It was the stillness of an implacable force ....

Subject: "It was the stillness of an implacable force ....



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"It was the stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention"

Joseph Conrad 'Heart of Darkness'

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What does this sentence mean?

Robin Michael Mon Dec 28, 2009 3:21 pm GMT


"It was the stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention"



Silence in Heart of Darkness

It was the stillness of an implacable force brooding over
an inscrutable intention" (Conrad 48).

www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/imperial/africa/Silence-Heart-Darkness.html - 18k - Cached


What does this sentence mean?

Does it have to mean anything?

Art does not always mean something - sometimes it is enough to evoke a mood or an atmosphere. To create a mystique.

To understand the sentence you have to look at the context. The force might be Africa and the intention might be

Imperialism. A clash of civilisations.

The sentence is similar to an oxymoron. By putting together ideas (words) that normally do not go together, the

intention is to be thought-provoking.

There is an element of bluff. A clever person says something that sounds clever. What does it mean? Only the clever

person knows. Possibly it means nothing and it does not make sense. Call it poetry if you want.

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Generally I find, that what ever I might think, I usually put down my thoughts in a way that is not overly

insulting.

If you look at the link you will see that there is a discussion about silence and incomprehension.

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Robin Michael Thu Dec 31, 2009 12:24 pm GMT

Silence in Heart of Darkness

It was the stillness of an implacable force brooding over
an inscrutable intention" (Conrad 48).

www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/imperial/africa/Silence-Heart-Darkness.html - 18k - Cached

This sentence is being discussed by Queen's University Belfast.

SILENCE IN THE HEART OF DARKNESS

"In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness we are confronted with savage and imperial perceptions of the African Congo."

Savage = African

Imperial = European

"As the story moves on we meet Marlow and his men on a steamer beginning their journey into the Congo to look for

both Kurtz and the ivory they assume is theirs to take."


What struck me as interesting about this sentence is that it reminded me of 'Apocalypse Now' which was written

about the Vietnam war and going up the Mekong Delta in a river boat. The objective if 'Apocalypse Now' was to meet

a renegade Colonel who has somehow gone native.

(I later found that I was correct. 'Apocalypse Now' was based on Conrad's story 'Heart of Darkness' and dealt with

similar issues - the clash of cultures and the lack of mutual comprehension and tolerance.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

www.imdb.com/title/tt0078788/

"The army believes Kurtz has gone completely insane and Willard's job is to eliminate him! Willard, sent up the

Nung River on a U.S. Navy patrol boat, discovers that his target is one of the most decorated officers in the U.S.

Army."

Is it a coincidence that in both stories an important character is called 'Kurtz' or is this how English literature

builds on itself?


It is a little bit more that looking up dictionary meanings!

The dictionary meaning is where you start to look.

This is good advice: LOOK UP

connotation / denotation.

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Funnily enough, in the film 'Heart of Darkness', Africa is presented as being a very busy noisy place.

Heart of Darkness (1994) part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJUPNYmlQFE&feature=related




The main point is: that it does not have to make sense!

You might be a computer programmer, using English to program computers. A novelist, poet or song writer is using

language to evoke a feeling, to give an impression, to sell an idea.



I think; therefore I am. Rene Descartes






I would quite like Damian to make a comment on English literature rather than talk continually about the glories of Olde England full of rosy cheeked peasants.

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< You might be a computer programmer, using English to program computers. A novelist, poet or song writer is using language to evoke a feeling, to give an impression, to sell an idea. >

Robin Michael my friend, when English poets and novelists begin to use their language with the necessary precision of a computer programmer, we may begin to see novels and poems that are worth the time and money of an adult reader.

What, this topic is not yet exhausted after three threads?

Dear Stog,

Surely you can recognise a proper troll for what it is?

To address the question:


<<<
Robin Michael my friend, when English poets and novelists begin to use their language with the necessary precision of a computer programmer, we may begin to see novels and poems that are worth the time and money of an adult reader.
>>>

First of all, I would ask you, whether or not you read novels and poems in your own language?

Secondly, do you read newspapers?


I think you will find that if you read English newspapers, particularly the better quality ones, there are all sorts of references to English literature. These are in the titles of articles and also directly or indirectly in the way articles are written. For instance, there will often be references to 'kafkaesque'.

I could describe the TalkTalk website as kafkaesque. I have to go through some sort of mental process in order to understand my broadband bill. Ironically I am asked before I even use the website, what I think about it.

Kafkaesque - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Kafkaesque" is an eponym used to describe concepts, situations, and ideas which are reminiscent of the literary work of Prague writer Franz Kafka, ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kafkaesque

>>>I think you will find that if you read English newspapers, particularly the better quality ones, there are all sorts of references to English literature. These are in the titles of articles and also directly or indirectly in the way articles are written. For instance, there will often be references to 'kafkaesque'. <<<

'Kafkaesque' has nothing to do with 'English literature'.

Also, didn't you mention that you read The Sun? What is 'better quality newspaper' for you?

God!

This is typical of the sort of negativity expressed by 'Guest'. No meaningful contribution to the conversation, just a personal attack.

I thought that 'Kafkaesque' was quite a good illustration of how literature influences language. Of course, if you are particularly interested you can explore the particular novel, the particular period, etc. To say that 'Kafka' is not part of English literature is the sort of hair-splitting that I might expect. Yes, I did know it was set in Prague by a foreign author. Yes, you are very clever?

