:_,A___ THE MICHIGAN DAILY
THURSDAY, JULY 28, 1955
WHAT'S IN A POEM?
Ohio State Professors'
Find Sense in Nonsense
1-Point Program
WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND:
West Germany's 'Old Man'
Ponders Nation's Future
EDITED BY CAL SAMRA
NOT LONG AGO on a lovely spring morning,
a young coed was walking to one of her
English classes at Ohio State University,
affectionately clasping to her bosom a volume
of T. S. Eliot poems and anticipating another
passionate lecture on poetic symbolism and
obscurantism. A willow tree abruptly caught
Miriam Frazier's attention, and that tree was
the inspiration of a poem which, because it was
so deliberately senseless, made a good deal of
sense to the faculty members who later analyzed
it.
From the initial reference to the willow tree,
Miss Frazier fashioned the poem with desultory
abandon, intentionally disregarding relevancy,
theme, meaning and organization. There was
no conscious effort to make sense of the
poem, which was merely a random picking of
phrases and words to fit into a meter pattern.
The resulting poem is a patch-work of unrelated
ideas and images.
Miss Frazier's poem was later submitted to
several OSU English instructors for their
written criticisms. They were not told who
authored the poem. Their reactions, printed
below, are indicative of the lengths the Eliot-
philes will go to glean meaning out of the
meaningless. It was Miss Frazier's manner of
protesting poetic obfuscation and the religious
attempts of the symbolists to find meaning in
occult images and metaphors that, in the end,
really mean nothing.
Whether Miss Frazier's subconscious deter-
mied her phrases and images is, of course,
debatable. But all of the reactions contain some
very interesting features. As Miss Frazier points
out, there is a common tendency to read a Freu-
dian theme into the poem. There is also the
tendency to assume that the old traditional
symbols always mean the same things-i.e.,
willow conveys sorrow. The younger and more
ambitious the scholar, the more elaborate the
explanation.
And, Miss Frazier's primary observation:
"The most remarkable assumption of all the
faculty members was that the thing was sup-
posed to make sense."
Here is the poem:
"Forsee the willow, bend a branch
And lay them both along my side
Tell me who, in tumbling worlds,
Will hide us from a trembling dawn.
By shallows of a faultless worth
We see a dazzling glitter-gloom
And you and I are sinking down
Choking on a guileless mirth.
A day, a noon, a clattering night
Two blades of grass beside a stone
We crush the cowslip, pluck cliches
Are married in the eyes of heaven."
And here are the reactions:
Graduate Student Working on Ph.D.
"Since this poem (expression of self might be
a better term) is one in which the conscious
mind was not brought to bear upon the freer
imaginative projection, it would be best prob-
ably to have a psychologist' or psychiatrist ex.
plicate it. Poetry of free association like this
is just as certain an expression of basic
emotional patterns in imagery as is a T.A.T. or
ink blot test.
"Note the obvious feeling of fear and uncer-
tainty inherent in the iages: "willow," associ-
ated with the rod, tears. '(Why this projection
into the future with "forsee" I don't under-
stand.) Though fears, formless fears until
imagized, are things usually associated with the
future; we don't fear the past or present, but
the future - forseeing of sadness, pain, in the
willow image.
The "branch," associated with "bend" gives
us another pain-fear image. The reclining posi-
tion of the speaker with the willow branch on
either side (the bent branch, remember) seems
to be an image similar in genre to Eliot's "like
a patient etherized upon a table" in Prufrock.
"In fact, much of the feeling conveyed in the
imagery here seems to me to echo emotions
inherent in much of Eliot's earlier poetry -
fear in the face of an unstable and threatening
universe, and like Eliot, you attempt here to
exert control over these emotions in the poem
by the use of the imperative mode (forsee, bend,
lay, - all commands) and by the use of irony
- "faultless worth," "glitter-gloom," "guile-less
mirth" "pluck cliches" "are married in the eyes
of heaven," all ironic in this context. Irony is a
method of control. The reclining image adds
the ingredient of impotence to the pain-fear
imagery. Note how this fear-pain-impotence
imagery is continued and made more explicit in
its association with such things as "tumbling
worlds," "trembling dawn," "choking," "clatter-
ing night." Also "dazzling" implies visual im-
potenceof a sort. The same goes for "sinking
down," choking."
