Alfred Lord Tennyson
The Kraken
After reading this poem several times through I came to believe that the Kraken represents the changes that Tennyson is seeing around him. The world went through great changes and advancements in his time, and I think that the Kraken represents the old ways of life. “Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green. /There hath he lain for ages and will lie/Battening upon huge seaworms in his sleep, /until the latter fire shall heat the deep; /Then once by man and angels to be seen,/in roaring he shall rise on the surface die”.(pg.586). I think the giant arms that has lain for ages is the old way of life, and then man comes along with the changes he is seeing and changes everything. Using the Kraken, a mythological beast, might show the fear that came with these changes. Many people do not like change, and rebel from it more from fear than anything. This giant beast could represent the fight that the people were putting up as changes were being made.
posted by jim @ 5:57 PM
3 Comments
3 Comments:
Jim,
Your post provides an interesting impressionistic approach to Tennyson's poem, but I would like to see more analysis of the long passage you quote before I would be convinced of your interpretation. Remember, a long quotation without sufficient accompanying analysis looks like you are merely padding your writing for length.
I like your interpretation of this poem. I got absolutely nothing from it. But the color green in the sea makes me thing of algae that has grown on something that has lain there awhile. And I can see how the Kraken would relate to fear and people's fear of change. Thanks for sharing that.
I think this is an interesting analysis of the poem. I agree that it has a lot to do with the changing world, but I also got the feeling that it had to do with what this meant for religion and how some of these things challenged his faith.
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