LIFE, DEATH & timeless ponder
An engaging feature article demonstrating the relevance of historical poetry in modern concepts
You go to school, grow up, get a job and then you die like everybody else. A simple routine that everybody seems to blindly accept. What is our purpose? Why are we here? What is the point in doing all of this for no good reason? Nobody knows and nobody ever will. This is why the concept of ‘Life and death’ will never stop being questioned by those who dare seek an answer.
Through the use of juxtaposition and symbolism, Percy Shelley’s poem The flower that smiles today and Eddie Murphy’s song Temporary venture into the mysteries of mortality, inviting readers/listeners to contemplate life as they know it in all its brevity. Shelley’s poetry remains relevant in today’s society because his message that life is fleeting, continues to be explored in song form, a modern and equally powerful means of expression.
The compelling poetic technique of juxtaposition can be found in both The Flower that smiles today and Temporary and is effective in emphasizing the reality of our short-lived existence.
Shelley expresses his ideology situated around mortality and temporary beauty when he states ‘’The flower that smiles to-day To-morrow dies;’’ contrasting an alive plant to it dying. This encourages readers to imagine a literal flower being alive and well one minute, decaying the next, infusing the concept of temporality in readers. This forces the audience to come to terms with the reality of death.
The quote above demonstrates how Shelley contrasts staying and leaving, to remind his audience that the good things are very much temporary. The use of the words ‘’wish to stay’’, outlines the common desire for everlasting goodness instead of accepting the inevitable, that everything is temporary. The contrasting words ‘stay’ and ‘Flies’, refer to the unwanted departure of the good in one’s life. Murphy, on the other hand doesn’t necessarily discuss the momentary existence of goodness, but instead juxtaposes heaven and hell, inviting listeners to question potential myths people have fabricated to deal with death. This is clearly outlined when Murphy sings;
By presenting the audience with ideas that challenge pre-conceived concepts of life, Murphy influences the audience to think outside the box, reinforcing his message about how life is pointless. Murphy is quite clearly the ‘see it to believe it’ kinda guy, as illustrated when stating ‘’the devil’s just a lie’’. Similarly, Shelley was an atheist himself, not following any religion either. This point outlines yet another similarity between Shelley and Murphy’s work, demonstrating a link between their fundamental ideologies. By contrasting stereo-typical beliefs about ‘the pope’ and ‘the devil’, two polar opposites, he contrasts the theory of religion itself, inducing fear amongst those who follow a religion. By forcing listeners to reconsider their religious values and beliefs, Murphy proves his point that life and death are indeed a mystery, disguised by fictional characters i.e. the pope and devil, fabricated to abolish the scare of everlasting darkness when we die.
Wanting their audience to question death, without the assumption of a religious based afterlife is illustrated in both texts, both discussing the unknown mystery of life and death. After being stripped of their values, people are vulnerable and are therefore more inclined to tune in more than they usually would, forcing readers to take on another perspective. Juxtaposition of life and death, found in both pieces of literature thoroughly engages the audience, again indicating another similarity between an old poem and a contemporary song.
The poetic technique of symbolism can be very powerful, yet deceiving in particular circumstances. The use of symbolism can be found in both ‘The flower that smiles today’ and ‘Temporary’. The symbolism of our fleeting lives is used to discuss mortality in a more intriguing manner, preventing boredom.
found in the first stanza of The flower that smiles today demonstrates a symbolic representation of ‘the fleeting moment’ that is our existence i.e. ‘the lightning’. ‘Lightning’ is well known for being an illuminative, momentary strike in the darkness of the night, proving lightning to be the best symbol to represent our brief presence. He also describes the lightning as ‘Brief even as bright’ which represents that life, though short, cannot go unnoticed. Through the symbol of lightning, Murphy is emphasising the utter insignificance of our lives, forcing listeners to question the theory of mortality.
Murphy also uses symbolism to express his beliefs on life and death, just like Shelley did.
Murphy’s quote below may be further literal than Shelley’s quote, but fear not, symbolism has not yet left the building.
Rather than using ‘lightning’ as a symbol for expressing mortality, Murphy takes a different angle and expresses mortality using a ‘’Tiny tick’ as a symbol. Murphy is emphasizing to his audience that time itself is so much larger than all of us who are only but a ‘’tiny tick’’ in the clock of life. By emphasizing this point, Murphy further elaborates on the theory that our lives are in-fact purposeless. This idea of our unknown purpose draws in listeners who crave mystery, outlining that Murphy’s use of this device is very effective. Both Shelley and Murphy use their own symbolism to highlight the temporality of our lives in order to give the audience something more literal that they can compare to when contemplating their momentary existence. The fundamental message about mortality, conveyed through symbolism is addressed by both artists who highlight that our purpose on this earth remains a mystery to us all.
Eddie Murphy and Percy Shelly both use skilful poetic devices to discuss the theme of life and death, demonstrating to the audience that the world we live in may appear everlasting on the surface but is indeed a temporary short-lived moment. The commonality in theme and invited reading just proves that despite the great difference in language between The flower that smiles today and Temporary both Percy and Murphy managed to touch on a concept that remains relevant to the modern day listener/reader. People will never stop questioning mortality, it will forever remain an unsolved mystery. Because of this the theme of death will never leave the spotlight of artists who seek universal answers, whether it be through the form of Poetry like Shelley’s or parallel songs like Murphy’s.