"A psychiatric and psychological literary crit-
ic would point out the overplay of sexual imag-
ery which you have used to imagine your
emotions: phallic symbols, such as willow,
branch, blades of grass, reclining position of
speaker with a phallic symbol on each side,
"choking" and the sexual implications in "mar-
ried," also, of course "sinking down" etc. And
such a critic would probably ask: "Is your sex
life satisfactory?"
"The poem is imagistic in that there is no
dynamic movement through space and time.
Imagistic poems are generally unsatisfying,
unrewarding expressions of reality. They. are'
static, like still likes. The poem has form in'
the consistency of the imagery and conveys'
emotion with vividness."
Professor of English, authority on
modern drama, playwright
"THE FIRST two lines apparently are non-
sense. After line two the poem becomes
fairly clear - it is some kind of cynical celebra-
tion of sex and/or love.
"Worlds" involved- the "world" from which
"we" would like to be hidden; the "world" in
which the "we" are hiding. "Tumbling worlds,"
curiously enough, seems to belong to the world
of "we" but also - because of syntax, at least-
could refer to the world represented by the
"trembling dawn," a strange representation of
the larger world.
"Hide" and "Crush Cowslip" might, to some
readers, give this a certain charm of desperate
carpe diem spirit - a "clattering" night is
forceful but evocative of too many unpleasant
sounds for this otherwise romper-set idyll -
and if "clattering is supposed to suggest "time's
winged chariot," it doesn't work.
"Curious mixed effect - turgidity and inno-
cence.
"Willow" traditional symbol of sorrow-here,
apparently, not sorrow as much as camouflage,
but I admit defeat when it comes to discussing
the opening two lines."
* * *
Full professor in English, authority in
bibliography, specialist in 19th Century
"Well, to begin on a properly pedantic note,
the reading of this poem is made unneces-
sarily difficult by the erratic punctuation;
omitting periods after lines 2 and 10 (or, in the
latter case, a lighter pointing, such as a comma
or dash) may be a la mode, but it's still affecta-
tion and serves. no useful purpose. Further
pedantry: what does "them" in line 2 refer
to?
"The general meaning of the lines is conveyed,
not by a single well-sustained progression of
thought'from beginning to end, but by various
tag-ends of images. These don't always jibe;
the middle quatrain suggests astream ("shal-
lows," "sinking down") and drowning therein,
and the willow of line one is associated with
stream; but the last four lines abruptly shift
the metaphor.
"What is a "faultless worth?" And what has
it to do with "shallows?"
"There are obvious suggestions of older poets
who have influenced modern poetry: "Tell me
who . . " recalls Donne's "Go and catch a
falling star," and "glitter-gloom" is a trick of
Gerard Manley Hopkins.
"The use of adjectives is rather more auda-
cious than effective: why "guile-less" mirth,
and "clattering" night?
"This poem doesn't make complete sense-
lacks cohesiveness, form, continuity. I still
prefer "Dover Beach."
* * *
Source: Full Professor, authority on
economics and literature
"THIS IS a poem about love-making. The
experience as felt by this poet is pretty
commonplace, and the many half-intelligible
phrases serve to reveal rather than conceal the
second-handedness of the emotion communi-
cated."
* * *
Source: Young Assistant Professor
Specialist in 18th Century Literature
"THE FIRST thing I notice is the fusion of
basic theme and basic metaphor: the theme
is one of retreat, the metaphor a variation on
the Garden of Eden. But the retreat is very
likely from a contemporary situation, and so
the Adam-Eve Paradise is brought up to date.
The idea of contemporary is suggested by a
number of things: the surface chaos of the
metrical plan, the post G. M. Hopkins diction
of "glitter-gloom" the contemporary mood sug-
gested by such details as "tumbling worlds,"
"trembling dawn," "two blades of grass beside
a stone" (which perhaps involves analogy be-
tween the Adam-Eve and harsh world). The
Garden of Eden is brought up to date by
making it a place of retreat from this situation
of fear.
