Pub #5: Unwillingness To Submit

              Poetry is an open window relating directly to the human spirit.  Poetry is a creation of the human intellect and an expression of feeling through the mastery of language.  Poetry is not meant to be read silently, it is meant to be heard and felt; that is when it is at its most powerful.  Poetry uses all 5 senses to depict and communicate an intended effect.  Poetry can have such a strong message that it transcends ages of time.

            This example of an unwillingness to submit can be found in the song “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” by The Charlie Daniels Band.  The song is more a kin to a story with rhythm and rhyme about the Devil traveling through Georgia looking for a soul to steal.  He comes across a young man sawing on a fiddle with talent and he proclaims that the boy bet his soul against the devil in a fiddle battle with a fiddle of gold as the prize.  The boy said, “My name’s Johnny, and it might be a sin, but I’ll take your bet; and you’re gonna regret ‘cause I’m the best there’s ever been” (Daniels 9-10).  With this foolish boastfulness of his pride, there is no turning back for young Johnny and he now has to outplay the Devil in order to keep his soul.  The Devil decides to go first with fire bursting from his fingertips and a band of demons rises from the ground to join in the Devil’s bone chillingly rocking solo which he plays with no mistakes and much skill.  There is no room for mistakes and only room for an astounding musical performance by Johnny to be the victor in this battle.  Johnny is not shuttered by this great performance and retaliates with, “Well, you’re pretty good ol’ son, but sit down in that chair right there and let me show you how it’s done” (Daniels 19-20).  Johnny delivers a solo of his own rendition of his skills with lyrical homage to four songs of the south intertwined into an epic showing of his musical greatness.  Without argument the Devil bowed his head in shame knowing that Johnny was in fact the victor.  The Devil placed the golden fiddle on the ground at Johnny’s feet and left his presence.  Johnny had a strong unwillingness to submit even after the Devil uses a band of demons to try and gain the advantage in this duel of two fiddles.

            In the well known poem by William Ernest Henley, Invictus also depicts an unwillingness to submit.  This strong poem is a telling of an individual whose soul is unconquerable.  They vowed never to announce their hardships and to never cease their inner drive to stay proud of who they are and their past experiences.  The final stanza states, “It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul” (Henley 13-16).  Even though the road of virtue may be extensive with many hardships, one must resist the temptation to surrender.
            The poem “Don’t Give Up” written by an anonymous poet who has a clear message to portray urges that the audience not let daily troubles dampen their mood or outlook on life.  One quote from the poem, “Don’t let your fears keep you from dreaming, or from chasing your dream” states that even though one may have fears which prevent them from the willingness to push, they should not let them stand in the way of that drive (9-12).  The author desires the audience to have an appetite for persistence. 

Emotion plays a significant role in poetry and aids in the audience’s connection with any given piece.  Poetry can convey any message that the author can imagine.  That message can be relating to love, beauty or even romance with the only limit being human creativity.  One theme seen in just a very small part of poetry is the unwillingness of the human spirit to submit.

            http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/charliedanielsband/thedevilwentdowntogeorgia.html

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/182194

http://www.thepoetrypad.com/inspirational-poems/dont-give-up