After reading "The Bells" I noticed that this poem seems different form most of the Poe poems that I have been exposed to so far. What I noticed specifically is that this poem seems to be trying to ground itself in reality rather than in the imagination. This was intreging to me because throughout our readings and discussions we have realized that Poe criticizes mameic art, art of reality. Why would Poe criticize this type of art then produce an example of it himself? What I found most interesting in this poem was Poe's use of onomatopoeia, "To the tintinabulation that so musically wells/ From the bells..." (LOA 92). Onomatopoeia a word that sounds like the sound its describing. To me, the use of onomatopoeia is contradictive to the criticism that Poe has made on mameic art.
What do you think? Do you believe this Poem differers form other Poe poems? how? Do you believe this poem goes against some of Poe's criticism of the metaphysical and mameic art?
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5 comments:
I think a reason Poe might have written this poem is because that, like any artist (and I am convinced Poe thought of himself as an artist of words), he wanted to look at different things, different ideas, and go exploring.
Yes this poem is more reality based. While it is not directly etheral, through the onomatopeia I feel it has that haunting effect many Poe poems have. The lines "Hear the loud alarum bells-Brazen bells!" are especially haunting to me because the envoke the feelings of chaos, of disorder and ,as the line continues, fire alarms. Poe seems to criticize what he does himself because he is very much an elitist. I know we talked about this during class but I don't remember what others feel.
I think this poem sort of goes along with the supernal nature of Poe's poetry that we were discussing today. He seems to raise the bells up, and give them more of a purpose. The tone of the bells gets darker as the poem goes on, so the bells probably function as a metaphor for some sort of progression. He has taken something as simple as the sound of the a bell, and made it capable of having more than one meaning.
Michelle,
Your question:
“Why would Poe criticize this type of art then produce an example of it himself? What I found most interesting in this poem was Poe's use of onomatopoeia, "To the tintinabulation that so musically wells/ From the bells..." (LOA 92). Onomatopoeia a word that sounds like the sound its describing. To me, the use of onomatopoeia is contradictive to the criticism that Poe has made on mameic art.” (Michelle)
Is a good one. You had me going back and re-reading “The Bells” so I could come up with a good answer. I think he’s using these words to provoke an overall effect. Meaning, that one word cannot and is not an exact description for one thing as all times and to every person. I think the modern statement on this is “a chair is not a chair, unless the viewer of that chair, says it is.”
Truthfully, reading this poem puts me on edge. It is not one of my favorites of today’s reading, but again I’m glad you put up a discussion on it because it is a good example of how Poe saw things from many sides.
For example one person can hear bells and think of a funeral and it make them sad. Another person can hear the same bells and think of a wedding and they get all dreamy and happy. However, “The Bells” show that it is not the object that changes but the perception. Like all of Poe’s poems, this one also can be read on many levels and evoke many different feelings throughout.
Thanks for sharing,
Audrey
“The Bells’ brought back memories of me and friend reading this in a spoken word bar in New York when I was in high school. I didn’t remember until I read it the third time and then it clicked as why I knew it. We read it in modern spoken word form and it is amazing how the intensity of the poem can still be translated to the hearers of the poem. The Bells for me is a story. It tells of the importance of bells for communication during a time when there were no fire trucks with sirens. The Bells are tied in with the church. The church served many functions; school, meeting room, church, and funereal parlor.
The bells begin with the rejoicing of a wedding and ends with death. I am not sure if the poem evokes feelings of chaos and disorder. Yet it seems to be an informational poem. It tells of the time when the ringing of the bells conveyed the message that was meant to be sent to the community.
Bells of play, bliss, alarm, and death are differentiated by the weight, speed, and intensity in which they are rung. The poem does claim Poe as it’s author by the turn of everyday life events to the “ghouls” who ring the bell for their “king” after death.
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