"In addition to the basic metaphor, there's a
tissue of other, equally traditional images at
work: the willow, for instance, is a conventional
symbol for grief, (which in this case is forseen
in the trembling dawn of a tumbling world) and
death and love-lorn. The poem is partly a per-
suasion to love in the Horation-17th century
vein, love as the antidote to present misery,
and the last line, the apology for the action,
'macks very much of that genry. Those last
two lines seem to be a very delicate statement,
subtle without being prudish.
"The description of the seduction, or prelude
to seduction as the retreat, is complex enough
to be convincing. That is, after the shock of
"trembling dawn" to have the two principals
sink down in real mirth, and then to follow this
up with the jolt of "clattering night" is a nice
juxtaposition of contraries."
Source: Assistant lofessor in creative writing
and modern American literature. A woman
"TWO LOVERS would have the protection of
nature (the willow branch - willow symbol
of sorrow?) to hide away from a world which
is crumpling around them, to keep from being
awakened to another day (which itself tumbles,
fears to face the world). Paradoxically, these
lovers are choked (destroyed) by an innocent if
somewhat incongruous, laughter) presumably '
at their own predicament, ie., dazzled (parti-
ally blinded) by the flase light (glitter) actually
compounded with darkness (gloom). Apparently
this light is reflected from the stream of
transcendent truth which is now faultless
rather than perfect and hallow, rather than
deep. Actually, the lovers themselves are but R
"two blades of grass" whose growth crushes.
the cowslip (symbol of simple natural beauty)
heid the stone (sumhn1rf fnP1il+* ,f of - mnr
N44
~ L~c~40
PRALIA REVIEW
LYDIA MENDELSSOHN
THE HAPPY TIME
A PLAY populated with trans-
planted Frenchmen, as this
one is, would perhaps tempt an
inexperienced company to gag it
up like a bunch of comic-opera
Frogs. Happily, the Speech De-
partment has had the confidence
and ability to play the piece as
much for the warmth and hu-
manity it offers as for its boffolas
about French national character-
istics.
The alarums and confusions in
the adolescence ofhahFrench-Ca-
nadian boy are "the happy time"
of the title; this is refreshing in it-
self, in an age when most good
writers find nothing but dark
despairs in puberty. The play cov-
ers something of the same ground
as "Tea and Sympathy," except
that, there's a good deal more sym-
pathy between the characters, and
a good deal less occasion for drink-
ing the bitter tea of frustration.
The cast is the most consistent-
.ly able one I've ever seen in
a Speech Department production.
Everyone seems to have been cast
in his role, not, as so frequently
and unfortunately happens, cast
at it. Michael Stabler, as Bibi, the
boy of the play, does very well
with a very important part. He's
appeared on local stages before,
and has many of the virtues which
only experience can produce. He
knows how to stand still, for one
thing, and the play would have
been ruined by a boy who had to
fidget or mug the audience. More
than that, though, he seems to
have an ability to play with other
actors, which is more than a mat-
ter of coming in on cue. Joseph
Ombry, as Bibi's father, is excel-
lent in a role which requires him
to be as madly antic as his wine-
swilling, girly-chasing brothers at
the same time that he's the fam-
ily's pillar of wisdom and gen-
tleness. His shining moment is the
man-to-man talk he has with Bi-
bi. This is the point at which he
states overtly all the play's values:
the sanity of sex, the sanctity of
the home, and the necessity of
love; and he brings it off as force-
fully and straightforwardly as one
could wish.
The three other male members
of the family are done elegantly:
Grandpere, an aging roue, played
by Russell Brown, is amusingly
brittle and cantankerous; Uncle
Desmonde, a young roue, is dash-
ingly played by Norman Hartweg;
and Louis, the drunken uncle, is
played with the proper amount of
bathos by Alan Lefkowitz.
The only scene which seemed
not quite to come off was the one
in which the three brothers brow-
beat a villainous schoolteacher.
The direction in this scene seem-
ed to follow well-worn precedents
- lecherous teacher is dragged
from behind his flimsy shell of
self-righteousness. It's all very
pat by this time.
I should mention in closing that
Jack E. Bender's solid-looking set
well betokened the solidity of the
Bonnard family. Altogether, there's
a great deal to be pleased with in
this production.
-Bob Holloway
TITO'S BREAK with Stalin and
the Cominform leaders in 1948
was essentially the culmination of
a struggle for physical power. Id-
eological questions were asked and
ideological retorts given in the
famous correspondence between
Moscow and Belgrade, but the
substantive issue was whether the
Yugoslav government and party
could act independently of'the So-
viet government and party.
