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2008-03-06 Aradon Templar: Interpretation spoiler![Aradon Templar]: 240.Drabbles.E
Rating: 0.00 Uploaded by: Created: 2008-03-06 01:26:29Previous: Keywords: Sonnet, Elysium, Afterlife, PhilosophyGenre:PhilosophyLicense:Free for readingElysium
In verdant forests and flowered fields
Under the vast celestial sky,
In contentment and sleep’s sweet appeals,
There the blessed dead lie.
In the world above, the realm of the living,
Great deeds won great fame and wealth.
In endless toil were these men their efforts giving,
Searching for happiness and good health.
In the springs of fame they sought to quench their thirst.
Instead they drowned in their ambition and desire.
The more they drank, the more they drowned, yet never sated.
Now content in Elysium, peace and serenity come first.
The men of Elysium have learned to quench their fire.
In the Elysian Fields lie the blessed, happy dead.
I just wanted to make a comment regarding what I meant with this poem, since I think you could look at it in several ways (can't you with all poetry? :S). Obviously it contrasts the happiness of death with the difficulty of life. I don't mean by this that I think it's great to die and that it's such a terrible thing to be alive. Nope. Other people might try and pin this as an attack on materialism. While it somewhat leans in that direction, I tried to avoid materialism as well. Instead, I am mainly just trying to show a contrast the mentality of the living and the dead. The living do great things, help lots of people, find cures for diseases etc so we can all be happy. Whereas the dead spend their days in idleness. However, they are much happier than the living, even though they get nothing accomplished. This encompasses an issue of debate about which is better, to be happy or to do something good. I mean, good for the souls for being happy, but they aren't doing anything worthwhile. On the other hand, if the living are so obsessed with doing good things that they can't be happy, is that any good?
That was what I was getting at, though I admit the issue is hard to express in poetry, so I phrased it in an example like this. I just wanted to let people know this isn't about the drudgery of life or an attack on materialism. It's more about being happy with what you can, and not to be obsessed with making a name for yourself, or anything of the sort. Happiness will only occur when you decide to be happy.