Untitled Haiku by Basho
Basho, Matsuo. "Now in sad autumn." Japanese Haiku. Ed. PeterBeilenson. New York: Peter Pauper Press, 1955. 45. Print.
Now in sad autumn
as I take my
darkening path...
A solitary bird
Matsuo Basho was a Japanese poet who lived from 1644 until 1694 (Beilenson 3). He is popularly regarded as the greatest master of haiku poetry. Basho wrote a vast number of haiku, most of which do not have titles. His ability to create immersive atmospheres out of few words has given his work international renown and his writings remain popular today, centuries after his death. This poem is a reflection on loneliness and solitude.
This poem describes how Gregor has entered a season of sadness and is alone in his altered state. His transformation into a strange insect-like creature is unexpected and unprecedented and he has no one to relate to. The phrase "darkening path" describes Gregor's worsening condition. His health is failing, his relationships are dissolving, and his connection with the world is slipping away. The phrase "solitary bird" describes Gregor well. He is no longer a human but an animal, the only one of his kind.
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The Metamorphosis
Kafka, Franz. "The Metamorphosis." The Norton Anthology ofWorld Literature: Second Edition. Ed. Sarah Lawall. New
York: Norton & Company Inc., 2002. 1999-2030.
Gregor Samsa is a young traveling salesman who awakens one day to find that he has transformed into a monstrous vermin. He does not seem to be surprised by this metamorphosis, though is shocks his family. He is unable to perform his job, which seems to have suppressed his personality and dulled his life. He can no longer stomach the foods he used to enjoy most. Gregor's mother is terribly saddened by the "loss" of her son and his father fears him and fights him. Grete, his younger sister, cares for Gregor and tries to keep him company, but after some time has passed he loses the ability to communicate intelligently and his sister stops visiting with him. His family takes in three boarders to help replace the income which Gregor can no longer provide. He reflects on the passions that he was unable to pursue because of his familial responsibilities and his own lack of initiative. Gregor grows progressively more disconnected from his family and becomes terribly lonely and sad. After suffering a wound in a fight with his father, Gregor stops eating. He dies, alone, forgotten, miserable, having lost his indentity and his place within his family. After Gregor's passing, his family shows signs of relief and move on towards their new life.A prominent theme in The Metamorphosis is Gregor's detachment from his passions, which progressively worsens into a profound loneliness. Gregor has unwittingly become disconnected from his own personality and from the world around him. He seems to have been unaware of his own sadness until his metamorphosis disrupts his routine. Without the distraction and order of his professional life and the ability to interact normally with his family, he is left to discover and face his deep depression. This depression leads to him to become even more distanced from his true personality and from hope itself. He never recovers and eventually dies in a state of misery and hopelessness. He dies alone, even living at home with his family.
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Blue Nude
Picasso, Pablo. Blue Nude. 1902. Private collection,
Paris. www.pablopicasso.org. 1 Nov. 2012.
This painting from Picasso's Blue Period depicts a solitary woman alone on the floor clutching her knees. It is possible that she is weeping or trying to comfort herself. The dominance of the color blue conveys a somber feeling of sadness that consumes the woman and the lack of any other people, objects or structures communicates the emptiness that the woman feels.
This painting displays the kind of sadness and isolation that Gregor felt towards the end of his life. His transformation disrupted him from his normal routine and he realized how empty his life was without the occupation of his work. His altered state left him unable to interact normally with his family, pushing him deeper into a depression that he was forced to face all alone.
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This song expresses Gregor's loneliness, isolation and sorrow. The opening cello chords give the listener a sense of solitude and sadness. The repetition of both the chords and the melody along with the slow build of the song express Gregor's enduring and worsening condition. The violin error only further depicts Gregor's frailty. Finally the song ends softly and sadly, like Gregor's life.
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Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams. Sony Pictures Classics, 2008. Film.
Synecdoche, New York is a film focusing on the fictional character Caden Cotard, a theater directer whose life is falling apart. The film makes abundant use of surrealism but also explores candid human thoughts and feelings and expression. The characters often use dialog that is without pretense and without regard for etiquette, expressing their inner thoughts with abrupt honesty. Caden suffers numerous physical ailments as his relationship with his wife deteriorates. His wife leaves him, taking their daughter with him. He receives an unexpected grant, which allows him to pursue artistic vision without limits. He employs a large cast to inhabit an enormous warehouse and perform an endless play loosely mimicking his own life, but without a strong vision for the future. The play is beyond Caden's control. Caden's health continues to worsen due to a mysterious illness that is shutting down his body's autonomic functions. Characters change roles, strange and unexpected events occur and Caden relinquishes his directorial power, taking place in this play which has become his life. A mysterious catastrophe occurs killing nearly all of the cast, and Caden is left alone, old and near death. He finally devises a vision for the future of the play, but before he can verbalize it, the replacement director cues him with the movies final line, "die".
