PEEP: Continuing his quest for inspiration, Curnow now finally out, searches for inspiration from the ambience around. His will and desperate nature continues as he begin to ‘lean from the porch’ as to witness some hope of luck. He understand his hard time but yet doesn’t give up. The ‘washed out creation’ lying in front of him further worsens his mood but from that washed out world he plans to search and extract wild thoughts. The ‘dark’ ambience around with there being no tinge of humanity existing here, does support an idealistic world but Curnow here just can’t make good use of it. Readers feel for him and deeply regret over his actions, understanding his mind block and his hesitant nature, struggling between the right and the wrong. The will is here what drives him further but what lies in store is the question and so the readers wonder of what shall follow.
I think you shouldn't use 'here' as in 'Curnow here'. I also don't think he is struggling between right and wrong. It is just that he doesn't have any inspiration to write a poem and is in doubt whether he should continue his profession. Hence the name 'Continuum'. I also don't think he has a mind block but he is just trying to find inspiration to continue his profession and nature isn't providing it.
Nature at times provides , moreover sets and ambience ;'dark', a point of time where no human activity seems to happen.If you observe carefully, in all the poems its always either dawn when the poet writes or a calm night, take 'sonnet' for instance. but when the ambience seems perfect in this poem ..other hardships move in then.. so in a gist there is no perfect atmosphere but the need and the only choice of the poet is to adapt to the present conditions.
In this time of inner turmoil, he cannot process the world in its normal sense, everything is out of place. The ‘moment’ is ‘not on time’, his mind is confusing him, forcing his thoughts to continue on the same circular, endless path, longer than they should. He cannot ‘sleep’ or ‘think’, and he is left in that listless state of frustration, with no immediate hope of respite from his surroundings. The hardship he encounters, is further enhanced by his constant enjambment, he is too conflicted to bother ending his lines properly, though he does care to keep each stanza three lines, perhaps depicting that though he tries, he cannot perfect this, or maybe it presents the complexity of his struggle and confusion that cannot be justified by clear, rhyming lines.
Topic:Continuum QB Question 1 intro: The difficulties of writing a poem have been very insightfully and practically demonstrated in the poem 'Continuum' by Allen Curnow. Curnow uses a very frustrated tone in his poem and his ideas run wild, as in stream of consciousness method. He talks about the sources from which he draws inspiration and how they are not providing it when he wants to write a poem. He is, hence seen at war with his source and is frantically trying to write a poem. He is having second thoughts on whether he should continue his profession, an idea he had previously shunned. His restlessness makes him unable to sleep at night and leaves him pondering on the aforementioned thought, thus vividly portraying the hardships of writing poetry.
PEEP: Firstly, the poet's abashed state of mind is elevated to the readers and his restlessness is brought to light. As 'the moon....... behind', the poet's first inspirational source, the moon, is shone to not be providing Curnow with the inspiration necessary to write a poem. The above lines depict the main source of inspiration upon which Curnow depends-Celestial bodies. The 'moon' in the above lines personifies the poet, since the the movements of Curnow's thoughts and the moon as described by him are the same, bringing to notice the addled and confused mindset of the poet thus portraying the hardships of writing a poem.
Curnow implements some very simplistic and almost casual language, for example, ‘or something’, to finish a stanza. This vague, offhand ending gives a sense of Curnow giving up, as if he can’t be bothered to finish his stanza perfectly. This failure to finish a verse well could be representative of his incapability to finish a poem well: his lack of inspiration.
The failing capabilities of the poet in accordance with his abashed state of mind depicts Curnow to stump his long standing career. As he tries to seek inspiration, his source of inspiration, celestial objects such as "the moon" seem to abandon him leaving him in a mess. In fact, his loss of verses seem to make him picture his "adversary" taunting him whilst creating a stanza of fine verses which he cannot visualize. As a result, his search is intensified as he seeks to "better...front" gaining a broader picture on his future as well as inspiration.
Curnow presents to us his hardships and struggles as to bring out something on paper.His constant try to format and present thoughts and ideas is what heightens the mood. The action of 'leaning from the porch' clearly displays the anxiety and apprehension the soul bears as to get satisfactory work done.His hesitation and fear heightens as he seeks for inspiration in this wide view of 'washed out creation' lying before him. A perfectionist, Curnow, aims for uniqueness in his thoughts but the fact of him undermining his capabilities and doubting oneself at every step is what blocks his path. Lying deep dead in this 'dark' ambience around, his hunt for thoughts and ideas is seen to be taken as a challenge willingly as the readers comprhend from it. The tone of the poem constantly empowers the factor of doubt and the fear of loss of talent within the artist as the readers begin to sympathise with the poet. With beautiful choice of diction and imagery does Curnow present to us his search for beauty alongside simplicity with his work . Hence the 'continuum ' in quest to evoke the true self hidden within.
