Question

what is the second meaning of the poem The birth of tragedy by Irving Layton?

Answer 1

In the poem "The Birth of Tragedy" the poet speaks about his intentions of composing poems. He says that he loves writing poems and talks about the importance of writing poems. He shows his disgrace to the moths who flew in the bushes in the garden which he had made for the gods. The poet says that he is a madman and he is very emotional. He is the one who sits comfortably on his chair and wonders about the cycle of life and death on the earth. He examines the changing seasons as the death of the one and the birth of the other.
The metaphorical meaning of the poem takes the poem into another level. The garden in the poem is a metaphor for the collection of the poems. The gods about which the poet is talking about metaphorically means the famous poets. The poet is critical about the poets who have made their names a famous one. The poets have written many such poems in the motive of being a subject to positive or negative criticisms. The poem also talks about the poet who loves writing poetry and has a full collection of his works. He wants to enjoy the criticisms of his poetry and hence he remains accepting them. The comments of the critics are said to be 'tragic' in the poem. Later the poet comes to the conclusion that these criticisms help him to be much perfect in his work. He also comes to the conclusion that the critics are the ones who decide upon the popularity of the writer.