This film has startling similarities to The Metamorphosis. The main character also suffers mysterious physical ailments that progressively worsen and loses his family. Like Gregor, Caden realizes the way he truly wishes to live his life just as it is too late. The film uses many surreal images and happenings that contrast with its realistic backdrop, just as The Metamorphosis uses Gregor transformation in an otherwise realistic setting. Most specifically, a monologue by Caden's replacement director near the end of the film expresses Gregor's circumstance accurately:
The second part of this monologue utterly epitomizes Gregor's woeful condition.
Paris. www.pablopicasso.org. 1 Nov. 2012.
This painting from Picasso's Blue Period depicts a solitary woman alone on the floor clutching her knees. It is possible that she is weeping or trying to comfort herself. The dominance of the color blue conveys a somber feeling of sadness that consumes the woman and the lack of any other people, objects or structures communicates the emptiness that the woman feels.This painting displays the kind of sadness and isolation that Gregor felt towards the end of his life. His transformation disrupted him from his normal routine and he realized how empty his life was without the occupation of his work. His altered state left him unable to interact normally with his family, pushing him deeper into a depression that he was forced to face all alone.
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On the Nature of Daylight
Richter, Max. On the Nature of Daylight. fatcatrecords, 2004.
This is a song arranged for strings by composer Max Richter. It combines minor cello and violin accompaniment with a minor scale violin melody. The strings are performed in a swelling, expressive style. Notably, a violinist performs a error at approximately 3:52 on the recording, which was left in the final release. This error may enhance the human quality of the composition.
This song expresses Gregor's loneliness, isolation and sorrow. The opening cello chords give the listener a sense of solitude and sadness. The repetition of both the chords and the melody along with the slow build of the song express Gregor's enduring and worsening condition. The violin error only further depicts Gregor's frailty. Finally the song ends softly and sadly, like Gregor's life.
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Synecdoche, New York
Synecdoche, New York. Dir. Charlie Kaufman. Perf. Philip Seymour Hoffman,Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams. Sony Pictures Classics, 2008. Film.
Synecdoche, New York is a film focusing on the fictional character Caden Cotard, a theater directer whose life is falling apart. The film makes abundant use of surrealism but also explores candid human thoughts and feelings and expression. The characters often use dialog that is without pretense and without regard for etiquette, expressing their inner thoughts with abrupt honesty. Caden suffers numerous physical ailments as his relationship with his wife deteriorates. His wife leaves him, taking their daughter with him. He receives an unexpected grant, which allows him to pursue artistic vision without limits. He employs a large cast to inhabit an enormous warehouse and perform an endless play loosely mimicking his own life, but without a strong vision for the future. The play is beyond Caden's control. Caden's health continues to worsen due to a mysterious illness that is shutting down his body's autonomic functions. Characters change roles, strange and unexpected events occur and Caden relinquishes his directorial power, taking place in this play which has become his life. A mysterious catastrophe occurs killing nearly all of the cast, and Caden is left alone, old and near death. He finally devises a vision for the future of the play, but before he can verbalize it, the replacement director cues him with the movies final line, "die".
This film has startling similarities to The Metamorphosis. The main character also suffers mysterious physical ailments that progressively worsen and loses his family. Like Gregor, Caden realizes the way he truly wishes to live his life just as it is too late. The film uses many surreal images and happenings that contrast with its realistic backdrop, just as The Metamorphosis uses Gregor transformation in an otherwise realistic setting. Most specifically, a monologue by Caden's replacement director near the end of the film expresses Gregor's circumstance accurately:
What was once before you, an exciting, mysterious future, is now behind you. Lived. Understood. Disappointing. You realize you are not special. You have struggled into existence and are now slipping silently out of it (Synecdoche, New York).
The second part of this monologue utterly epitomizes Gregor's woeful condition.
As the people who adore you stop adoring you, as they die, as they move on, as you shed them, as you shed beauty, your youth, as the world forgets you, as you recognize your transience, as you begin to lose your characteristics one by one, as you learn there is no one watching you, and there never was...Now you are here...Now you are gone (Synecdoche, New York).
