There are never any suicides in the quarter among people one knows
No successful suicides.
A Chinese boy kills himself and is dead.
(they continue to place his mail in the letter rack at the Dome)
A Norwegian boy kills himself and is dead.
(no one knows where the other Norwegian boy has gone)
They find a model dead
alone in bed and very dead.
(it made almost unbearable trouble for the concierge)
Sweet oil, the white of eggs, mustard and water, soap suds
and stomach pumps rescue the people one knows.
Every afternoon the people one knows can be found at the café.
Leave a guest comment (subject to review)
Comments
1 - 8 of 8
-
It sounds like a simple poem to understand,but in fact behind those simple lines he's trying to show a real life drama,in a quarter in Paris.Three different ppl died,committed suicide and the only problem was that the concierge/property caretaker couldn't deal with it anymore.
*Sweet oil, the white of eggs, mustard and water, soap suds
*Cafe -artistic details.
No successful suicides.-depends on what the society would call "successful".Also makes me think of a line "When you want to die,nothing happens".Now days,even death is a privilege. -
-
"Sweet oil, the white of eggs, mustard and water, soap suds
and stomach pumps" are methods that were used to pump out the stomachs of people who had durnk too much or overdosed, so I think what Hemingway was saying is that the Latin Quarter is filled with artistic temperaments who are all trying to commit suicide, right and left, even just drinking themselves to death, but not the "people one knows" whom he sees everyday and have therefore been "rescued".
-
-
Thanks for explaining this to me.I'm new to Hemingway's poetry.What you're saying here makes sense and may be true(I haven't read his full biography).But knowing the fact that he belonged to "The writers of Lost generation" I think in here he deals with solitude,emptiness of life,suicide in a quarter in Paris.
No successful suicides-to society/the others committing suicide is never considered as sth successful.Is suicide the "right"way to die? Also this was written somewhere between 1920'-1940',major changes in life and way of thinking.
P.S:I did enjoy your comment
-
-
-
From guest Jabril Ward (contact)
As a 17 year old i do try my best to keep up with poetry as much as I can. Ernest Hemingway is indead one of the best -
How oddly blase it seems: everyone killing themselves, and the survivors carrying on as if very little has happened. Again, the wonderful use of repetition to build tension. The repetition is not only of phrases but single words and is wonderfully complex. The only place it's lacking are in the second and third lines to the end, and then the linkage "one knows" in the center of the bottom line.
-
ironic to find a poem written about suicide from Hemingway so early in his career. He shot himself, and others in his family line also died from suicide. Sad. The title of this poem is a famous section in Paris (early 1920's-40's) that was celebrated as a bohemian (aka utopian) center where poetry, creativity and freeness was the norm. Artists, writers, political thinkers, musicians...flocked in great numbers from around the world to Montparnasse to just be. This poem reflects a split community of the knowns and the unknowns. The loners, the "uncelebrated" succeeded in their quest to die (lines 3,5,7); those that had someone to look out for them were "saved" (10-11). The common gathering spot was the cafe (#12). In some ways this is almost a "journalistic" poem--the reporting of observation. It is not embellished. The parenthesis info is a wonderful addition, and functions as the point of view from the writer. Lines 1-2 caught my attention. I found myself thinking about the contents of this poem, and after rereading it three times, I pulled it apart by just reading lines 1,2 and 12. Then, I just read the poem as a whole again. I love hearing the voice of the poet in this. At the same rate, I also envision it as print in a newpaper--as an article perhaps on page 12 or in the obituary section. Those found have no names--just identified by ethnicity or function (i.e. model).
There is no evident rhyme; and reading this out loud, the term "dead" becomes the strongest term--it is repeated four times. -
i think this person is very creative. i mean its easy to write aabout suicide, but that can make it hard for others to understand. if youve never tried to commit suicide, or seriously thought about it, then it is impossable for you to understand the pain and anger. i like it and think it was well put. it kinda makes you think.
-
Its a great write,and very honest. Hemingway basically made me think of Califnornia(Im not sure about Norwegian boys)and how it was a long long time ago. Its an odd write,and I agree with Akasha,I wonder if this guy was sober when he wrote it.
-
I wonder was he sober when he wrote this one.
Great write, and very dark and colorful.
Adding your comment:
1 - 8 of 8