As for reading 'The Sun'. 'The Sun' might be a newspaper written for people who only look at page three, but that does not mean that it is not written by clever people. Also 'The Sun' is part of the same newspaper group that contains 'The Times', so if they want, they can print the latest news. They are not in the unfortunate position of some other newspapers that have to reprint the news from other newspapers.

If you are teaching English as a second language, you should not always use the most complex and demanding English you can find. 'The Sun' contains articles that ordinary people find interesting and not necessarily too demanding.

Dear Guest,

Why not make a positive contribution?

<<Surely you can recognise a proper troll for what it is?>>

So you are admitting that you're a troll?

Dear Robin,
What is being Kafkaesque around here is you. You're exactly the 'Hunger artist'. Nobody understands you and visa-versa. I mean vice-versa, sorry.
It is the story of your life; whenever the teacher tried to correct your poor skills you would perceive that as an attack at your personality. This is the reason for all your troubles in life and I'm sure there were and are plenty of those. You only learn when you get spanked. Your childhood must've been a joy, I almost feel for you.

<<So you are admitting that you're a troll? >>

Aren't we all? :)

Ok, but he's in denial.

< First of all, I would ask you, whether or not you read novels and poems in your own language? >

Robin Michael my friend, it is a strange question; but yes.

Let us now talk about the English poets and novelists. You will know, I think, that the programmer must use his language with necessary precision. You do not think, however, that a poet or novelist must use his language with the same precision?

< you will find that if you read English newspapers, particularly the better quality ones, there are all sorts of references to English literature. These are in the titles of articles and also directly or indirectly in the way articles are written. For instance, there will often be references to 'kafkaesque'. >

My friend, Kafka is a writer who, you will perhaps also know, uses his language with precision. He is not a writer in English, however. Therefore I do not understand the purpose of your comment.

I think also that a person may know what Kafkaesque means, who has not read Kafka.

Dear Josef K

<<
Let us now talk about the English poets and novelists. You will know, I think, that the programmer must use his language with necessary precision. You do not think, however, that a poet or novelist must use his language with the same precision?
>>

Dear Josef

The type of precision that a programmer uses, is different from the type of precision that a poet uses. The programmer uses language with precision because that language is going to be recognised by a machine, and any deviation from a strict authodoxy will not be recognised.

For the poet, it is exactly the opposite. The poet is free to make up words. The essence of modern poetry is creativity. So the poet to a certain extent is breaking the rules, using words in new combinations.

I will give an example from a song - David Bowie 'The man who sold the world'.

So, what is this song about? The title is prepostorous, how can one man sell the world? Who could that man possibly be?

Of course, in the Christian world the central person is 'Jesus Christ'. So there is the blasthemous suggestion that Jesus sold out to the Devil. ('sell out' or 'sold out' is an idiomatic expression)

The Man Who Sold The World

We passed upon the stair, we spoke of was and when
Although I wasn't there, he said I was his friend
Which came as some surprise I spoke into his eyes
I thought you died alone, a long long time ago

Oh no, not me
I never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world

I laughed and shook his hand, and made my way back home
I searched for form and land, for years and years I roamed
I gazed a gazely stare at all the millions here
We must have died along, a long long time ago

Who knows? not me
We never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world

Who knows? not me
We never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world


I will not go on ad infinitum. But interestingly, in this example, David Bowie has made up a word.

I gazed a gazely stare at all the millions here


There is no such word as 'gazely'.

So, the Artist takes the freedom to break the rules. Whereas the Programmer is constrained by the rules and must operate within the rules.

A computer would not accept 'gazely' as a word, whereas a native English speaker find this new word - interestng and curious.

(I can't check my spelling because I am using my new computer. But I know that I have mispelt some words such as authodoxy and prepostorous. I am using a small television screen as a monitor and I am not sure that it is a sucessful experiment.)

http://lyrics.rockmagic.net/lyrics/david_bowie/the_man_who_sold_the_world_1970.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Sold_the_World

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I gazed a gazely stare at all the millions here



When I hear this line, as a native English speaker, I tend to automatically subsitute a word that I do know, for a word that is made up.

ghastly


I gazed a ghastly stare


That fits in with the way that I interpret the song. But everybody is free to interpret the song anyway they want to.

Also, David Bowie did not make a spelling mistake. He delibrately used the made up word 'gazely' instead of the word 'ghastly'. Why did he do that?

Possibly because a machine might 'gaze' without emotion. Whereas a person would look aghast at what has happened to the the Earth.

So there is a sense in which the Man who sold the World is looking down on the world without emotion or feeling - the lost planet - in the hands of the Devil.

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I gazed a gazely stare at all the millions here



The word 'gazely' is also similar to the word 'glassy'.


I gazed a glassy stare


When someone gives you a glassy look, it as if their eyes have glazed over. That they are looking at you, but their mind has gone dead.


So David Bowie's word choice is very interesting.

Robin Michael,

Your whole hypothesis that "art doesn't have to mean something" is flawed, because the sentence "It was the stillness of an implacable force brooding over an inscrutable intention" , has a clear and obvious and unambiguous meaning. If you can't see that, you should read more.