Official GMD Photo/Social Thread

[unknown]

so who wants to pack my bags for me? 3 days left
~gR~

if by "pack my bags" you mean "stuff my asshole with penis", then it doesn't sound like such a bad deal.

 

[Hammer of Might]

Barbaric filth metal!

 

[Zephyrus]

Here's a couple pics of the Nachtmystium shirt I picked up at the NE Metal Fest.


Kind of reminds me of Samael's Worship Him cover art.

 

[unknown]

My review for the new Manes album!

 

[genocide roach]

if by "pack my bags" you mean "stuff my asshole with penis", then it doesn't sound like such a bad deal.

i know you guys would love the chance at a hot piece of ass like myself. however, i meant that literally. i hate packing shit. and i gotta pack enough shit for 6 months! so... who wants to pack my shit?
~gR~

 

[skeptik]

On Addressing Death
​

The speaker in John Keats’ “To Sleep,” a tired, wearied soul in his own right, builds upon and complicates his relationship with his addressee, namely Sleep, through a regressively exalted and progressively distressed form of address that begins as an ode and is reduced to a desperate plea. The speaker’s illustrious praising, extolling the virtues of Sleep, are abruptly abandoned in favor of a more abbreviated and troubled tone, calling upon his addressee to “save” him, rather than to, “if so it please thee [Sleep], close” his “willing eyes” (5-6). The distinct shift in address from the initial octave to the concluding sestet is a key turning point in the relationship shared between the speaker and Sleep, building upon a certain urgency reflected in the shift of tone, diction, and brevity of speech. The panic stricken speaker who utters the final lines of the poem is in stark contrast to the wide-eyed admirer found in the beginning; the depraved figure calling for the “seal[ing of] the hushed Casket of my Soul” is not looking for sleep, but for escape, or rather, he is looking for death (14). The depth of the association between speaker and addressee is not easily extracted from the poem, which suggests a rather complicated relationship on Keats’ part.

Keats’ speaker initially appears simply to be something along the lines of a weary traveler, longing for a well-earned night’s rest; he calls upon Sleep, the keeper of his desires, and extols the many wonders of its being in a clearly respectful and admiring tone, addressing it as “O soft embalmer of the still midnight” (1). “O soothest Sleep!,” he says, “if so it please thee, close / in midst of this thine hymn my willing eyes” (5-6). The most initially striking feature of the introductory phrases to the two quatrains of the octave is the diction employed by Keats in order to address his subject, using such high diction phrases as “if so it please thee” and “in midst of this thine hymn,” in addition to the exalted ‘O’ addresses that preface each (1, 5-6). Another characteristic feature of the octave as opposed to the sestet is the tone that is present in the speaker’s choice of words. He begins in a passive, trifling tone, as exemplified in such as “if it so please thee” and “or wait the “Amen,” ere thy poppy throws / around my bed its lulling charities” (5, 7-8). These passages read as a man, humbled before his superior, asking a petty favor, but making sure to note that it is of such trivial importance to a man of such stature and that he should take his time responding to his wishes given the insignificance of the request, though in reality it is of the utmost importance to the underling. Such sentiment is echoed in the speaker’s tone, not wanting to trouble Sleep, yet all the while being in great need of its services. In contrast to the tone of the octave, the sestet is surprisingly less elaborate and complicated, beginning abruptly to state the speaker’s intention of addressing Sleep. No longer is he meandering along the road of praise, but jumping immediately into the plea of “then save me,” demonstrating an immediate separation between the first half of the sonnet and the second (9). He wastes no time describing the general actions of Sleep, as he does in the first half, detailing the “shutting, with careful fingers and benign, ‘ our gloom-pleas’d eyes, embower’d from the light / enshaded in forgetfulness divine” (2-4). This is a rather elaborate and (appropriately) eccentric means of saying that Sleep ‘closes’ the eyes of the tired, incorporating multiple elaborate phrases in order to construct a sufficiently pompous declaration of honor for the bearer of the ever-so essential rest, and is considerably absent from the concluding sestet. Rather, he longs for the needed ‘sleep,’ or else he will suffer “the passed day [that] will shine / upon my pillow, breeding many woes” (9-10). This shift from one form of address of high praise and honor to abrupt and urgent plea can be further observed through the diction, style, and tone.

As touched on previously, the clear shift in intent from the octave to the sestet is not only evident contextually through the message of the poem, but is also exemplified in the tools employed by Keats to highlight the contrast between the two. This shift is also a demonstration in how Keats further develops the relationship shared between the speaker and the addressee. The “O soft embalmer” and “O soothest Sleep” of the start of the poem are entirely absent by the end, and, in fact, the speaker is not even explicitly addressed by name or reference, but merely the recipient of the speaker’s desperate pleas (1, 5). In the octave, the speaker addresses Sleep with “thee” and “thine,” elder terms generally reserved in standard speech for only the most eloquent of addresses, demonstrating the highest level of honor and admiration for the recipient of such terminology (5, 6). By the sestet, as previously stated, Sleep is not even addressed explicitly, and the focus is solely on the “me,” whereas in the octave, the speaker only addresses himself passively or when appropriately fitting, such as referring to Sleep closing “my willing eyes,” and not the “save me” found in the second part of the poem (6, 9). Another interesting facet common to high diction works of earlier centuries is the use of elision, the stylistic device of omitting a sound or sounds in order to achieve a given effect or preserve the rhythm of the poem. While the usage of elision as a form of higher diction may largely rest upon the connotative association of the term with older, more eloquent works, at the same time, “our gloom-pleas’d eyes, embower’d from the light” gives off a certain sophistication that is highlighted by the use of the abbreviation (3). The noticeable shift in tone exhibits the further complication that develops in the speaker’s relationship with the addressee, building an urgency not sensed from the beginning but all encompassing in the end. The octave is made up of two complete sentences, not punctuated by any separation of ideas, but rather flowing naturally, whereas in the sestet, it is solely one long sentence traversing the 6 lines, but every other line introduces a new idea, while not breaking off into a new sentence. This is a representation of the clarity (or lack thereof) of thought found in the speaker during this segment of the sonnet, where, as highlighted by the idea of the single sentence, it is essential to maintain a brevity of message, however, as highlighted by the three distinct ideas, the speaker’s thoughts are rather confused and jumbled, seeming distressed and at wit’s end regarding his fate of not being able to achieve the ‘sleep’ that has been eluding him. The speaker is reduced to a humbled mass, pleading his case to Sleep, the keeper of that which he seeks, and this humbling is portrayed through the slight shift to a lower diction and a more straightforward, yet confused, mode of communication.