-The Reporter
By DREW PEARSON
MURREN, Switzerland -An old
man who has seen two wars and
much happiness sat on a moun-
taintop as the Big Four scurried
about Geneva "at the summit."
And, while the Big Four were
being ogled by hundreds of tour-
ists and guarded by 284 secret
service men, 150 Russian security
men and two battalions of Swiss
guards, Konrad Adenauer Chan-
cellor of West Germany, sat on a
summit so aloof and alone that
only the tenuous strands of a ca-.
ble hauling a cable car straight up
Switzerland's highest mountain
linked him with the diplomatic
hustle and bustle down below.
One narrow street threaded the
mountain shoulder where Aden-
auer sat on his summit. No autos
disturbed him. No one could pos-
sibly reach Adenauer's summit un-
less hauled by cable car and, aft-
er they got here, they had no
place to go. Only two-wheeled
milk carts perambulated along
Murren's one and only street.
PRECARIOUS PEACE
IN SOLITUDE the old man of
Germany sat watching the gla-
ciers melt into cataracts and
come tumbling down the Jungfrau
like Hitler's empire tumbled after
1944. He sat admiring the patches
of potatoes which clung to the
side of the mountain as precari-
ously as the peace of Europe and
he gazed up at the clouds crown-
ing the peak of Jungfrau like his
own hopes for the future of the
German people.
The old man had a lot to think
about during the Big Four Con-
ference. Twice his German observ-
ers at Geneva sent him by tele-
type recommendations that Ger-
many accept Russian overtures to
do some dealing - on the side.
Twice the old man sent back a
brusque, blunt, almost brutal "no."
He had made his bed with the
west and there he was prepared
to sleep. He did not propose to
conduct any flirtations on the
side.
The newspapers that came to
his lonely mountainside also gave
him plenty to think about. France
was rapidly disintegrating, Mor-
occo was seething, a hotel in Sai-
gon was gutted and Indo-China
was going Communist as swiftly
as the Swiss skiers shoot down his
mountainside in the wintertime.
The nation which twice in 30
years had triumphed over Ger-
many was being forced to retreat
to its own narrow confines; its
far-flung French empire soon
would be no more.
Unlike some Germans, it did
not make the old man happy.
Once he had hoped fervently that
France and Germany could serve
under the same flag of the Euro-
pean Defense Community, with '
their troops wearing the same uni-
form. He was sorry France had
turned this down, sorry that
France had not seen the great op-
portunity of making these one-
time bitter enemies permanent
friends.
CHEERING ECONOMIC -
REPORTS
THE OLD MAN also received re-
ports which should have made
him glad and, on the whole, did.
His country was thriving, Ger-
man goods were flooding Western
Europe and cutting into British
markets in the Near East and even
into American markets in Latin
America. At Hamburg, German
shipbuilders are constructing 27,-
000-ton vessels in six months so
much cheaper than the British
that the British steamship lines
are deserting the Clyde for Ger-
many.
It was one of the penalties or
advantages - he didn't know
which - of losing a war. Your
shipyards and your factories were
so completely knocked out that
you installed the most modern
equipment in the world-so mod-
ern that you could outproduce the
older machinery of your competi-
tors.
Along with the favorable econo-
mic reports, the old man had two
disturbing reports. One from the
Health Ministry showed that Ger-
man health is suffering from over-
time work-German people were
working night and day in their ea-
gerness to stage a comeback to
their once great strength, but it
was hurting their health.
The other report came from
Dr. Grewe, chief of the Political
Bureau in the Foreign Office.
Writing from Geneva, Dr. Grewe
warned that the Big Four's prog-
ress toward peace meant less for-
eign aid, less foreign arms from
the> United States, and might lead
to an economic slump in Europe
if the United States curtailed its
steady flow of dollars to Europe.
It might do this the way the sud-
den stoppage ofAmerican loans to
Europe did it in 1929 when finan-
cial panic swept Europe-a panic
which eventually crossed the At-
lantic andr triaaererd the sarky
vor, offered tribute for her sup-
port. But the old man wasn't hap-
py. He wanted unification for his
country. Even more, he wanted to
insure peace for his country while
there is Yet time.
