Clive’s 16,
Thrown into to this labyrinth of life,
A modern day Theseus.
But there’s no thread for him,
To follow.
No Ariadne waiting at the end.
Clive saw every adult,
Every teacher,
As a Minotaur.
He had to fight them.
Had to return home with his white sail aloft.
Every day was a battle of strength.
But this life
It ain’t fair.
For Clive, there’s no heroes.
Only monsters to fight.
He knows he ain’t no angel
But he has to do his part.
His anger his sword and shield.
Burning hot within.
His hoodie is his armour,
No one really sees ‘him.’
This world that fathered him,
And fathered us all,
Has done nothing
But devour us.
Like Kronos.
Clive’s got no hope.
His nicked blade won’t set him free,
No Zeus to cut him out.
Thursday, 30 June 2016
Brand New Ancients Close Analysis Commentary
Extract Chosen - Page 26 - 28 (Simon Cowell parody scene)
In the 2013 epic narrative poem 'Brand New Ancients', Kate Tempest tells the story of 'everyday people', but does so whilst incorporating aspects of Ancient Greek mythology, in an attempt to 'argue for a new mythology'. Tempest believes that we have lost touch with our connection to deity that we had in the past, yet she believes that we are all Gods in our own right, and are 'capable of amazing and terrible things'.
The story follows the lives of two families over the period of a lifetime. Throughout the course of the plot, the two families stories intertwine and connect, leading to the climax of the story where they finally come together.
In my chosen extract, we see Tempest comment on, and parody, the 'fame' culture of modern society, and how all anyone seems to want is to become 'famous', and that the only way to achieve true happiness is to do so. Just before this extract we see Tommy finally achieve his dream of becoming a published comic book artist, this section follows to compare Tommy's relative success to the droves of others in society who strive for success, but fall short.
This is one of the sections of the poem that does not fit into the character-driven narrative of the rest of the poem, it instead focuses on the wider aspects of modern human society as a whole, and contains a 'chorus' section, as do the other similar parts of the text. ("The gods are...")
Tempest's parody of this fame-obsessed culture serves as a wake up call, or warning that we need to stop worshiping these 'false idols', as she calls them.
Due to the broader nature of this extract, there is no specific focus on any one of the main characters from the text, however, one character mentioned prominently, and only in this section, is the character referred to as 'Simon' as well as 'the new Dionysus', an obvious parody of talent show judge Simon Cowell. Dionysus is most famous for being the God of Grapes and Wine, but this comparison comes from his position as the God of Theatre and Ritual Madness. The 'theatre' of his character represents the talent shows presented and judged by 'Simon', and the 'madness' is an allusion to the intense, and dangerous, obsession with these contests in the real world.
Unlike in the rest of the poem, there is no concrete setting for this section of the piece, as it is more of a social commentary than an individually-focused character section. When the section turns to focus on the 'New Dionysus' we see him in his dressing room, preparing to go out on stage for the show.
The character does not speak in this extract, but Tempest represents him through his actions, and to an extent, his thoughts. First, we see him preparing in his dressing room for the show. Tempest says: 'The makeup girls hold their breath as they dream him into a perfect bronze.'
The word 'dream' used as it is here alludes to the fact that this character's appearance is nothing more than an illusion, yet it is something that people aspire, or 'dream' to achieve.
Tempest then goes on to describe him as 'the permatanned God of our age.'
A few stanzas later we see Tempest say: 'Now, watch him shaking his head, he is furious'. This links to the anger that the Gods of classical mythology, which often had devastating consequences for the mortals whom incurred their wrath.
It is noteworthy that Dionysus was also the God who bestowed upon Midas the 'Midas Touch', which turned everything to gold, a 'gift' Midas soon came to regret. This links back to the text, where Tempest refers to the aspirations of the public, who want to be 'beautiful, ageless... with airbrushed bodies that shine golden.' This could represent the fact that, thought this is what the people might think they want, it ultimately serves only as a curse.
Tempest finishes this extract with: 'He took the eyes from our heads and blamed us for our blindness.'
This is a clear critique of the 'fame' culture that exists. It seems to say that people like Simon and his 'talent' shows strip the world of actual, true talent and then blame the people for the lack of talent presented before him.
Throughout this section, Kate Tempest uses many poetic techniques to enhance the effect and meaning of the section.
The section opens with the line: 'Pan out, soft focus; reveal the subtext:'
This phrase uses imagery of camera movement to alter the perception of the reader. This camera-linked terminology treats the entire poem as if it were a TV show or movie filming. This, when taken into consideration with the section that follows, could be seen as Tempest critiquing society as a whole, as though it has become one giant media, fame-obsessed civilization.
This image takes a morbid turn when the image to which the proverbial camera is panning is revealed.
Tempest writes: 'behind the couple striving on there is more, the bloodspecked sword in the sand, the bodies scattered around like sun bathers... the tattoos across their hearts read 'when will I be famous?'
The image of the 'bloodspecked sword' could be a representation of the fame and fortune that so many strive to achieve, with the 'bodies scattered around' representing those who have tried so hard to achieve fame, but are only to fall, even when getting so close. These people are so driven to realise this ideal that their hearts themselves are tattooed across 'When will I be famous?'
