The “Forgiving my Father” poem by Lucile Clifton is a poem that is about growing up in life. Being an adult is tough according to the words and lines of the poem. The poem is mainly about a child trying to forgive a father for things that was done in the past. There are times a child thinks they know what the real world is like. But, they do not know what the real world is like. The real world is hard and sometimes it can be very unfair. The real world has a lot of rules that do not make sense and it seems that the rules are very unfair at times. The author show signs of New Criticism in the poem. The poem shows a connection to society and New Criticism is about connecting words to society. It about showing a social connection that can only be seen by looking at the words written. The entire poem is connected to the way society is in the modern world. Television shows you one thing, but the one thing is not what is shown on television. The “Forgiving my Father” poem by Lucile Clifton reflects New Criticism ideas by expressing social connections with limited time, paying bills, and old prisoner.
New Criticism, was founded many principles which relates to nature and one of them is social connection (Pickering, 2008). The social connection refereed by many New Criticism theorist is connected to social connection (Pickering, 2008). Writing at is core is connected to nature. It is a pathway between the organic and the written word. Social connection is connected to the way organic creatures interact with each other (Pickering, 2008). They will speak with one another using writing which comes from a organic creature. Writing is not something that is born into this world. It is something that is specifically written to connect people to each other (Pickering, 2008). It is written to explain things to one another. Only a human or an animal can write words on a paper and only a human or animal can read the words. The social connection is connected for communication with animals among themselves. Created to show something that is meant for the people who read the words.
New Criticism theorist believed that words in poems formed a social connection with the world that humans live in (Pickering, 2008). Humans live in a world that requires them to communicate with one another and it requires them to work together in order to survive. Words and sentences in literature according to some New Criticism theorists is a bond that is made to explain things and create a social connection. A social connection between one person and the entire human race. In other words, literature is a gate that will connect one person with another person (Pickering, 2008).
New Criticism is also about judging the content of what is written (Pickering, 2008). The reason the context of what is written is judged is because literature is believed to be connected to nature. Nature, is suppose to be the divine area of energy that involves all human existence (Pickering, 2008). The concept or reason for nature goes beyond human understanding. But, it is believed that nature is suppose to guide us on what to do in life. Nature is suppose to guide humans in the direction they want to go or explain things that do not make sense. Poems and literature is a message from nature to explain things to humans. It is for humans because humans are the ones who invented writing and humans are the ones who understand it (Pickering, 2008). Nature also makes humans feel they are connected to it.
The poem “Forgiving my Father” talks about a human having limited time (Lucile, 2018). The story is about a young man or woman speaking to their father with a letter. The story talks about the man or woman feeling sorry for not realizing the adult hardships that come with being an adult (Lucile, 2018). One of the hardships that come with being an adult is limited time. Limited time is connected to all humans. All humans have a limited time to do things. They all have worldwide social connection that is understandable by humans alone. This ties into the New Criticism theorists who believed that literature is a social connection. Lucile was trying to show readers that being an adult means you have a limited amount of time to do things because you have to work. All humans on Earth have to work in one way or another. The fact is the what makes humans have a limited amount of time on Earth. This message was meant for all humans. It was not meant for one person, but all the people who read it. The author writes, “there will never be time enough daddy daddy old lecher
old liar (Lucile, 2018).” The author is trying to bring social awareness to the reader with words written alone. Words can connect people to the actions of a entire race.
The poem also talks about paying bills in the first few lines. The author writes, “We have come to the paying of the bills (Lucile, 2018).” The reason the author writes “we” is to show that the message is meant to connect one individual with all people living on Earth. New Criticism theorist believed in words that connect one to all who understood the language (Pickering, 2008). The evidence is written in the poem’s literature. Some literature is meant to show one what all is doing at the same time. Everyone on Earth is paying bills in order to survive. There is no way around it due to the industrial revolution. The author wanted people to know that everyone is required to pay bills (Lucile, 2018). That is a concept the author wanted everyone to know. It shows a social connection that reflects New Criticism.
The poem also brings in the concept of “old prisoner” to the human society. The author writes, “You are the pocket that was going to open and come up empty any Friday (Lucile, 2018).” The author writes this sentence illustrate that humans will make it Friday realizing they are back where they started. It happens in one’s life. One might do all sorts of things to be pushed right back where they started in the beginning. The author was also trying to infer this understanding to all human beings that being alive is not just about paying bills (Lucile, 2018). When you live your life like that, you find yourself running in circles and being in the same place you started. The author wants humans to enjoy the moment not the money that is available in the account. The words show a social connection to all humans in the poem. The author wants humans to realize that what you have is what you have and you should enjoy that. Do not focus on the bills because that will only make you a prisoner.
The author tries to convince the person that is reading it of many social connections. Each concept the author introduces involves human responsibilities. They are things in this world you can not run away from. But, you can choose to look at it a certain way to feel better about it. The author wanted you to know that everybody goes through problems. You have to deal with problems and beware that we all deal with some of the same things. Paying bills, becoming a prisoner, and having a limited amount of time is the fate of all humans. One should try to focus on other things. One must realize that life is not about working. Life is about what you do to survive. It is about what you do after work. Work is just something you do to survive. You must not fall into it. The author’s “Forgive my Father” is about an author trying to have a social connection to all humans. The words that are written is connected to what New Criticism theorist believe. Literature is a gate to human connection.
Reference:
(2018). Forgiving My Father: Poem Analysis.
Retrieved from URL: https://www.oboolo.com/philosophy-literature/literature/case-study/forgiving-father-poem-analysis-85459.html.
Clifton, Lucile. Forgiving My Father. Retrieved from URL: http://homepage.smc.edu/cramer_timothy/forgiving.htm.
Lynn. S. (2011). Texts and contexts: Writing about literature with critical theory. (6th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Pickering, E. D. (2008). The Roots of New Criticism. Southern Literary Journal, 41(1), 93-108.
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