Primal fires burn

[Silver WInd]

Primal fires burn

 

And I saw for a

moment the eyes of

Prometheus,

 

they watched me

in a haze of smoke

and then my heart broke.

 

They would chain

you for your mortal

passion we all must

give in to.

[Quincunx]

My brain isn't operating at full capacity, so I am reading the last stanza as a new poem in its own right, since I cannot for the addled life of me connect it to the previous parts of the poem. I like all of it, pared down to the essentials as it is, but would someone please confirm or deny that gap?

[Silver WInd]

I can see where it might be read as a poem on its own, but it is intended to be a part of the rest of the poem.

[Da_Yog]

My brain isn't operating at full capacity, so I am reading the last stanza as a new poem in its own right, since I cannot for the addled life of me connect it to the previous parts of the poem. I like all of it, pared down to the essentials as it is, but would someone please confirm or deny that gap?

In the Prometheus myth, Prometheus gives fire to man and is afterwards punished by the gods. His punishment is comprised of him being chained to a mountain where everyday three harpies come, tear out his liver, and devour it. Most interpretations of the Prometheus myth have him giving man the gift of fire out of compassion for man's plight. Various interpretations also see the gift of fire as being symbolic of a gift of knowledge in general. The gods fear man posessing knowledge as one day the knowledge may lead man to surpassing the gods.

 

Perhaps this somewhat hasty and vague summation helps connect the gaps?

 

One of the things that draws me to this poem is the many and varied interpretations that are allowed of it. Each subtle reinterpretation of the Prometheus myth allows a reinterpretation of the poem. I find these kinds of intellectual poems fascinating and fun.

Edited January 15, 2008 by Da_Yog

[Quincunx]

I remember Prometheus deciding to give the gift out of pity, and add in Epimetheus shrugging his shoulders and grunting sure, whatever you want dude. Maybe once his brother had gone down the mountain, reed in hand, and the scent of charred wood curled back up to the brothers' home--maybe then, Epimetheus removed his feet from the wall, and the couch went crashing back down onto all four legs, and he realized his brother was going to be in some deep doo-doo with The Man. Epimetheus might have spoken up about it, but then he caught a whiff of fat and bone sizzling on the coals, and tipped his chair back onto two legs, dreaming of barbecue and a woman around the house to cook it for him.

 

Aha! It's the 'we' which bugs me! Why is the 'we' coming in at the last stanza? What'd the poet do on the level of Prometheus to sympathize?

[Peredhil]

I can see the interconnections (I like this Silver Wind ), yet I also see the gap. The switch from first person "I" point of view to the introduction of "they", "we", and the singular/pural ambiguity of "you" is what engenders confusion to me, but then I often find problems resolving pronouns' subjects parsings.

The transition from personal to the lesson for all is implicit, but there.

 

Well done.

[Quincunx]

Hestia is the only goddess of the Greek pantheon where I wonder if the normal cultural flow reversed. She was once there, but displaced for Dionysus--but what if the faint flicker of religious feeling that was once Hestia was completely extinguished in mainland Greece, and only survived in the westward colonies touching Italy? Vesta was a strong force in Rome, at least in imperial Rome, which needed to flaunt family as family's worth waned. Did the Romans retroactively restore Hestia to a place of honor?

 

Nonetheless, let's assume for a moment that, this being pre-history, the force of the Hearth was present, starting at the clay toes of Pandora, a warmth migrating upwards until it settled on the fine features. Nobody looks at their finest when the firelight flickers upwards so, but appearance was never Hestia's function. Besides, her worth had magnified a thousandfold when the idea of a hearth became lit, a place of warmth and light. . .and food. Why punish Prometheus? Why man? Why, especially, Epimetheus?

 

So she whispered, in Pandora's ear, the secrets of barbecue.

[Silver WInd]

I can see where there might be some confussion with the introduction of the we, so I will try to explain the reasononing behind it.

 

Basicaly it is saying that everyone is susptiable to feeling a desire or a passion, a yearning, just as Prometheus felt the desire to give the gift of fire to man out of his pity for them, and in doing so he had to make a sacrifice, becasue he was ultimately punished for it.

 

So the speaker within the poem, is simply saying that on some level or another, everyone, makes some sacrifice for something which they love, for thier own desire that burns within them.

 

That is what is ment by the lines

 

for your mortal

passion we all must

give in to.

[Peredhil]

*nods thoughtfully at the explanation*

 

I love discussions like this. One mark of success as a poet is the ability to engage minds and hearts.

 

As a sacrifice, it is valid indeed - Prometheus was "foresight" - he knew the price he'd pay and did it anyway. Epimetheus was hindsight - which isn't always 20/20...