Explain the last two lines of the poem:
I sing your passing beauty and fix it for all Eternity
before jealous Fate reduces you to ashes to nourish the roots of life.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
About Me
- Daniel Freeman
- trying to figure out most of what there is to know about most things.
These last two lines are saying that the narrator is singing the black women's beauty to make sure that people see their beauty before the jealous people who don't think black women are beautiful ruin it to make themselves feel better. The narrator wants to spread that black women's beauty does exist and that black women's beauty is everlasting. However, there are people who put down their beauty or "reduce you to ashes". They do that in order to make themselves feel better or to "nourish the roots of life".
ReplyDeleteI think "Black woman" implies African culture here. The Europeans want to destroy the culture of African, but Senghor never give up his own culture, and keep singing the beauty of "black woman". The culture and the ideals of African never die out, and they are like the nurture to nourish the root of the inspiration. He encourages people to fight for their culture and their ideals.
ReplyDeleteIn author's mind, African people and African culture is always beauty no matter the others races or culture destroy them. The author love its people and culture and want to protect them. Even if the different culture wants to break them, the African culture is splendid and ancient, and the history is long-- they are very unique and precious, they will still be valued and influence the next generation. So, these two lines of poem are a very good positive aphorism to make not only African people, but also humans to adopt a correct attitude towards its own culture and respect another cultures.
ReplyDeleteSenghor wrote the last two sentences to emphasize the conflict betweens culture and to titillate reader’s sense toward his culture. Despite how African cultures repressed by other country back in the old day, his representation adheres to the beauty of blackness in his innermost self.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, "black woman" in this poem referring Africa continent，because in paragraph 2 and 3, the author protrays people and enironment of Africa, so I believe "black woman" is referring Africa."passing beauty" means the enironment is being destoryed; "jealous Fate" probably means the European colonial in Africa. Thus, the last two line of the poem discribed the natural of Africa is slowly being destory by the European Settlers. “fix it for all Eternity” means the author writed this peom in order to commemorate the beauty of Africa.
ReplyDeleteThe last two lines are showing Senghor's good wishes to the black women's future, the black people's future, and the Africa's future.
ReplyDeleteHe believes the hard time of the Africa and African will gone. Their spirit and beauty will not be destoried; their new generation will have a better life because of the former's fight.