In “The Quiet Life,” poet Alexander Pope wrote of his own
culture, which he felt was repressed in the time period. A devout Roman
Catholic in a time when there were many anti-Catholic laws, Pope expressed
himself through his poetry. He wrote of a plea to “Thus let me live, unseen,
unknown;/Thus unlamented let me die;” in this, we see his need for some sort of
acceptance, even if whole-hearted support is out of the question. He asked for
“The Quiet Life” itself, in which he would be able to live as he wished and let
others live as well. His culture was above all important enough to him that he
would ask for “Not a stone/[to] Tell where I lie,” upon death.
Nathalie Handal also addressed her own culture in “Caribe in
Nueva York,” but in a different manner. While she, too, was not specifically in
her original culture, she wrote of missing it despite appreciating the new one
she had been introduced to. One of the most telling lines talked of how “I love
America/but I dream of mangoes;” her appreciation for a new culture had not in
the least overshadowed her love for her origins. The smallest details of both
cultures were noted, whether in regard to the people there, the food, or the
celebrities.
Thus, culture is an instrumental part in the building of a
person, whether an embraced culture or a repressed one. Both Pope and Handal
wrote of missing their own culture and feeling that it was overshadowed or even
oppressed by their current culture. Their poetry, therefore, was instrumental
in helping them to embrace their origins.
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