How effectively does your prescribed text tell stories to reveal both the personal and shared nature of human experiences?
Note: This response is based on one of the Kenneth Slessor poems we studied in class, "Out of Time"
Through storytelling, authors can share aspects of the human condition that are both personal to the protagonist and shared within a collective community. These revelations about common aspects can provide insight to how humans react to and grow from such circumstances. Kenneth Slessor’s poem “Out of Time'' utilises abstract metaphors and both natural and concrete imagery to capture how each person differently experiences time. Through the regulatory sonnet structure Slessor reflects on the duality of time as both ruthless and comforting. We can either yearn for time to stop amidst the beauty of certain moments, or, as we grow, we can understand that time continuing is inevitable, which can be comforting. We are never stuck in the moments of negativity yet always given chances to grow.
“So time, the wave, enfolds me in its bed, / Or Time, the bony knife, it runs me through.” This presents the dichotomous nature of time, as both comforting, enfolding in a warm bed, and punishing to an individual. The use of “Or” interrupts the protagonist's chain of thought and introduces a sense of existentialism surrounding humans' lack of knowledge on the forceful nature of time, as supported by the poem's abstract ideas assisted by personifying time as controlling our fate . This perspective is subjective with dependence on our own human experiences, therefore it is near impossible to decide on a final, collective view on time. Through Out of Time, there is character development of the speaker, through the time sequence and growth representing duality and universality of time, from a child-like misunderstanding in the first sonnet “Time, you must cry farewell, take up the track,/ And leave this lovely moment at your back” This conclusive couplet summarises that time is cruel as it allows for the loss of beautiful moments, and instead, humans are left with the faint memory of what once was, which is supported by the imagery of death in the second sonnet “Birth to be flesh, or funeral, to be ghost.” This highlights the dichotomy between death and birth. When we are born, we are given an earthly body, but as time passes we die, that earthly flesh leaves, and we are soon forgotten, reminding audiences of the indefinite and agonsing nature of mortality. This sense of childlike naivety and fright for time is encapsulated in the diction choice of “Skulker” as referencing an animal in hiding. This ptly symbolises how the speaker is hiding from and deflecting the inevitability of time. They refuse to see it as a continued force and due to that, they hide themselves for the grand possibilities of life; “His fate pursues him; he must open doors”. There is transition within the second sonnet, as a sense of understanding is formulated surrounding the inescapable aspect of time. When sonnet three is introduced, there is an atmosphere of peace and content, through the use of natural imagery that lacks plosive rhythm and tonality. There is great juxtaposition between the jarring, concrete nature of “viley, continuously, stupidly/ Time takes me, drills me, drives through bone and vein” the anatomical imagery displays how time is collective among audiences and a feature of being human. This contrasts “shadows flow,/Fixed in sweet meniscus, out of Time .../Lensed in a bubble’s ghostly camera” The imagery utilised has a tonal shift from negative and relentless, to the soft rhythm and positive connotations that stray from anatomical imagery, but instead utilises more abstract ideas that represents that speakers sense of freedom. There is focus on “birds” and the flow of water, as this speaker is finally free from the shackles of time. They have accepted their fate, and instead find themselves content with their own memories, as only the continuation of time can lead to growth of happiness.
== Thank you so much!