Die poësie van Lina Spies : 'n oeuvrestudie
Abstract
In this study on the poetry of Lina Spies special attention was paid to the recurring structural elements which can be called constants or invariables. These are elements like images, motives, themes, perspectives, references, and the like. The study showed clearly that to a great extent there are links between the poems and that, in spite of the independence of every poem, one can speak of a certain unity in the work of Lina Spies. The child takes an important position in the material used in her oeuvre since it appears continuously in the work of Lina Spies, and also serves as a link between many other poetic elements. The child is represented as an intuitive and non-rational creature, for whom creating poetry comes naturally or as a matter of course. At the same time, however, the child also embodies the element of doubt about the creative ability. The following elements are all interwoven in the child : the figure of Christ, material for the fairy-tale, game, the phenomenon of objectifying, the relationship with other people, memories and religion. Thus the child serves as an encompassing image in the poetry of Lina Spies. Because the child forms such an essential part of this poetry, the fairy-tale and the game, just like natural corporeality, are, almost as a matter of course most important elements in this poetry. One of the most comprehensive fields of poetic material in the oeuvre of Lina Spies, is love, and although it constantly returns, it assumes a variety of content. Spies create links between love and poetry: the word almost always being insufficient to comprise the beloved. In these verses a consciousness of the body is prominent. The poet strips herself of all pretentions, even the corporeal, in an attempt to be sincere, also towards the beloved. Naturally this attempt is linked with the unpretentious nakedness of the child. The poet often uses art, especially poetry and music, but also the art of painting, to try and extend and deepen love. In the love poems the paradox of completeness versus brokenness is remarkable and furthermore one is struck by the earthy character of the poems. The religious is another potent component of what she draws on, nor is it limited to the poems which are utterly religious in their nature. There is a profound connection between love and religion, since there is a parallel between the quest for Christ and the quest for the beloved. The fairy-tale, art and childhood are all integrated with religion too. It is important that the poet also sees the
religious aspect in earthy things, everyday things and even in the national. The great number of poems about cities or places proves or represents the quest of the travelling person: in search of a haven and of love. There is, for example, a clear link between erotic love and the love of places. The spatial positioning of man is connected on the one hand with his earthiness, and his sensuality, and on the other hand with spiritual qualities like religion and love. The use of colours and flowers links a great variety of things like the beloved, nature and even extremes like the physical and the religious. The important role played by nature in this poetry, stands to reason considering the background of the known elements of her oeuvre. The use of the sun and the seasons is particularly conspicuous. Complementary to the figure of the child Lina Spies also uses historical or artistic personalities for her poetry. These can be called 'symbiotic poems', since several elements are interwoven in them. In her commentary on the social dispensation Lina Spies also intertwines the well-known invariables, the child, poetry and religion. Finally, man is for Lina Spies the focus of all the recurring invariables. It is remarkable too that these invariables do not recur in a static form but that new bonds are continuously created.
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- Humanities [2671]