Light As A Breeze Analyzed English Literature Essay
An analysis of Leonard Cohen ‘s lyrical verse form “ Light as the Breeze ” leads the reader towards the thought of many spiritual and literary traditions. In peculiar, the verse form combines images of religious devotedness and sexual passion, taking to the portraiture of the feminine as Godhead. The topic may or may non believe that the beloved is a goddess, but his devotedness to her is comparable to the experience of a truster idolizing his divinity. Cohen uses many spiritual images from Jewish, Christian, and Pagan traditions and incorporates them into a poem reminiscent of a twelfth-century folk singer canzone-a lyric verse form set to music and written in Provencal or early Italian.
The first stanza can be read metaphorically or literally ; the adult female can be a symbol of an image or literally be in forepart of the topic, as in the line “ She stands before you bare ” . Either manner the vision is intense because the writer goes on stating “ you can see it, you can savor it ” . The reader is given a pick of how to absorb the vision-slowly or plunging oneself in it. “ You can imbibe it or you can nurse it / it do n’t count how you worship / every bit long as you ‘re / down on your articulatio genuss ” . The adult female can be represented as either spiritual or titillating ; she can be worshiped or gazed upon.
In the 2nd stanza the talker insists on the adult female being seen as a religious presence: “ like a blessing semen from Eden ” , heavenly approvals can merely be religious, non human or refering to human features. The topic “ knelt there at the delta ” because the delta is the temple of the divinity, the Alpha and the Omega. The delta is the Grecian symbol of a trigon which can besides be symbolic of the female genital organ. In medical nomenclature, deltoid refers to a big triangular musculus and vulva means external female genital organ, the oral cavity of the uterus and the beginning of human life. The uterus is considered to be sacred both to heathens and Judeo-Christians. Alpha and Omega represents God, both the beginning and the terminal, holding analogues with the delta, or female genital organ ; it creates life, which one twenty-four hours will come to an terminal.
In the line “ I waited so long for your buss ” , the buss is seen as a “ remedy ” from the goddess/woman. A buss is what is needed to alleviate the talker ‘s agony. Unfortunately the remedy would merely last a 2nd, and after it has been given it would be assumed that he would desire more. The image of “ the air current traveling wild ” , represents the goddess-woman as “ light as a zephyr ” . This image separates her from the worshipper, demoing independency. The keys represent freedom from imprisonment for the worshipper. With the key he could be released from the harness ( or obstruction ) that the goddess-woman has him bound with. In the line “ And it ‘s non precisely prison, but you ‘ll ne’er be forgiven ” , the worshipper does non mind the imprisonment but he is disquieted that the key is gone because he does non desire to be imprisoned for life. In any instance, it is clear that because of an obstruction he has chosen non to take, he can non travel to her.
Again returning to first individual, the talker says, “ it ‘s dark now and it ‘s snowing ” , therefore depicting the conditions and landscape of a cold winter ‘s dark. This stanza show ‘s images of winter, dark and the freeze river, which evokes the thought of decease. The worshipper is evidently broken and realises he has wasted his clip on his articulatio genuss idolizing the goddess. For all his attempts, the goddess rewards him with coldness and distance. When the worshipper says, “ I ‘m ill of feigning ” , he insinuates that he is tired of feigning non to resent the goddess. At this point he seems ready to abandon his love.
The worshipper ‘s emotions are described: “ you turn in disgust from your hatred and your love ” . His dear is unaccessible, but she is beautiful ; both of these features influence the talker ‘s hatred and love for her ; it ‘s a love-hate relationship. Not merely is he acrimonious, but he is get downing to recognize the truth- ” and she ‘s bare but that ‘s merely a annoyer ” . She is bare but it ‘s merely to score him visually and non make anything physically
“ There ‘s blood on every watchband ” , refers to an ancient goddess. Goddess wore watchbands. Furthermore, the blood on the watchband could be seen in a metaphorical sense as the sacrificial blood of Christ, who died for humanity. Christ died for humanity ‘s wickednesss, so his blood represents a forfeit to salvage humanity from the errors that they have chosen to do. The line “ imbibe deeply ” refers to the Christian Communion, in which Christians take portion in interrupting the organic structure and imbibing the blood of Christ ( bread and non-alcoholic vino ) therefore inquiring for forgiveness for their wickednesss to this twenty-four hours. Like Christ, the goddess is seen as both human and Godhead. Possibly she is merely Godhead in the eyes of the worshipper.
The line “ Please babe, delight babe, please ” shows the topic imploring for the goddess ; the last resort is to implore. It is non plenty that she shower him with approvals ; she must give herself because anything less would non show a great adequate love. Much like Christ ; if the goddess does non endure, the worshipper can non be saved. This thought is parallel with that of Christianity.
The last stanza is much like the 2nd stanza ; the lone difference is that in the last 1 he professes his religion. The talker suggests his false religion by stating, “ I knelt there like one who believes ” ; he does non idolize because he believes, he worships like one who does believe. The perennial line from the 2nd stanza represents the worshipper ‘s experience coming to a full circle. He once more “ knelt there at the delta / at the alpha and Z ” , one time once more waiting for that “ remedy ” , the individual buss. This is a mark of entrapment ; he is consumed by a barbarous rhythm and can non get away. As in the Christian religion, wickedness is an entrapment that will take to the ultimate decease of spiritualty. This is represented by the air current, spiritually destructing the worshipper by a cyclical tease-an entrapment.
Work Cited
Dorman, Lorrane and Clive Rawlins.A Leonard Cohen: Prophet of the Heart.
A A A A London: Omnibus, 1991.
leonardcohenfiles.com. Leonard Cohen. 1997. Web. 23 Jan. 2010.
Ruhlmann, William.A “ The Stranger Music of Leonard Cohen. ” Goldmine: The
A A A A Collector ‘s Record & A ; Compact Disc Marketplace 19.4 ( February 19, 1993 ) :
A A A A 10-20, 56.
