Resumo de A Poetry - introduced and annotated by george

A poetry continues

With purity hath nothing been won.

With purity hath nothing been won
Greece came not thru purity
Christ died through the impure
Only with impurity hath Japan moved ahead
The American beast came about through things impure
Purity kills creativity in the womb
Impurity spreads with health
Eve at the apple for impurity?s sake
My heart bless thyself

Thou trickiest not with things that are pure
Impurity limiteth the child in the cradle
Impurity is boundless like my soul.

Commentary

The ironic bite of the poem is in how good indeed comes out
of evil and how it is evil that thrives.

Notes

Line 5 the American beast
This refers to the American nation that was created
out of
slave labour, the subjugation of race other than the
Caucasians and dispossession of the American
Indians.

Line 4 Japan suffered greatly during the Second World War,
particularly with the devastation of Hiroshima. But
Japan
recovered to become a leading industrial and
economic power.

Line 8 this is from biblical legend. The apple which Eve ate
gave her knowledge which is seen as evil, and later as
disobedience. This was what led to man?s
estrangement from God.

Line 9 notice the change in tone, rhythm and attitude. The
emphasis now seems to be an ironic reference to
purity.

Line 10 to truck with means to deal with in the sense of
exchanging one thing for another. To trade or
bargain with.

Lullaby

I

Now the sun goes down
Into the valley
Beyond the palms;
The broods will be returning.

Soon the last cock will crow,
The last cay-pot be stowed,
And the fifth finger licked.

Sheep and dogs and kids
Beside the hearth
Sleep beyond all reproach.

II

Let fireflies fly
In your eyes
By the playground sands
Under a quarter of the moon.

III

The sun has died again
In the dark valley
Beyond our loves,
Beyond the high-arched roots
Of the demon-tree.
Then it was your afternoon
And love was in your eyes.

Now the sun has set;
The virgin moon is out again-
A most maidenly quarter moon.

Commentary

The theme of the poem is our desire for performance n the midst of continuous change. Change is not something imposed upon us by time, although this may seem to be the case. Change is the very fulfillment of our desires. We cannot escape this consequence of our fulfilled desires. Yet we often wish we could because the things which happen outside the control of our human desires seem permanent and continuous. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west every day; its activity seems permanent and continuous.
Lullaby is a simple song with a recurrent rhythm directed towards comforting and lulling a child to sleep. It is clearly illustrated by the second and crucial section of the poem. But it is the last two lines which underline the appropriateness of the title of the poem.

The activities described in section I of the poem have the continuity of habit, because they are seen from outside. They are described in the resent and present future tense. Section II interposes desire and is appropriately expressed in the subjunctive tense (optative mood). Section III assumes the fulfilment of desire, expressed in the perfect and past tense, and deals with the consequences of that fulfilment. And yet, in the last two lines, this section, which concentrates on completed action and change, is haunted by the wish for continuity and permanence. Herein lies the irony.

Notes

Line 1 broods mean the birds with their young.

Line 10 beyond all approach means in peace and innocence.

Line 11 fireflies means the glow-worm but, metaphorically, also the sparks of desire in the eyes.

Line 14 quarter of the moon means the new associated with a cycle of desire.

Line 18-19 demon-tree means a tropical tree with large dark-green leaves and roots which grow from the branches towards the earth, forming arshes.

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