The Grand Inquisitor Poem Analysis

Clint Smith is a writer, teacher, and doctoral candidate in Education at Harvard University with a concentration in Culture, Institutions, and Society. Smith Clint wrote a poem called “Something You should Know.” The poem is about an early job he had in a Petsmart. The poet allows the readers into his personal life, but before he had trouble opening up to people and his work. Moreover, Clint wrote an insight in the poem about relying in anything to feel safe and he says it is the most terrifying thing any person can do.

“Stripping the Emperor: The Africanist Presence in American Concert Dance”, an excerpt from Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader, was written by Brenda Dixon Gottschild. Gottschild is a well-known author, dance historian, performer, and choreographer as well as a professor of dance studies at Temple University. She has also written multiple books including The Black Dancer Body, Waltzing in the Dark, and Digging. In her article “Stripping the Emperor: The Africanist Presence in American Concert Dance”, Gottschild explores the similarities and differences in the characteristics of Africanist and European technique, and how they draw from each other.

Native Guard is a poem that is built on a lot of passion and precision that makes this entire book of poetry stand out. From the beginning with the elusive imagery and foreshadowing of her childhood and her mother’s life we are easily engulfed in the lifestyle of being born in the south. The imagery continues on in the new memory of the pinnacle time of slavery and the Civil War, which shows the true nature of the south through repetition and metaphoric sentences of many gruesome and remorseful scenes.

The second temptation the Devil poses is for Jesus to cast Himself down on the ground from a high cliff to prove that He is the son of God. Jesus refuses, reminding Satan that the Scriptures say "do not tempt the Lord your God." The Inquisitor claims that even if man were to have "earthly bread" in abundance, without a "stable conception of the object of life," man would not continue to live, and any who would lead men must captivate their consciences. Only three powers can do this, says the Inquisitor: miracle, mystery, and authority. In the first temptation, Jesus rejected the first power, and now is rejecting the second. The Inquisitor says, "And I ask Thee again... couldst Thou believe for a moment that men, too, could face such a temptation?" Once again, Jesus is refusing to captivate the souls of men by force.

Lorna Dee Cervantes' poem, “Poema para los Californios Muertos” (“Poem for the Dead Californios”), is a commentary on what happened to the original inhabitants of California when California was still Mexico, and an address to the speaker's dead ancestors. Utilizing a unique dynamic, consistently alternating between Spanish and English, Cervantes accurately represents the fear, hatred, and humility experienced by the “Californios” through rhythm, arrangement, tone, and most importantly, through use of language.

Chekhov’s use of allusion in “Misery” also stands in stark contrast to the works of other Russian literary giants such as Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, whose works often featured deep themes revolving around the aforementioned Christian thought. While a deep discussion on these themes is out of the scope of this paper, perhaps one of the most obvious and contrasting examples can be found in Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, which was published around 6 years before Chekhov wrote “Misery”. Towards the end of the novel, Father Zosima, a figure who acts as a mouthpiece for Dostoevsky’s own thoughts on religion, indirectly responds to the arguments of Ivan Karamazov, who rejects God because of the existence of suffering innocents and other

In “The Grand Inquisitor” written by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Dostoevsky focuses on free will of humans being given up in exchange for a more secure “free will”. Ivan reads aloud a poem he wrote in which Christ is reborn and goes to Spain, and there he is healing the sick. After healing the sick and a dead child, the Cardinal Grand

The title itself alludes to “The Unknown Soldier,” almost parodying it. According to Georgia Virtual School, an unknown soldier died in battle, however, the body is unrecognizable. It is also known that soldiers are tagged. The fact that the title is the way it is and the subtitle mimics a tag implies that the lives of common folk is so insignificant and uneventful that they might just as well be unknown since they are just another face in the vast crowd of people. This relays a metaphor in the eyes of the reader.

(Dostoevsky, pg. 100). Alyosha defends his beliefs by explaining how Christ suffered for the sake of man. Alyosha also states that each is responsible for all. Ivan tries to get Alyosha to see how his oh loving God is wrong. Alyosha stays strong about his beliefs and Ivan goes on to say that the secret to mans existence is having something to live for. Its not that ivan does not accept god but would return the ticket to enter heaven because he doesn’t accept the fact that the world can be that

In this paper, I plan to explain Dostoevsky’s criticism of Western Individualism. Dostoevsky’s first criticism resides in the idea to “love life more than the meaning of it, “which is presented by the character Alyosha (Dostoevsky 3). Allowing this character to discuss this topic, along with the commentary of Ivan, demonstrates their mindset to solely focus on their own lives, opposed to caring for others. This leads to them living for the now, and not focusing on how their decisions will affect their future or others. Dostoevsky disapproves of this notion because living by this mentality encourages the guidance of logic, which is dangerous because it could tell you to kill yourself. From Dostoevsky’s Eastern Orthodox background, he believes that the only way from living from this situation is to deny it. By denying this way of living, the focus toward life will not be directed toward yourself, but toward the way you can impact the environment around you. Ivan clearly does not believe in these values, due to his intentions to commit suicide at the age of thirty. As said before, living by the idea to “love life more than the meaning of it” leads to death, and Ivan indulges in this to the fullest (Dostoevsky 3).

Imagine someone dying from a sickness. They know that they are on their last leg. They can either fight to stay alive, or they can give up hope and pass away. People control their own fate. Controlling their own fate means that they decide when it is time for them to die, and don’t just lay down and accept death. This idea can be seen in in many pieces of text including the following poems. “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley and “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas. Both authors express the theme of people control their own fate.

Richard Blanco is a Cuban- American poet who was given the oppurunity to write an inaugaration poem for Barack Obama's second swearing-in. He wrote a poem titled "One Today" that praised the good and unique things about the United States and also the everyday people who's daily routines help to make America the proud country that it is.

The poem consists of a mixture of Christian and epic elements and has a very unique style. It represents the crucifixion as a battle and Christ as an epic hero, similar to Beowulf, which is quite different from the texts in the Bible. This contrast can be observed in the description of Jesus’ action during the crucifixion, and in the

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” declared by an influential leader Martin Luther King Jr. As a soldier againsts unfairness, King strongly states that people should fight for freedom. Driven by human nature, humans are always chasing freedom. In “A Century Later,” the Pakistan-born British poet Imtiaz Dharker uses the poetic devices of symbolism, diction, and allusion to explore how perseverance drives freedom.

Some of the poems and essays I have read during this class were relatable to me. Being away from college, I have struggled with not being at home. I have become a different person when I am at school, but when I am home, I feel like I am my normal self again. Some of these authors of the poems and essays that I have read throughout this class has struggled with being somewhere where they don’t belong and that they are someone else when they are not home. Unlike the other poems and essays we have read throughout the course. I enjoyed reading the ones about “home” because I actually understood what they are going through and that I can relate. Some of these poems and essays include “Going Home” by Maurice Kenny, Postcard from Kashmir”, by Agha Shahid Ali, “Returning” by Elias Miguel Munoz and “Hometown” by Luis Cabalquinto. All of these poems deal with duality.