An idea finally hits Curnow as he understands what the subject of his work should be. his frustration and difficulty comes to an end as 'the sky...down' onto the poet. his poem is finally complete and he is content as he 'turns on a bare heel' and goes back to let his muddled soul settle peacefully. Thus through his vivid descriptions about his emotions and thoughts Curnow has successfully managed to make the readers grasp the idea of not being able to complete something that you started.
Curnow sees everything around him as overused and dull, compared to what he hopes to achieve. The night sky is a ‘washed out creation, there is nothing more he can obtain from it. The ironic imagery he later uses, of the sky emptying it ‘contents down’, is satirical as the sky has nothing left to give him. It is bleak like his mind, and dead like his inspiration, and there is nothing around him that helps in bringing back colour to his mental landscape.
As Curnow comes face to face with his writer's block, his desire to escape his troubled and desperate state of mind ensures that he delves into nature, hopeful in his search for inspiration out of his constraining boundaries to resolve his perplexed situation. As the poet leans out “from the porch across the privets” readers are hinted of how he wants to get out of his man made boundaries into the natural world. Curnow is lost in thoughts as “a long moment stretches” and he knows time is eternal but being in the middle of Nature he believes the “next one is not on time” thus, showing how his hardships have caused him to believe that even time has become standstill at this point.
Curnow depicts very magnificently his state of mind in the poem as continuously wavering, and shows how he is submerged in a deep pool of thoughts. The readers witness his impatience, restlessness, despite his focus and concentration on searching for new ideas. The readers understand how he is lost in his pool of thoughts and can understand that it's 'not possible' to 'get off to sleep', in that state of mind, late at night. By portraying the 'moon' and 'the palms' and the 'clouds' and 'the planet', the readers perceive how quickly thoughts enter and exit the quandary state of mind, and hence understand the hardships faced by Curnow in writing a poem.
Curnow highlights his state of mind and his incapability to think as he notices Nature and contrasts it with himself and his alike condition. He relates to the 'moon' which 'rolls over' depicting how he continues to lie in confusion, indulged within his sorrows. He also compares himself to the 'moon' that 'falls'; Which is significant for his loss of hope and flow of thoughts that have taken a sudden slope in due course of time. As he comes to the end of the first stanza, he discloses that he speaks about 'myself'; This guilty acceptance allows the readers to understand his agitation. Therefore, the readers begin to feel sorry for Curnows embarrassing situation, forcing them to sympathize with him.
Curnow depicts what may be his inability or mind block that is restraining him from doing what he always does-writing a poem. The highlight of the 'moon' in the poem could be portraying what his inspirations may look like; all bounded together yet there is nothing there. Despite the fact of being a skilled writer, he conveys his uncertainty as his mind doesn't comply with what he wants, instead it 'rolls about' in the most chaotic manner that confuses him into a mind block. He thus focuses on the methods he can use to overcome such harsh situations.
The boulevard of broken dreams for the poet has been shown to be unfolding in a pernicious way, a resounding synonym which runs in his head, devilishly pressurizing him into relinquishing an alma mater gained by him postliminarily. His hyperbolic comments are seen to be a "subject or the planet" grounding his presence, impersonating him as an antisocial beast with dreams drawn up in dust put up against another "adversary" to "barefoot it out the front". The personification of his remorse is seen to be quite effective in drawing upon the reader's minds as his own, a gloomy imagery supporting his cause and the elevation of his mind enveloped in a stygian cast.
PEEP:
ReplyDeleteContinuing his quest for inspiration, Curnow now finally out, searches for inspiration from the ambience around. His will and desperate nature continues as he begin to ‘lean from the porch’ as to witness some hope of luck. He understand his hard time but yet doesn’t give up. The ‘washed out creation’ lying in front of him further worsens his mood but from that washed out world he plans to search and extract wild thoughts. The ‘dark’ ambience around with there being no tinge of humanity existing here, does support an idealistic world but Curnow here just can’t make good use of it. Readers feel for him and deeply regret over his actions, understanding his mind block and his hesitant nature, struggling between the right and the wrong. The will is here what drives him further but what lies in store is the question and so the readers wonder of what shall follow.