When you're 79 years old you
can't wait too long and the old
man kn wthere were forces back
home in Germany which he could
control now, but not after he de-
parted. Would the latent forces of
Nazism, after he departed, become
like the rivulets he watched cours-
ing down the breast of Jungfrau?
-rivuletsrwhich meant nothing at
their start but which, gathering
momentum, rushed into the migh-
ty cataract grinding, cutting and
carvin gan ugly scar in the side
of the mountain.
Would those latent political
forces in Germany once again
leap to the surface? No! Not as
long a sthe old man lived. But he
is 79 years old
PAN AM PROTEST
PAN AMERICAN World Airways
has raised some objections to
the column of Sunday, July 24,
by Jack Anderson. In fairness to
our editors, we are supplying
them with Pan Am's statement,
plus Jack Anderson's reply, for
such use as they may wish.
The following is the statement
released by Pan Am:
"Jack Anderson's July 24 col-
umn demonstrates that no effort
has been made to check or to ac-
curately report the record. His
statements attacking Pan Ameri-
can are utterly disproven by Civil
Aeronautics Board records, testi-
mony before the appropriations
committees and by the record of
the 'general accounting office.
"Typical misstatements:
"1. No giveaway to Pan Ameri-
can was before the joint confer-
ence. What air service gets how
much public support is determined
by a judicial proceeding laid down
by the Civil Aeronautics Act.
"2. No subsidy money goes to
Pan American's hotel subsidiary.
The hotel company currently
makes a profit which the CAB
claims' in full and applies to re-
duce public support for air serv-
ices.
"3. PAA receives no subsidy for
operations* comparable to any un-
subsidized U.S. competitor. Con-
gress and the CAB have author-
ized subsidy for certain routes of
PAA's thin traffic, national inter-
est routes, as well as for certain
routes of othe rairlines. Payment
is made for services performed
after full judicial-type investiga-
tions.
"4. PAA provided consistently
more airlift than any other con-
tractor in the Korean airlift and
was among the lowest in cost.
"The familiar tactic of person-
al attack may be considered as
evidence of Anderson's lack of ob-
jectivity."
HERE IS Anderson's reply to
Pan American:
The Pan American World Air-
ways statement is as off-beat as
the Russian version of who in-
vented the airplane. I am accused
of lacking objectivity. I have no
axe to grind for or against Pan
Am. I have only a reporter's in-
teresi min a new story and a tax-
payer's interest in preventing a
raid .on the public treasury. Pan
Am, on the other hand, has $ 17,-
769,000 at stake. I will leave it to
the reader to decide who is likely
to be more objective under the
circumstances.
Here is the answer to Pan Am's
statement, point for point:
1. Congress, not the Civil Aero-
nautics Board, determines how
much subsidy shall be granted. On
June 16, 1955, the Senate ap-
proved a proposal by Sen. Spes-
sard Holland (D., Fla.) to in-
crease the airlines subsidies ap-
propriation for next year from
$40,000,000 to $55,000,000, The
Senate-House conference finally
set the figure at $52,500,000.
The total subsidy claims of ev-
ery domestic airline in the coun-
try, including the local service
airlines and helicopter companies,
add up to only $32,000,000. Pan
Am's two big rivals in the inter-
national field, TWA and North-
west, didn't claim a penny's worth
of subsidy. In other words, the
House figure of $40,000,000 was
more than enough to take care of
all airlines except Pan American.
The $12,500,000 increase, there-
fore, is of benefit only to Pan
American World Airways.
2. On July 14, 1953, Pan Am
advanced in a single day to its
wholly owned subsidiary, Inter-
continental Hotels Corporation,
the vast sum of $2,000,000. Then,
as an added touch of generosity,
Pan Am stipulated this advance
should be interest-free.
Sen. Paul Douglas (D., I.)
stated on the Senate floor:
"The foregoing of interest on
this single advance of Pan Am to
its hotels amounts to $80,000 a
a
4
A.
V#
'a,.
DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN
The Daily Official Bulletin is an
official publication of the University
of Michigan for which the Michigan
Daily assumes no editorial responsi-
bility. Publication in it is construc-
tive notice to all members of the Uni-
versity. Notices should be sent in
TYPEWRITTEN form to Room 3553
Administration Building before 2 p.m.
the day preceding publication (be-
fore 10 a.m. on Saturday). Notice of
lectures, concerts and organization
meetings cannot be published oftener
than twice.
