How do Tupac Shakur and Wilfred Owen Create a Sense of Identity or Emotion in Poetry
Poetry is a form of art that has been used to express ideas or concepts for hundreds of years. Looking at two relatively modern poems, The Rose that Grew from Concrete, and Dulce et Decorum Est both are poems that challenge different aspects of society through various methods, and strive to inspire individuals to develop independent identity against opposing circumstances. The Rose that Grew from Concrete confronts the idea of a rose breaking through tough conditions to achieve its goal. On the other hand, Dulce et Decorum Est expostulates the common belief of the time during World War 1. While they may be different poems, there are certain facets to each that share similarities and differences in reaching purpose.
On the notion of reaching purpose, The Rose that Grew from Concrete by Tupac Shakur is full of meaning. The poem is meant to be an inspiration for people going through tough circumstances to press through and achieve their dreams. The Rose that Grew from Concrete inspires people to create their own identity by following their dreams, and doing what they value no matter the situation.This can be seen by looking through the guise of metaphor in Shakur’s writing. Examples of this are seen in “the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete?” (Shakur) the “rose” which can represent Shakur or black people growing up in difficult circumstances, and the “concrete”, which represents the rough conditions Shakur, or those black people grew up in. Additionally, the use of a unique internal rhyme within the poem of “Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams” (Shakur) is used to emphasize this idea of pressing through by holding on to values and dreams, even if it seems futile through tough conditions. Additionally, the fact that there is no defined rhyming scheme also can be interpreted as a metaphor for these circumstances. On the topic of rough conditions, this links the poem to the discriminatory issues against minorities such as african-americans that were escalating, such as the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. With this link, the poem can also be interpreted as political inspiration for minorities to try to make a change in their rough situations. This idea of political activism being intertwined in lyrics by Shakur is a recurring theme, as stated by Karin L. Stanford in the Journal of Black Studies, “Tupac’s ideological perspective and first-person experiences growing up disadvantaged served as a reference point for his political activism. The economic and social decline he witnessed set the political context. (Stanford, 12)
Wilfred Owen is one of the major poets in World War One. Dulce et Decorum Est is a poem that depicts the horrors of a gas attack in World War 1. The poem aims to combat the common rhetoric of the time, and inspire people to see past the fictitious, romanticized depiction of war that was employed to undermine identity at the time. This idea of the common rhetoric can be seen in statements such as “Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori” and linking to campaigns such as the White Feather Campaign in Britain that aimed to shame men who did not participate in the war. Owen attempts to remonstrate these ideas through his appalling depiction “If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud” (Owen) and furthermore from his statement noting the “Lie” (Owen) being that to die for your country is the greatest honor. Paul Norgate, author of the article Soldiers’ Dreams: Popular Rhetoric and the War Poetry of Wilfred Owen within the Critical Survey Journal, expresses the idea that Wilfred Owen’s poetry was linked to the idea of defiance of the popular illustration of the war. Norgate states that Owen’s poetry was “not an awakening out of dream to encounter reality and significant action, but a helpless submersion (or ‘drowning’) in the chaos of nightmare” (Norgate, 215) supporting the gruesome depiction showcasing the reality of the war. Additionally, Owen’s poetry also aimed to submerge the reader into the poem, making the effect of exposing the lie easily apparent. To make this point of the reality of war come across to the reader, Owen utilizes alternate rhyming scheme, and descriptive imagery to display to a reader the actual scenario of war, giving them the feeling of being an exhausted soldier marching into a gas attack. Compounding this idea of bringing the reader into the battle to emphasize the lie of dying for your country being honorable, Owen utilizes direct address in “you would not tell with such high zest” (Owen) in order to direct his point of the war being glamorized straight to the reader in order to inspire others to combat the magniloquent tone around the war.
When looking at both of these poems, there is one major similarity between the points that each is trying to make: they are both trying to inspire independent identity against opposing circumstances. Within The Rose that Grew from Concrete, Tupac Shakur is trying to inspire black people to follow their dreams and be who they want to be, no matter the situation. On the other hand, Wilfred Owen is trying to inspire people to value an accurate depiction of the war over a common idealized one. Additionally, a similarity that both texts have is that they are both trying to fight for a minority at the time of writing, that being black people and people who had experienced World War 1 and were unbelieving of the lies of the recruitment campaigns. A major difference the two poems have however, is the bluntness of composition. Shakur uses things such as a “rose” to represent his message and how things could be better for black people, whereas Owen uses terminology like “gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs” in order to display the violence and foulness of the war. Additionally, a further difference between the two poems is the use of structure in each piece; forms of structure were used in both, but used to different effect. Owen utilizes things such as alternate rhyming scheme, end stopped line, and enjambment to give the reader a feeling of rhythm and slowness, emulating weary conditions of the described scene. On the other hand, Tupa didn’t use a defined rhyming scheme all throughout, however he used things such as end-stopping lines to create separation and rhythm throughout the poem, splitting the single stanza into multiple sections.
Whether it be in the late or early twentieth century, both poems champion their methods in both different and similar ways in order to create identity against opposing circumstances using emotion. Whether it be Tupac Shakur using hope, and aspiration to inspire, or Wilfred Owen bluntly using imagery, and horror to inspire change: both aim to achieve their intention through uplifting the people of the time.
Works Cited
Primary Sources:
Owen, Wilfred. “Dulce et Decorum Est.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46560/dulce-et-decorum-est. Accessed 11 4 2022.
Shakur, Tupac Amaru. “The Rose That Grew From Concrete.” AllPoetry, AllPoetry, https://allpoetry.com/The-Rose-That-Grew-From-Concrete. Accessed 11 4 2022.
Secondary Sources:
NORGATE, PAUL. “Soldiers’ Dreams: Popular Rhetoric and the War Poetry of Wilfred Owen.” Critical Survey, vol. 2, no. 2, 1990, pp. 208–15, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41555530. Accessed 6 Apr. 2022.
Stanford, Karin L. “Keepin’ It Real in Hip Hop Politics: A Political Perspective of Tupac Shakur.” Journal of Black Studies, vol. 42, no. 1, 2011, pp. 3–22, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25780789. Accessed 5 Apr. 2022.
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