Heart of Darkness

1/12/09

Poem:

Hunters of Darkness

Ogni uomo é il suo capo nemico. Anacharsis

The air was dark.
Peculiar blackness.
The sea of Thames, was
the beginning, of emptiness.
Deadly danger, the possibility,
of a sudden onslaught,
was of sight,
somewhere in Africa.
Fog, disease, and death, in the air,
of this region, of subtle horror.
We were man enough,
to face the darkness.


Civilized Man

Imparare il significato di quanto lei dice, e poi prendere la parola. Epictetus

Marlow was not typical.
Prejudice no doubt.
Resenting the sight of, dark –faced,
red- eyed devils.
Unwholesome simple people,
chain-gang pilgrims, and something ominous,
in the air, Marlow was
slightly uneasy.
The whites, of course
greatly discomposed, by the savage.
But, I had a passion, for exploration,
and other places. I admit my behaviour,
was inexcusable.


Powers of Darkness

Speranza di malati guadagno è l'inizio della perdita. Democritus

He had the power, to charm rudimentary souls.
Envy, and devotion to Kurtz, was endless.
An audience, his ability to talk, and sense of real,
presence.
But the darkly menacing, Ivory hunt
and many, powers of darkness,
claimed him, for their own.
Through two illnesses,
Kurtz is dead.
He won’t be forgotten.

Hunters (5) of (79) Darkness (9)

Every man is his own chief enemy. Anacharsis

The air was dark. (1)
Peculiar blackness.(109)
The sea (5) of Thames, (5) was (33)
the beginning, of emptiness. (100)
Deadly danger, the possibility,
of a sudden onslaught,(109)
was (43) of sight,
somewhere (33) in Africa. (10)
Fog, disease, and death, in the air, (8)
Of(93) this(143) region, of subtle horror(98).
We(100) were(100) man enough,
to face the darkness. (8)


Civilized Man (8)

First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak. Epictetus

Marlow was not typical. (7)
Prejudice no doubt. (14)
Resenting the sight (120) of (79), dark –faced (100),
red- eyed devils. (25)
Unwholesome (69) simple people, (90)
chain-gang (25) pilgrims (69), and (120) something ominous,
in the air (15), Marlow(7) was (121)
slightly uneasy. (15)
The whites, of course
greatly discomposed (67),by the savage (98).
But (130), I had a passion, for(10) exploration (11) ,
and other places (11). I admit my behaviour,
was inexcusable (121).







Powers of Darkness (82)

Hope of ill gain is the beginning of loss. Democritus

He had the power, to charm rudimentary souls (85).
Envy (93), and(120) devotion to Kurtz (93), was (92) endless(97).
An audience (93), his ability to talk (79), and(120) sense of real,
presence (73).
But (130) the (5)darkly menacing (121), Ivory hunt (95)
and (120)many, powers of darkness,
claimed him, for their own (82).
Through two illnesses (94),
Kurtz is dead(78).
He won’t be forgotten (85)

Found Poetry: Heart of Darkness – Metacognative

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a complex story that accounts for a journey taken by the main character on a mission to encounter another admired and well respected character. Conrad uses words that are both powerful and descriptive, which allows for the readers to understand many of the character’s emotions during situations that arose. Conrad’s word choice also gave descriptive information about the story’s setting that aided me in the composition of the first section of my poem.

Entitled Hunters of Darkness, my intention with the first section was to capture the specific elements of the stories’ setting and concluding with the character’s emotions. The poem opens with, “the air was dark / peculiar blackness,” (1-2) immediately the readers are informed that this area contains something unusual or mysterious. The men traveled via boat and the “sea” (3) alludes to the idea that the men were sailing upon a vast, open area and although they did not have an intended route, they were determined to meet Kurtz. After the men realized they were destined for Africa, trouble was soon to follow because this was an area widely unknown by many of the travelers and the possibility of “deadly danger” (5) was certain at any moment. Although the men knew they were about to settle in unfamiliar territory and be surrounded by different people, they thought they were prepared for any challenge. This section incorporates the greatest amount of descriptive words in order to convey imagery of the dark and dreary tone of the story. Words such as, “sudden onslaught” (6) and “subtle horror” (10) emphasizes the severity of danger in Africa and how quickly violence can erupt. The reference to “darkness” (12) is not only important because it adds to the dreary content of the story, but it also makes it difficult for a person to view things properly in the dark, which connects to all of the violence of the story. The English travelers were unable to clearly see and understand the Africans, leading to violent interactions. The epigraph, “every man is his own chief enemy,” (Anacharsis) connects the most with the final two lines of the poem, “we were man enough/to face the darkness” (11-12) because the quote establishes an idea that an individual’s biggest challenge is himself, but these men are confident that they can encounter even the darkest of events and dominate because of their determination.

