― Woody Allen
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I suppose it could prove disheartening from the outset to learn that there has never been definite consensus on the definition of Existentialism, but let us take courage from these following guidelines:
The Free Dictionary states:
A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts.
Merriam-Webster states:
A chiefly 20th century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad.
From this, we may narrow it down to a few characteristics:
- individual experience
- sense of isolation
- indifferent environment
- responsibility for choices made
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| Eye ~ M. C. Escher (1946) Fair Use WikiPaintings |
Let us take, as example, the poem Futility by Wilfred Owen.
Move
him into the sun--
Gently its touch awoke him once,
At home, whispering of fields unsown.
Always it awoke him, even inFrance
Until this morning and this snow.
If anything might rouse him now
The kind old sun will know.
Think how it wakes the seeds--
Woke, once, the clays of a cold star.
Are limbs so dear-achieved, are sides
Full-nerved, - still warm, - too hard to stir?
Was it for this the clay grew tall?
- O what made fatuous sunbeams toil
To break earth's sleep at all?
Gently its touch awoke him once,
At home, whispering of fields unsown.
Always it awoke him, even in
Until this morning and this snow.
If anything might rouse him now
The kind old sun will know.
Think how it wakes the seeds--
Woke, once, the clays of a cold star.
Are limbs so dear-achieved, are sides
Full-nerved, - still warm, - too hard to stir?
Was it for this the clay grew tall?
- O what made fatuous sunbeams toil
To break earth's sleep at all?
Here Owen describes the death by freezing of a soldier in the trenches, during World War 1. The environment is harsh, the speaker feels isolated from the society he has sworn to protect and relates his sense of hopelessness at leading his men to their deaths.
The poet, Marvin Bell, has an innovative approach to Existential poetry in his work, The Book of the Dead Man. Here is one example linked from Poets.org. When I first read his poetry, I was inspired to write in a similar style, an example of which you can read HERE.
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| Calvin & Hobbes |
Poets grapple with the meaning of life - it seems an indelible part of the job description, so I hope that you will not feel daunted by the challenge to try your hand at an existentialist theme today. Pretty much, anything goes, so long as you get us thinking about what it all means.