Wednesday, September 12, 2012
The Loves of the Plants
I found Darwin's poem of "The Loves of the Plants" to be extremely engaging throughout the entire text but it wasn't always pleasant to read. I very much enjoyed his ability to bring the plants to life and assign to them personification. He gave the plants personality, feelings, and characteristics similar to those of people. What I found disturbing about the poem was the intimacy in which he describes the plants with regards to mating. The thought of female and male plants never crossed my mind. Even so, I could accept that concept mildly. However, when he begins to describe the multiple male plants that surround one female plant in an attempt to engage with her sexually and at one point indicated that the dust like substance males produced gave them wings because the dust was carried with the wind was a bit too much to digest. I feel that the poem could have remained engaging with the fantastical theme it carried and didn't need so much of the sexual implications.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I too found this poem rather engaging in its entirety but I have to disagree with your opinion that the poem would still have the same fantasy effect without all the sexual undertones in it. I feel that Darwin's use of sexual implications within his poem helped to make the fantasy theme more relevant in that it brought the plants to life in a human way. It helped make the poem much more interesting and artistic, which ultimately helps the reader put aside the fact that this poem is based on the scientific study of plant reproduction. Besides what's a fantasy poem without a little bit of sex in it?
ReplyDelete