater one in The Genesis.
DeleteI chose The Sleep of Adam by John Hejduk. This poems portrays Eve's creation differently than Chapter 2 of Genesis does. For example, in this poem, Eve was waiting in Adam's body, giving him shape. Then, "God released her", and death fills Adam. This makes it seem as though she had existed for just as long as Adam, rather than being made from his rib later on. In the poem, Death rushes into Adam "preventing collapse", and it seems as though this causes Adam's mortality. This poem tells Eve's creation story in an alternate way, or maybe just from a different perspective, but either way it helped me to understand Genesis better.
ReplyDeleteThe literary work called “Let There be Light!” by D.H. Lawrence is a poem that is related to the first chapter of The Genesis. The poem is emphasizing the fact that there was nothing in the beginning until lord created the idea of light; which is unfathomable to most humans. In fact, in the start of the universe, people can only imagine the “incomprehensible” idea of creation and life. Pupils could not understand a world full of living creatures. The poem is more an interpretation of how people reacted to the creation of light, where chapter one of The Genesis tells the reader what happens directly. Let There Be Light! poem by D.H. Lawrence is harder to interpret when reading it, for it is more philosophical and the language is harder to understand compared to The Genesis. Chapter 1 of The Genesis in the beginning emphasizes that “there was darkness and void” (class summary for chapter one) until “God moved upon the face of the waters” and brought light into the world. The Genesis also explains that God distinguished light from darkness, creating day and night. This part of The Genesis is directly related to the “Let There Be Light!” poem, but the first chapter of Genesis also discusses what was created through the first six days, like man and woman, creatures, heaven, earth, and more. So, the poem emphasizes solely the creation of light, but in a more abstract representation. Where chapter one of Genesis discusses more of the creation story compared to the poem, but in a more concrete way.
ReplyDeleteHelp and ideas from Yasmin Abdella, summaries, poem, syllabus, and The Genesis)
Reading the "Let There Be Light" poem helped me learn about the bible in a different way, which expanded my knowledge of Chapter 1 in the Genesis because we learned that hearing something in multiple ways can expand your mind. But, in my opinion, I think the poem was harder to understand compared to the bible, so although it made me think in a different way, It was not extermely helpful.
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The piece that I chose is the Pulley by George Herbert which I believe corresponds to chapter 2 (the chapter in which God forbids Adam and Eve from eating the fruit). For starters, the title reminds me of something mentioned in class. God made man to look like him and if they were to have knowledge they would be too much like him. In the poem, various characteristics are "poured on" mankind. On a pulley, you don't want to dump all the weight out of the bucket on one side because you'll have to work harder to maintain the balance of the other side. This may be a stretch but if that is in any way the reasoning for the titling of this poem I think it was very clever of the poet.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Emily Dickinson's "Eden is the old fashioned house". It seemed that she was saying that we all come from this home that is perfect when we are young. It implies that we are ignorant in this perfect world and live in it as if it's bliss. Almost like Adam and Eve did in their immortality after they were created. In many ways it relates to us as we are in our younger stages in life. However, we soon go against this perfect world and gain so much from this epiphany. Just as Adam and Eve did when they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But higher power seem to be disgusted by this because the ignorance is meant to remain in us forever. However, when we are truly knowledgeable and escape ignorance and unawareness, we leav without regret and become adults or as Adam and eve did become truthful to right and wrong .
ReplyDeleteThe poem “When Adam Walked in Eden Young” by A.E. Housman has many connections between the literary works in The Bible in chapter three. The poem’s second line is, “While high the fruit of knowledge hung, unbitten on the tree.” This line seems like the words of the serpent, coaxing Eve to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge which God specifically told them not to do. The wording of the line appears tempting, such as the word unbitten. Using the word unbitten makes it seem like the fruit should be bitten. Then the poem goes on to say, “And now my feet are tired of rest, and here they will not stay…” This is referencing to the punishments that where bested upon Adam and Eve, including having to leave the safety of the Garden of Eden, hence “And here they will not stay…”
ReplyDeleteWhen reading through poems, the second one I read caught my eye, "Eden is that Old Fashioned House." Lloyd also chose this poem, and I strongly agree with his points that we have no stress in our lives when we are young, and that ignorance is the biggest bliss of all. What stands out in my mind from Genesis, is the fact that Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. When thinking about this scene, it reminds me of a little kid with a head in the clouds, not really knowing where he is going. What caught my eye is that Adam seemed so childlike after he accepted the fruit from Eve, like he was being tricked into doing something wrong. It was almost like Eve was the older teenager playing games with Adam by convincing him to eat the fruit. The fact that Adam succumbs to Eve's pressure reminds me of many childlike states in all of our lives.
ReplyDeleteThe poem "They Wondered Why the Fruit Had Been Forbidden" has some cool connections with chapter 3. I think it is interesting when the poem says that eating the apple taught Adam and Eve nothing new, because to me, this suggests that Adam and Eve already knew everything there was to know about the world, and they felt proud of their already achieved knowledge. The poem also states that "freedom was wild." I think that freedom in this sense refers to the "freedom of ignorance," and the fact that it was wild makes me think that there were parts of Adam and Eve's knowledge that they couldn't handle, as they had knowledge of good AND evil. Also, I think it is interesting how the poet refers to god as "maturity," suggesting that Adam and Eve were kind of like infants.
ReplyDelete"The Animals" was the poem that I liked but confused me at the same time. It makes a references to how God created the Earth in Chapter 1 which was pretty accurate. God only has to speak his creations into existence for them to become reality which is pretty cool. The first stanza is the part that really confused me starting from line one when it said, "They do not live in this world." I thought it would go into a deeper meaning but i didn't know how to feel about it. "No word do they have, not one, to plant a foot upon," were lines that I thought meant God didn't create animals with words which he did which confused me even more.
ReplyDelete"Let There Be Light" by D.H. Lawrence was a poem that I thought was very interesting because while it was obvious to me that the poem talked about God creating light and how before that there was nothing. Since in the Bible this is a very simple and self explanatory first step to create the world I thought that the approach the author took was what intrigued me. The second line of the poem, "there was no God in it" addresses an interesting and very confusing question I have about the Bible. The idea of there was nothing before God who the created light is confusing because if there was nothing where did God come from and what form did he take at the time. I also thought this was an interesting piece of literature because it questioned how God could have been there and that he may not have been the one to "create" the world. I personally do not believe in God which made the poem especially easy to relate to.
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