THURSDAY, JULY 28, 1955
VOL. LXVI, NO. 26
Notices
Regents' Meeting: Friday, Sept. 30.
Communications for consideration at
that meeting must be in the President's
hands by Thurs., Sept. 22.'
Applications for Engineering Research
Institute Fellowship to be awarded for
the fall semester 1955-56 are now
being accepted in the office of the
Graduate School. The stipend is $1,000
per semester. Application forms are
available from the Graduate School.
Only applicants who have been em-
ployed by the Institute for at least one
year on at least a half-time basis are
eligible.
Applications and supporting material
are due in the office of the Graduate
School not later than 4:00 p.m. Mon.,
Aug. 22, 1955.
All Veterans who expect education
and training allowances under Public
L~aw 550 (Korea G. I. Bill) must get
instructors' signatures for the period of
June-July by July 29, and turn Dean's
Monthly Certification into the Dean's
office before 5:00 p.m. Aug. 3.
Pfobate and Juvenile Judge, Marshall,
Mich., has an opening for a man to
work on the staff of the Juvenile
Division. Requires a BA with speciliza-
tion in Social Work or related Social
Sciences.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute,
Woods Hole, Mass., is looking for Re-
search Assistants to perform analyses
and computations of underwater sound
data. Would like women with BA in
Physics or in some other field of
science but with a minor in Physics.
For further information contact the
Bureau of Appointments, Ext. 371, 3528
Admin. Bldg.
Lectures
Linguistic Forum. Prof. Hans Galin-
sky of the University of Mainz will
speak on "An Outsider's view of
American English" Thurs., July 28, 7:30
p.m .in Rackham Ampitheater.
Department of Astronomy. Visitors'
Night, Fri., July 29, 8:30 p.m. Mr.
Robert C. Bless will speak on "Radio
Astronomy." Following the illustrated
lecture in 2003 Angell Hall, the Stu-
dent's Observatory on the fifth floor
will be open for telescopic observation
of Saturn and the Moon, if the sky
is clear, and for inspection. of the
telescopes, exhibits and planetarium, if
the sky is cloudy or clear. Children
are welcomed, butymust be accompanied
by adults.
Academic Notices
Seminar in Applied Mathematics will
meet Thurs., July 28, at 4:00 in Rm. 247
West Engineering. Mr. John Klein will
speak on Hankel tranforms (cont.).
Doctoral Examination for Thelma
Williams Batten, Sociology; thesis:
"Functinal ffln nimti nni 4 .' n'
announced for Thurs. evening, July 28,
in Rackham Assembly Tal, has been
postponed until Fri. evening, Aug. 5,
in Aud. A, Angell Hall.
Events Today
The Happy Time, Samuel Taylor's
Comedy, will be presented by the De-
partment of Speech tonight at 8:00
p.m. in Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre.
Tickets are available at the theatre
box office from 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
$1.50-$1.10-75c.-
The International Center Teas will be
held at Madelon Pound Home at 1024
Hill Street on Thursday from 4:30-5:30
p.m.
Musicale at the Hillel Foundation,j
14029 Hill St., Thurs., July 28 at 8 p.m.
Vivaldi's "The Seasons" and the Franck
D Minor Symphony, recorded. Public
invited.
Friday Evening Services at the Hillel
Foundation, 1429 Hill St., July 29 at
7:45 p.m.
Sailing Club Meting at Base Line
Lake. Cars will leave the north end
of the Women's League at 5:00, 5:30
and 6:00 p.m. Bring your own picnic
dinner.
Coming Events
Lutheran Student Association Steak
Fry Fri., July 29 at Silver Lake. Meet
at the Student Center corner of Hill
St. and S. Forest Ave: at 5:00 p.m.
Call NO 20401 for reservations.
The Department of Journalism and
the Graduate School will show the
Edward R. Murrow film, A Conversation
with Oppenheimer, Fri., July 29, at 7:30
p.m. and 9:00 p.m. in Rackham Amphi-
,I
The Daily Staff
Managing Editors ....... ........... .Cal Samra
Jim Dygert