The second section is titled, Civilized Man and it is based around the main character, Marlow. More specifically, Marlow’s interactions with many of the Africans he encountered while on the island, his fellow English travelers, and the transformation I feel he makes by the conclusion of the second section of the story. The poem begins with the statement, “Marlow was not typical” (1) and I chose to use this line as an opener because from the beginning of the story, the readers are informed that his actions towards others were not always similar to those of other Englishman because of his experiences with different people of other countries. However, on numerous occasions, especially towards the Africans and Pilgrims, he speaks to them as if he is superior. It is common for Marlow to use complex words and I felt Conrad’s word choice was specific in many of these cases because he wanted to characterize Marlow as someone who felt dominate and would freely exemplify his intelligence by using complicated words. With that, it would have been beneficial to my poem if I had integrated a few examples of the words Marlow used.
The poem continues with examples of the evil and rude way in which Marlow thought of the Africans and Pilgrims. The “dark-faced, red-eyed devils,” (3-4) refers to the Africans as well as “unwholesome simple people” (5). On many occasions, Marlow would refer to them as either simple or savage, intensifying his belief that they were not as civilized or well of as he. He sees their appearance and automatically characterizes them as violent, destructive individuals. I thought the word, “chain-gang”(6) was appropriate in this scenario because I felt it further labeled the Pilgrims and Africans as violent savages, just as Marlow viewed them. By the conclusion of the second section however, I felt as if Marlow realized the errors of his ways and even began to feel compassion to the Africans. At a certain point in the story, he viewed their living situations, with a lack of food and essential supplies, as sad and unfortunate.

By line 11, I still chose to include the other Englishmen’s views on the African’s situation and how they were unaffected, but my closing lines expressed how Marlow genuinely feels that his behavior was inappropriate and I felt that he learned from his ways and I think that came from his desire to travel and to experience other cultures. Although in the beginning Marlow appeared cocky and prejudice, he becomes more open-minded to other lifestyles and races by the end of the second section. The title, Civilized Man, reiterated Marlow’s idea of superiority and the quote, “first learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak,” (Epictetus) connects to Marlow because he began to embody the words of this quote by feeling some compassion for the people of the island and their poor living situations. Although Marlow was not completely changed by his interactions with the Africans, he began to differ greatly in the beliefs of the other, typical Englishmen.

The final section of the poem is titled, Powers of Darkness and it is devoted entirely to Kurtz, his influence over others, and most importantly, his desires that lead to his downfall. I felt the first two lines of the poem were great introductory lines because they emphasized the extent of his influence. “Rudimentary souls” (2) are difficult to influence because they are consistent and usually unchangeable. My intentions with the use of, “an audience”(5) was to establish the idea that he had an abundance of followers, however, I would have liked to change those words to something that could have made a bigger and clearer impact on the readers. I also used the line “his ability to talk,” (5) to show reasons as to why he was so admired and how he was able to obtain such as strong following.

Towards the end of the story, the readers discover the impact his strong desires for Ivory and power eventually overpowered him. By obtaining Ivory, he would have had more control over the island and he would have brought more power to England, but the dark forces, such as greed and a thirst for endless power, caused him to lose sight in civility. In fact, Kurtz affected many people such as the Africans who were overworked, himself and Marlow who became sick during the story and his death caused great pain to his fiancé. The section’s title and the quote, “hope of ill gain is the beginning of loss,” (Democritus) both relates to Kurtz’s overwhelming desire for power and Ivory because these were just some of the internal desires, powers of darkness, that would destroy a person. The quote foreshadows Kurtz’s life because he only desired to obtain Ivory for personal gain and although he intended on conquering another nation, he essentially brought down his greatest enemy, himself.
In all, Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad is an intricate story that discusses many topics, one of which targets a person’s dangerous desires to become powerful. Through descriptive words, settings, and intriguing characters, Conrad exemplified how the actions of one can destroy many. My intensions with this poem was to relate each of the three sections of the poem to each section of the story, through setting and the actions of specific characters and their impact on others. With that, each section resultantly leads to the course of actions of the following section, with the core of those actions rotted within the evil that lurks in darkness.