Skip to main content

FAREWELL - Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936)


Farewell by Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936), is a romantic lyric expressing a longing for the scenes to feast on even after death. The poem in a way expresses the individual's interest to continue living in the physical world: earth. The speaker of the poem is asking someone, perhaps one of his family members, to leave the balcony open if he dies, because from his balcony he wants to see the little boy eating oranges and hear the reaper (a person or machine that harvests a crop) harvesting the wheat and singing. The speaker's wish shows that this world is a very enjoyable place. Life here is real and we must enjoy it. 

The boy eating oranges in the garden and the reaper harvesting wheat refers to common human psychology. A boy is more focused on today. His eating oranges might refer to his adolescence and his interest to fulfil his hunger only.  In the same way, the reaper harvesting wheat signifies the money-minded nature of grown-ups. Both of them do not seem to be conscious and concerned about approaching death as the speaker (old man) is feeling now in a death bed waiting to be dead. To sum up, the farewell here in the poem signifies the ultimate leave from this world, and Death is regarded to be the final and the most unpleasant of farewells.

In this poem, the word balcony is repeated four times from where the speaker can have a clear view of the world. The repetition shows that the speaker is interested more in celebrating the pleasures of life rather than death.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BBS First Year English Question Paper with Possible Answers (TU 2021)

Post a Comment
Read more

PROFESSIONS FOR WOMEN - Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)

Summary : Virginia Adeline Woolf (1882-1941) was an English novelist and essayist, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century. She was one of the leaders in the literary movement of modernism.  The speech of  Professions for Women  was given in 1931 to the Women’s Service League by Virginia Woolf. It was also included in  Death of a Moth  and  Other Essays  in 1942. Throughout the speech, Virginia Woolf brings forward a problem that is still relevant today:  gender inequality .   Woolf’s main point in this essay was to bring awareness to the phantoms (illusions) and obstacles women face in their jobs. Woolf argues that women must overcome special obstacles to become successful in their careers. She describes two hazards she thinks all women who aspire to professional life must overcome: their tendency to sacrifice their own interests to those of others and their reluctance (hesitancy) to challenge conservative male attitudes .  She starts her
Post a Comment
Read more

The Etiquette of Freedom - Gary Snyder

  In his essay " The Etiquette of Freedom ," Gary Snyder explores the concept of freedom in relation to nature and culture. He argues that freedom is not simply the absence of constraints (restrictions), but rather the ability to live in harmony with the natural world. This requires a deep understanding of the environment and a willingness to respect its limits. Snyder begins by defining the terms " wild " and " culture ." He argues that " wild " does not mean " untamed " or " uncivilised ," but rather " self-organizing ." A wild system is one that is able to maintain its own equilibrium (balance) without the intervention of humans. Culture, on the other hand, is a human-made system that is designed to meet our needs. Snyder then goes on to discuss the relationship between freedom and culture. He argues that our culture has become increasingly alienated from nature and that this has led to a loss of freedom. We have
Post a Comment
Read more