I think you shouldn't use 'here' as in 'Curnow here'. I also don't think he is struggling between right and wrong. It is just that he doesn't have any inspiration to write a poem and is in doubt whether he should continue his profession. Hence the name 'Continuum'. I also don't think he has a mind block but he is just trying to find inspiration to continue his profession and nature isn't providing it.
ReplyDeleteSagar i believe that he has all of those .. I kindly request you to look at the poem with a slight different prespective..Thanks for your view.
DeleteNature at times provides , moreover sets and ambience ;'dark', a point of time where no human activity seems to happen.If you observe carefully, in all the poems its always either dawn when the poet writes or a calm night, take 'sonnet' for instance. but when the ambience seems perfect in this poem ..other hardships move in then.. so in a gist there is no perfect atmosphere but the need and the only choice of the poet is to adapt to the present conditions.
DeleteIn this time of inner turmoil, he cannot process the world in its normal sense, everything is out of place. The ‘moment’ is ‘not on time’, his mind is confusing him, forcing his thoughts to continue on the same circular, endless path, longer than they should. He cannot ‘sleep’ or ‘think’, and he is left in that listless state of frustration, with no immediate hope of respite from his surroundings. The hardship he encounters, is further enhanced by his constant enjambment, he is too conflicted to bother ending his lines properly, though he does care to keep each stanza three lines, perhaps depicting that though he tries, he cannot perfect this, or maybe it presents the complexity of his struggle and confusion that cannot be justified by clear, rhyming lines.
ReplyDeleteTopic:Continuum
ReplyDeleteQB Question 1
intro: The difficulties of writing a poem have been very insightfully and practically demonstrated in the poem 'Continuum' by Allen Curnow. Curnow uses a very frustrated tone in his poem and his ideas run wild, as in stream of consciousness method. He talks about the sources from which he draws inspiration and how they are not providing it when he wants to write a poem. He is, hence seen at war with his source and is frantically trying to write a poem. He is having second thoughts on whether he should continue his profession, an idea he had previously shunned. His restlessness makes him unable to sleep at night and leaves him pondering on the aforementioned thought, thus vividly portraying the hardships of writing poetry.
PEEP: Firstly, the poet's abashed state of mind is elevated to the readers and his restlessness is brought to light. As 'the moon....... behind', the poet's first inspirational source, the moon, is shone to not be providing Curnow with the inspiration necessary to write a poem. The above lines depict the main source of inspiration upon which Curnow depends-Celestial bodies. The 'moon' in the above lines personifies the poet, since the the movements of Curnow's thoughts and the moon as described by him are the same, bringing to notice the addled and confused mindset of the poet thus portraying the hardships of writing a poem.
ReplyDeleteCurnow implements some very simplistic and almost casual language, for example, ‘or something’, to finish a stanza. This vague, offhand ending gives a sense of Curnow giving up, as if he can’t be bothered to finish his stanza perfectly. This failure to finish a verse well could be representative of his incapability to finish a poem well: his lack of inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThe failing capabilities of the poet in accordance with his abashed state of mind depicts Curnow to stump his long standing career. As he tries to seek inspiration, his source of inspiration, celestial objects such as "the moon" seem to abandon him leaving him in a mess. In fact, his loss of verses seem to make him picture his "adversary" taunting him whilst creating a stanza of fine verses which he cannot visualize. As a result, his search is intensified as he seeks to "better...front" gaining a broader picture on his future as well as inspiration.
ReplyDeleteSagar, Avoid the word 'career'. Except that, the write up is A* for its good vocabulary supported by EVs.
ReplyDeleteCurnow presents to us his hardships and struggles as to bring out something on paper.His constant try to format and present thoughts and ideas is what heightens the mood. The action of 'leaning from the porch' clearly displays the anxiety and apprehension the soul bears as to get satisfactory work done.His hesitation and fear heightens as he seeks for inspiration in this wide view of 'washed out creation' lying before him. A perfectionist, Curnow, aims for uniqueness in his thoughts but the fact of him undermining his capabilities and doubting oneself at every step is what blocks his path. Lying deep dead in this 'dark' ambience around, his hunt for thoughts and ideas is seen to be taken as a challenge willingly as the readers comprhend from it. The tone of the poem constantly empowers the factor of doubt and the fear of loss of talent within the artist as the readers begin to sympathise with the poet. With beautiful choice of diction and imagery does Curnow present to us his search for beauty alongside simplicity with his work . Hence the 'continuum ' in quest to evoke the true self hidden within.
