Other+Allusions

Page 15: In Wislawa Symborska's //Poems New and Collected//, one poem, known as "Brueghel's Two Monkeys" produces an allusion of the painting, //Two Small Monkeys//, by Breughel, created in the year 1562. Symborska, through the image of the painting of the monkeys produces a metaphor for the boys taking a history test. The boys describe themselves as being bound to one another by chains, or the oppressive nature of any test on students. Also, Symborska instills irony through her usage of the name of the history test: "History of Mankind" as she uses the fact that the boys are metaphorically the monkeys, the original form of mankind and human beings. In this sense, Wislawa is able to use a metaphorical image of the painting to produce a description of an incident that would occur to anyone, especially for current students.

http://matthewsalomon.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/two-monkeys-brueghel.png

Page 81: In Wislawa Symborska's //Poems New and Collected//, the poem "Census" is used to create an allusion to the Trojan War and the fall of Troy through her word choice. The fact that she starts off saying "On the hill where Troy once stood" brings forth some emphasis on foreshadowing, thereby giving the reader the notion that the fall of Troy may be metaphorically discussed or alluded to. Later when she says, "Hexameters burst", one can understand that the author means that the Greek way of life, which gave birth to dactylic hexameter, a poetry writing style, burst through the gates of Troy, later resulting in the "ruined walls rise mutely as in films, charred beams, broken chains, bottomless pitchers drained dry, fertility charms, olive pits and skulls". Through this horrid description, we thoroughly understand that she is now explaining the aftermath and scene of the charred remains of the fallen city of Troy. She also alludes to Hector, the greek hero in the war through the poem as well: "Hector's nameless extras, no less brave than he, thousands upon thousands of singular faces, each the first and last for all time". In this manner, she thoroughly ingrains the horrid remains of humans strewn on the battlefield that Hector counts after the fall of the ancient city. In this way, she makes concrete the idea that she is describing the ending scene of Troy's "life" (as well as the body count, therefore going with its name of Census).

http://www.utexas.edu/courses/ancientfilmCC304/lecture2/images/m_TroyII.jpg

Page 57: In Wislawa Symborska's //Poems New and Collected//, the poem called "The Tower of Babel", uses the last standing moments of the Tower of Babel to explain the relationship between two lovers. She reveals to the readers, through the usage of dialogue, that the people here must be lovers through specific word choice: "I want you to stay with me", "Do you still think about him", "You have such beautiful hands", "Why all these lies; why do you call me by her name; do you still love her?". Through such pieces of the dialogue, the reader understands that they must definetely be lovers; however, the author uses other pieces of the dialogue as well to describe other aspects thereby relating them to the Tower of Babel and its last few moments standing: "At that moment, myriad explosions shook the sky". The author also uses such word choice as "That's ancient history", through the characters in terms of one of the characters' previous relationships, but also incorporates irony as the Tower of Babel is truly "ancient history".

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_laM6CKNFxyw/TOkKLO9CPjI/AAAAAAAAA0w/ezGBX82oquI/s1600/tower-of-babel-19-jun-091.jpg