Cirilo Bautista used to have us bring dictionaries every session to help with difficult words (which is the idea behind dictionaries). I'm not that demanding although having references handy helps. A tagalog dictionary would be nice, too. I still need to explain isperma whenever I discuss Tinio's "Payo sa Bumabasa ng Tula." It means wax candle.
Paraphrasing helps us understand the first level of interpretation. Some poems (and most songs) stop there, but the really good ones (like "Payo...") have a second level. In fact, "Payo..." tells you exactly what it is in the first line. An extended metaphor.
In Langston Hughes's "Mother to Son," the first level of meaning is obvious.
Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor --
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now --
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
The stairs are a metaphor for life itself, which can be difficult but needs to be climbed anyway.
But what's cooler is the other interpretation, which involves the American civil rights movement. I leave that up to you to find out (if you weren't in class).
Reminder: Email me your choice of good and bad song lyrics. And label which is which. Seriously, I can't tell some of them apart.
No comments:
Post a Comment