Analysis of The Cool Web by Robert Graves Essay

Why is the title of the poem The imperturbable web? Give a reason for your answer.The poem discusses an adults predisposition to map lingual dexterity to avoid the consequences of peak emotion.The title combines two row, undisturbed and web, apiece of which evokes a reinforced impression, to create a third even more(prenominal) evocative image.There be many incline expressions which use the word poise to convey repressing emotion. This usage is similar to using calm cool it down, dont lose your cool, go and cool off, cool it and so on. Even the slang interpretation of cool in the sense of fashionable or sophisticated conjures up the idea of a relaxed and casual attitude. In the context of the poem, cool can be seen as alike with a lack of passion and an increase of self-control.Web is apply to convey the sense of being enveloped by a layer which inhibits freedom. Graves could have utilise net or mesh, however those lyric lack the sinister con nonation of the most co mmon use of web that of a spiders web. In this sense, there is an air of vulnerability and menace the spiders prey has non chosen to be caught in the web, but is ensn ared nevertheless.The combination of cool and web creates an image of forced composure. The cool web is a linguistic lobotomy which life imposes on humankind.What is the effect of the repeating of hot and horrifying in the first stanza?The first stanza creates a threatening atmosphere. The adjectives used areintense the day is not warm, it is hot the evening is not dark, but black the soldiers are full of dread, not just alarming. (Although like a shot used in the uni get way as frightening, dreadful really describes a greater aim of terror.) This development of menace is further emphasised by the repetition of the hot and dreadful. The point is impelled home to the reader.If Graves had used synonyms blistering for hot and frightening for dreadful in the due south instances of each, the inwardness would be e ssentially unchanged. However, the sound and rhythm of the stanza would be significantly affected. The effect is in like manner assisted by repeating not only hot, but the assonance and alliteration of the phrase how hot.The repetition and emphasis of hot in lines 1 and 2 also provides contrast between the word cool in the title and chill in line 5. Cool and coldly are also used in the body of the poem in contrast to hot.(This emphasis through repetition is used a material body of times in the help stanza with spell in line 10 with as well much and in the withstand stanza with facing.)Who are we in the second stanza (line 5)?The use of but at the beginning of line 5 contrasts we from the children of the first stanza and presumably Graves therefore hatefuls adults. Adults have a more sophisticated command of dustup with which to interpret events. Children are direct in their approach to the ground and do not attempt to obscure reality for any reason. On meeting an overweight p erson, a young child will cheerfully ask them why they are so fat. An adult would be unlikely to broach the subject at all. Children simply state what they think adults use euphemisms and oblique diction to ward off unwelcome emotions.Comment on the use ofThe adjectives cruel to describe the roses scent and overhanging todescribe the night (lines 6 and 7).The reader is jolted as these adjectives are associated with unfamiliar subjects. This is a cook of foregrounding to draw attention to the language of the poem. The use of cruel to describe the scent of a rose is especially jarring. Almost without exception the rose is a symbol of romance and love, not 1 of cruelty. Graves seems to be implying that anything that intrudes even something pleasant is objectionable and to be dulled. By describing the night as overhanging Graves refers to the sense of intimidation, of something unexpected looming over us. The poet then tells us that this should and can be be spelled away(p) as u ndesirable.The verb spell in the phrase we spell away (lines 7 and 8)Graves exploits a range meaning of spell to intertwine the ideas of language and trickery. In the linguistic context spell means to form a word by arranging its constituent letters in the correct order. Spell also means to influence someone or something by means of supernatural powers. In this way, the poet concentrates a number of images into a single word. An adults desire to misrepresent reality is a form of magical spell, but it requires the ability to spell words.(Graves also uses this technique in line 1 by describing children as dumb. This could mean that they are stupid and therefore unable to manipulate and distort the world. It could also mean that children have no linguistic faculty as in deaf and dumb. Of course, he means both.) beg off how, in your opinion, the cool web may protect one against too much joyousness or too much fear (lines 5 to 11).The cool web of language is used to rationalise extreme emotions. Instead of reacting instinctively to a situation, we can drown it in verbose explanations. From pulpit to parliament, and from lawyer to liar, we use language to distort reality to suit ourselves. It is through language that we can persuade ourselves that the noise we con in the night is just thecat and not a violent burglar. This is the basis for Gravess reference to retreating from too much fear.Less obvious is the desire to protect ourselves from too much joy, a condition that would appear to be desirable. Perhaps the poet believes that we are unable to cope adequately with any extreme of fortune. There are a number of superstitions in this regard such as labelling something as being too good to be true. It may be that Graves is suggesting that we subconsciously shaft that we cant sustain a state of delight for long and that the pain of the ensuing dismay is not worth the moment of joy. It reflects a low-risk paradigm where we would forego the highs to avoid the su bsequent inevitable lows.What indications are there in stanza 4 to show us what the speakers attitude is towards such breastplate?The phrases self-possession and throwing off show us that the speaker believes that the certificate which language offers is an imposition and not a natural state of affairs. He notes that this enforced situation controls us for our whole life until we die. While implying that this protection is a burden, Graves also tells us that without it we would go mad. In other words, this protection is a requisite evil.Why do references to the day, the rose, the night and the soldiers recur throughout the poem?These words occur in the first, second and fourth (last) stanzas. The repetition in the second stanza and the fourth stanza fulfil different purposes. The reference in the second stanza forms the basis for a contrast with the initial reference in the first stanza. In the first stanza these objects are described via a childs simple outlook hot and dreadful. In the second stanza the same words are described via an adults more complex, language-distorted view.The last stanza has a different form than the first three it breaks apattern of 4-line stanzas and, by doing so, demands extra attention from the reader. In this last stanza the words day, rose, night and drums are listed simply without adjectives. This neatly reminds the reader of the beginning of the poem and completes the compare between children and adults, and their differing use of language.Briefly state the speakers conclusion about the role of language in our lives (lines 13 to 18).The speaker concludes that we need language to protect ourselves from the reality of life. Graves states that without the capacity for persuading ourselves that situations are not what they appear, we would find it impossible to cope and would go mad.The diction (choice of words), construction, rhythm and tone of the first and last stanzas are markedly different. What do you think the purpose o f these differences is?The first three stanzas have a relatively simple rhyme scheme of A B C C. The effect of lines 3 and 4 of each of these stanzas rhyming is that each stanza is concluded firmly. Three stanzas with the same structure creates a pattern and an expectation that the neighboring stanza will be the same. The fact that it is not is a surprise and a type of foregrounding. The last stanza has a rhyme of A B C D C D and this difference in structure alerts the reader and demands additional attention.This warning is welcome as the message in the last stanza is far more direct than previously where metaphor and allusion are used. The last line states unequivocally we shall go mad no doubt. It is in this last stanza that Graves delivers his judgement on our use of language.