DeleteExplanation exceeded than required. Hence need to make it short for exam purposes.
DeleteAn idea finally hits Curnow as he understands what the subject of his work should be. his frustration and difficulty comes to an end as 'the sky...down' onto the poet. his poem is finally complete and he is content as he 'turns on a bare heel' and goes back to let his muddled soul settle peacefully. Thus through his vivid descriptions about his emotions and thoughts Curnow has successfully managed to make the readers grasp the idea of not being able to complete something that you started.
ReplyDeletePEEP not complet, EVs only two. No grade offered.
DeleteCurnow sees everything around him as overused and dull, compared to what he hopes to achieve. The night sky is a ‘washed out creation, there is nothing more he can obtain from it. The ironic imagery he later uses, of the sky emptying it ‘contents down’, is satirical as the sky has nothing left to give him. It is bleak like his mind, and dead like his inspiration, and there is nothing around him that helps in bringing back colour to his mental landscape.
ReplyDeleteIncomplete PEEP with only 2 EVs and less explanation. No grade offered.
DeleteAs Curnow comes face to face with his writer's block, his desire to escape his troubled and desperate state of mind ensures that he delves into nature, hopeful in his search for inspiration out of his constraining boundaries to resolve his perplexed situation. As the poet leans out “from the porch across the privets” readers are hinted of how he wants to get out of his man made boundaries into the natural world. Curnow is lost in thoughts as “a long moment stretches” and he knows time is eternal but being in the middle of Nature he believes the “next one is not on time” thus, showing how his hardships have caused him to believe that even time has become standstill at this point.
ReplyDeleteBand 3 response.
DeleteCurnow depicts very magnificently his state of mind in the poem as continuously wavering, and shows how he is submerged in a deep pool of thoughts. The readers witness his impatience, restlessness, despite his focus and concentration on searching for new ideas. The readers understand how he is lost in his pool of thoughts and can understand that it's 'not possible' to 'get off to sleep', in that state of mind, late at night. By portraying the 'moon' and 'the palms' and the 'clouds' and 'the planet', the readers perceive how quickly thoughts enter and exit the quandary state of mind, and hence understand the hardships faced by Curnow in writing a poem.
ReplyDeleteA* quality of PEEP. Such good 6 PEEPs can get you there.
DeleteCurnow highlights his state of mind and his incapability to think as he notices Nature and contrasts it with himself and his alike condition. He relates to the 'moon' which 'rolls over' depicting how he continues to lie in confusion, indulged within his sorrows. He also compares himself to the 'moon' that 'falls'; Which is significant for his loss of hope and flow of thoughts that have taken a sudden slope in due course of time. As he comes to the end of the first stanza, he discloses that he speaks about 'myself'; This guilty acceptance allows the readers to understand his agitation. Therefore, the readers begin to feel sorry for Curnows embarrassing situation, forcing them to sympathize with him.
ReplyDeleteBand 2 response
DeleteCurnow depicts what may be his inability or mind block that is restraining him from doing what he always does-writing a poem. The highlight of the 'moon' in the poem could be portraying what his inspirations may look like; all bounded together yet there is nothing there. Despite the fact of being a skilled writer, he conveys his uncertainty as his mind doesn't comply with what he wants, instead it 'rolls about' in the most chaotic manner that confuses him into a mind block. He thus focuses on the methods he can use to overcome such harsh situations.
ReplyDeleteExplanation is not apt to what is said in POV. Not cohesive.
ReplyDeleteThe boulevard of broken dreams for the poet has been shown to be unfolding in a pernicious way, a resounding synonym which runs in his head, devilishly pressurizing him into relinquishing an alma mater gained by him postliminarily. His hyperbolic comments are seen to be a "subject or the planet" grounding his presence, impersonating him as an antisocial beast with dreams drawn up in dust put up against another "adversary" to "barefoot it out the front". The personification of his remorse is seen to be quite effective in drawing upon the reader's minds as his own, a gloomy imagery supporting his cause and the elevation of his mind enveloped in a stygian cast.
ReplyDelete