In the 2013 epic narrative poem 'Brand New Ancients', Kate Tempest tells the story of 'everyday people', but does so whilst incorporating aspects of Ancient Greek mythology, in an attempt to 'argue for a new mythology'. Tempest believes that we have lost touch with our connection to deity that we had in the past, yet she believes that we are all Gods in our own right, and are 'capable of amazing and terrible things'.
The story follows the lives of two families over the period of a lifetime. Throughout the course of the plot, the two families stories intertwine and connect, leading to the climax of the story where they finally come together.
In my chosen extract, we see Tempest comment on, and parody, the 'fame' culture of modern society, and how all anyone seems to want is to become 'famous', and that the only way to achieve true happiness is to do so. Just before this extract we see Tommy finally achieve his dream of becoming a published comic book artist, this section follows to compare Tommy's relative success to the droves of others in society who strive for success, but fall short.
This is one of the sections of the poem that does not fit into the character-driven narrative of the rest of the poem, it instead focuses on the wider aspects of modern human society as a whole, and contains a 'chorus' section, as do the other similar parts of the text. ("The gods are...")
Tempest's parody of this fame-obsessed culture serves as a wake up call, or warning that we need to stop worshiping these 'false idols', as she calls them.
Due to the broader nature of this extract, there is no specific focus on any one of the main characters from the text, however, one character mentioned prominently, and only in this section, is the character referred to as 'Simon' as well as 'the new Dionysus', an obvious parody of talent show judge Simon Cowell. Dionysus is most famous for being the God of Grapes and Wine, but this comparison comes from his position as the God of Theatre and Ritual Madness. The 'theatre' of his character represents the talent shows presented and judged by 'Simon', and the 'madness' is an allusion to the intense, and dangerous, obsession with these contests in the real world.
Unlike in the rest of the poem, there is no concrete setting for this section of the piece, as it is more of a social commentary than an individually-focused character section. When the section turns to focus on the 'New Dionysus' we see him in his dressing room, preparing to go out on stage for the show.
The character does not speak in this extract, but Tempest represents him through his actions, and to an extent, his thoughts. First, we see him preparing in his dressing room for the show. Tempest says: 'The makeup girls hold their breath as they dream him into a perfect bronze.'
The word 'dream' used as it is here alludes to the fact that this character's appearance is nothing more than an illusion, yet it is something that people aspire, or 'dream' to achieve.
Tempest then goes on to describe him as 'the permatanned God of our age.'
A few stanzas later we see Tempest say: 'Now, watch him shaking his head, he is furious'. This links to the anger that the Gods of classical mythology, which often had devastating consequences for the mortals whom incurred their wrath.
It is noteworthy that Dionysus was also the God who bestowed upon Midas the 'Midas Touch', which turned everything to gold, a 'gift' Midas soon came to regret. This links back to the text, where Tempest refers to the aspirations of the public, who want to be 'beautiful, ageless... with airbrushed bodies that shine golden.' This could represent the fact that, thought this is what the people might think they want, it ultimately serves only as a curse.
Tempest finishes this extract with: 'He took the eyes from our heads and blamed us for our blindness.'
This is a clear critique of the 'fame' culture that exists. It seems to say that people like Simon and his 'talent' shows strip the world of actual, true talent and then blame the people for the lack of talent presented before him.
Throughout this section, Kate Tempest uses many poetic techniques to enhance the effect and meaning of the section.
The section opens with the line: 'Pan out, soft focus; reveal the subtext:'
This phrase uses imagery of camera movement to alter the perception of the reader. This camera-linked terminology treats the entire poem as if it were a TV show or movie filming. This, when taken into consideration with the section that follows, could be seen as Tempest critiquing society as a whole, as though it has become one giant media, fame-obsessed civilization.
This image takes a morbid turn when the image to which the proverbial camera is panning is revealed.
Tempest writes: 'behind the couple striving on there is more, the bloodspecked sword in the sand, the bodies scattered around like sun bathers... the tattoos across their hearts read 'when will I be famous?'
The image of the 'bloodspecked sword' could be a representation of the fame and fortune that so many strive to achieve, with the 'bodies scattered around' representing those who have tried so hard to achieve fame, but are only to fall, even when getting so close. These people are so driven to realise this ideal that their hearts themselves are tattooed across 'When will I be famous?'
Friday, 17 June 2016
Writing in the Style of Kate Tempest
Writing in the style of Kate Tempest
Clive’s 16,
Thrown into
to this labyrinth of life,
A modern day
Theseus.
But there’s
no thread for them,
To follow.
No Ariadne
waiting at the end.
Clive saw
every adult,
Every
teacher,
As a
Minotaur.
He had to
fight them.
Had to
return home with his white sail aloft.
Every day
was a battle of strength.
But this
life
It ain’t
fair.
For Clive,
there’s no heroes.
Only
monsters to fight.
He knows he
ain’t no angel
But he has
to do his part.
His anger
his sword and shield.
Burning hot
within.
His hoodie
is his armour,
No one
really sees ‘him.’
This world
that fathered him,
And fathered
us all,
Has done
nothing
But devour
us.
Like Kronos.
Clive’s got
no hope.
His nicked
blade won’t set him free,
No Zeus to
cut him out.
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