Marina: Poetry and T.s. Eliot
Marina
By T.S. Eliot
“Marina” was one of the first Eliot poems I came to love, but I hadn’t read it for quite a while. Ironically, it was the political conventions that brought these lines from the poem to mind:
Those who sharpen the tooth of the dog, meaning
Death
Those who glitter with the glory of the hummingbird, meaning
Death
Marina was #29 in Eliot’s series of ”Ariel Poems,” first published in September, 1930. It was based on the Jacobean play, Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Shakespeare is credited with the last acts of the play, the story of Pericles’ separation from, and reunion with, his daughter, Marina (most scholars believe the opening was composed by an inferior collaborator).
The play however, was simply a catalyst for poem that lives a life of its own, with haunting imagery that I think can speak to any of us, wherever we are.
Ariel Poems - Marina Summary
In this poem, a man looks back on his life. He reminisces about the work of his hands and a boat he built and the times spent on it. He thinks of his life and the years gone by, and through all of this, he thinks of his daughter and his love for her. The man realizes that toiling for gain is not the goal in life, as we cannot cheat death. He sees that there are things more important in life, such as the pure, simple love of a man for his daughter.
Ariel Poems - Marina Analysis
Once again T.S. Eliot brings us back to his theme of aging and Death. He likens the aging boat of the poem to the aged man who built it. Both are weather-weary, tired, and do not possess the strength they once...
Comment on the woodthrush image in T.S. Eliot's "Marina" -
A wood thrush is a bird common in the Northeastern part of the United States; it is known for its "loud clear song." In the poem, Eliot refers to hearing the wood thrush "singing through the fog". He mentions this in the opening of the poem, and again at the closing of the poem.
The mentioning of the woodthrush can serve several purposes.
By T.S. Eliot
“Marina” was one of the first Eliot poems I came to love, but I hadn’t read it for quite a while. Ironically, it was the political conventions that brought these lines from the poem to mind:
Those who sharpen the tooth of the dog, meaning
Death
Those who glitter with the glory of the hummingbird, meaning
Death
Marina was #29 in Eliot’s series of ”Ariel Poems,” first published in September, 1930. It was based on the Jacobean play, Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Shakespeare is credited with the last acts of the play, the story of Pericles’ separation from, and reunion with, his daughter, Marina (most scholars believe the opening was composed by an inferior collaborator).
The play however, was simply a catalyst for poem that lives a life of its own, with haunting imagery that I think can speak to any of us, wherever we are.
Ariel Poems - Marina Summary
In this poem, a man looks back on his life. He reminisces about the work of his hands and a boat he built and the times spent on it. He thinks of his life and the years gone by, and through all of this, he thinks of his daughter and his love for her. The man realizes that toiling for gain is not the goal in life, as we cannot cheat death. He sees that there are things more important in life, such as the pure, simple love of a man for his daughter.
Ariel Poems - Marina Analysis
Once again T.S. Eliot brings us back to his theme of aging and Death. He likens the aging boat of the poem to the aged man who built it. Both are weather-weary, tired, and do not possess the strength they once...
Comment on the woodthrush image in T.S. Eliot's "Marina" -
A wood thrush is a bird common in the Northeastern part of the United States; it is known for its "loud clear song." In the poem, Eliot refers to hearing the wood thrush "singing through the fog". He mentions this in the opening of the poem, and again at the closing of the poem.
The mentioning of the woodthrush can serve several purposes.