viggo mortensen and
his many, artistic mediums
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 To know
viggo Mortensen is
to read his poetry, appreciate his paintings, look at his photographs, and
listen to his music. These are his own creations. These are in
his own control, unlike his films, which he states, are partly out of his
control. He'll do his scenes, but they will not necessarily be
included in the final cut of the movie.
You probably have your own
favorite Mortensen artistic medium. Or maybe you like all of
them. I, too, like all of them. However, of all his artistic
mediums, his poetry is what affects me the most. Why? Because
I like words, how they're combined together, how they are carefully placed
in a line or stanza, how they are cut off, only to be continued on to the
next line, how they can create images, and so on.
To illustrate my point, here
is an example from the first poem that appears in his book, Coincidence
of Memory. First, the poem will be given and then I will show
the parts I like about it.
LULLABY
CAN'T
HEAR.
KEEP
LISTENING
TO
THE RIGHT SONG
COME
UP IN A
DROP
THAT
RUNS
ACROSS
THE WALL
AND
HANGS
ON
THE DOORKNOB.
SING
TOGETHER
ACROSS
THE CITY
SQUEEZE
A NOTE
THAT
STAYS IN YOUR FIST
PULLING
YOUR HAIR. (1992)
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This poem does many
things:
1. The title and the
first line relate. The narrator seems to be saying he is listening
for the lullaby or right song, but he can't hear.
2. The great use of
"come up" and "drop" -- The unexpected use of
something going up and then down--the use of opposites works well here.
3. Placing the word,
"drop," by itself on a line right after "come up in a"
shows how the word, "drop," literally "drops" onto the
next line.
4. The use of the
word, "hangs," and how it ends the line--literally, the word,
"hangs" is hanging at the end of the line and the reader is
given the fresh image of a doorknob right after.
5. The last three
lines are surprising lines--that is, you are given the unexpected and this
makes reading the poem fun. Not only that, the last line gives the
emotions of the narrator which engages the reader to also feel the same
emotion.
In conclusion, viggo
mortensen knows what he is doing as he creates. Your time will
be well-spent as you read, listen, and look at his art.
Amazing Viggo
Mortensen ebook on
this interesting poet! Included FREE:
Fellowship, Two Towers, Return Of The King, Hidalgo
and A History Of Violence--Watch Mortensen a whole new
way!
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