Concerning the poetry, I enjoyed it a lot, actually. I don't have much to say because I left it at school, but from what I remember, the poems appealed to me like my own song-writing. When I write, I tend to take a bunch of images and thread them along together in a way that makes sense to me. I remember reading the first one and thinking "I could have written that". That said, I think the poetry was expressionist because all of the images in the poems were some description of feeling of emotion.
The operas and dance pieces seemed very impulsive and on-the-spot. The dances, especially, look like choreographed improv pieces. Everything is very sensual and non-linear. None of the dance pieces seemed to have a methodical structure at all.
I'm not sure where the themes of death or the speed of each piece plays into expressionism, but I guess I'll find out later.
Excellent post. I'm glad you zero'd in on the poetry. And yes, it does function in the way you described - a series of images that somehow put all together are evocative of something larger. Ideally, I think all art should work like this, but it is only the best art that does... of course, I am an expressionist!
ReplyDeleteI constantly use this as an example, but to me, this is just about the epitome of great song lyrics. It's of course, Elvis Costello...
History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies the same defeats
Keep your finger on important issues
With crocodile tears and a pocketful of tissues
I'm just the oily slick
On the windup world of the nervous tick
In a very fashionable hovel
I hang around dying to be tortured
You'll never be alone in the bone orchard
This battle with the bottle is nothing so novel
So in this almost empty gin palace
Through a two-way looking glass
You see your Alice
You know she has no sense
For all your jealousy
In a sense she still smiles very sweetly
Charged with insults and flattery
Her body moves with malice
Do you have to be so cruel to be callous
And now you find you fit this identikit completely
You say you have no secrets
And then leave discreetly
[Chorus:]
I might make it California's fault
Be locked in Geneva's deepest vault
Just like the canals of Mars and the great barrier reef
I come to you beyond belief
My hands were clammy and cunning
She's been suitably stunning
But I know there's not a hope in Hades
All the laddies cat call and wolf whistle
So-called gentlemen and ladies
Dog fight like rose and thistle
I've got a feeling
I'm going to get a lot of grief
Once this seemed so appealing
Now I am beyond belief