The stark contrast between the octave and the sestet brings up a key question, that being the ambiguity of the true meaning of the sleep which the speaker seeks; the octave does not appear to give any blatant clues as to sleep meaning anything other than rest, yet the language expressed in the sestet may suggest a more morbid implication. The speaker pleads to sleep for salvation, that “the passed day will shine / upon my pillow, breeding many woes” (9-10). This suggests, rather than merely longing for rest, the speaker is seeking the ultimate sleep, namely death, so that the sun will not rise upon his bed again, awaking him to the daily tribulations. Again he cries for salvation, from the “curious Conscience, that still lords / its strength for darkness,” suggesting his desire to escape, even now from the trappings of his own mind, in which the “darkness” lies (11-12). He compares his conscience to a mole, a burrowing animal, tearing through the earth’s surface and working its way through the confines of the earth to make its home, much like the darkness in his mind burrows into his sanity (12). The fact that this “strength for darkness” is “lord[ed]” over him suggests that he is overpowered by this force and is, comparatively, weak against it, leading to the necessity of escape. This longing to escape, to be rid of the ensnaring hold that his psyche has over him, is the predominant theme that runs throughout the concluding sestet, and although this escape may not necessarily be death, the choice of words and imagery that serve as the final plea of the speaker lend aid to such a claim. He is seeking an escape from the troubles of his life, and he asks of Sleep to “turn the key deftly in the oiled wards, / and seal the hushed Casket of my Soul,” which suggests that the escape in mind rests in the finality brought on only by death (13-14). The choice language of the casket and the soul heighten the probability that the speaker is referencing death, as the metaphor seems a bit strong to be merely a longing for sleep. The imagery of “deftly,” or swiftly and skillfully, “turn[ing] the key…in the oiled wards” also aids this implication, the imagery of the lock eluding to the idea of the permanence and closure found in death, though the closing of a lock is not necessarily permanent, as is death; the quick turning of the key calls to mind a sense of the last throes of relief that can only be found in death, such as a terminally wounded soldier on the battlefield, the only humane option left being to put a bullet cleanly through his head to spare him the pain and agony of slowly bleeding to death. The euthanizing property of the diction seems to echo the feelings of the speaker, his lifeblood slowly bleeding out of him, and rather than lie down and bleed to death, he is calling for the euthanizing bullet of death from Sleep, or the reaper, as a long literary history of imagery would suggest. It is at this point that the reader truly becomes aware of the reality of poem; the speaker is not merely a weary traveler seeking solace in a good night’s sleep, but rather a tortured soul looking for an end. He is calling for the scythe of the reaper, and not the Sandman’s magic. In making this distinction, the reader becomes aware of the true depth of the relationship between speaker and addressee, appearing as one thing on the surface, but containing much more deeper down.

The nature of the relationship shared between the speaker and the addressee in John Keats’ “To Sleep” lies deeper than the surface, being a rather complicated association of appearing one thing on a literal level, but in fact reading in a more involved and developed matter below the surface. Keats’ speaker is speaking to Sleep, initially singing its praises, and then devolving into a plea for salvation. The sense of the depth of this relationship is articulated through the poet’s use of diction, style, and tone, heightening the distinct nature of the two halves of the sonnet. When analyzing the choice of words and the tone set by the speaker in the concluding sestet, and the way that it is structured, the deeper meaning appears to imply that the speaker is, in fact, speaking to the reaper, and is pleading for salvation from his torments through death, and not rest.

 

[~Derek~]

Here's a couple pics of the Nachtmystium shirt I picked up at the NE Metal Fest.


Kind of reminds me of Samael's Worship Him cover art.

It looks nice, I wish you had gotten a bigger picture uploaded so I can see it more in-depthly, just put the web address in the window that has an upload link part and copy and paste there and it should work and be big, I did it for my Nile shirt pic and it worked.

 

[Zephyrus]

It looks nice, I wish you had gotten a bigger picture uploaded so I can see it more in-depthly, just put the web address in the window that has an upload link part and copy and paste there and it should work and be big, I did it for my Nile shirt pic and it worked.

The site I used puts them up as thumbnails. Just click on the pictures and you'll see a much larger version.

 

[unknown]

Is that an essay you wrote, Dodes?

 

[skeptik]

Not proudly, but yes. One of these days I'm going to actually write an essay that I spend time on and am happy with.

 

[~Neurotica]

Who, Keith?

He looks like swizzlenuts if he was fat, btw..

 

[swizzlenuts]

What the fuck is wrong with you?

 

[~Neurotica]

With me?.. Just look at your fat self.

 

[swizzlenuts]

You're not worth my time.

 

[Hammer of Might]

Is there an area for people to post essays etc?

I could post up my most recent one on the Roman Emperor Julian, although it is TOTAL SHIT as I rushed it in a week due to imminent exams.

An interesting topic though.

 

[~Neurotica]

You're not worth my time.

So fuck off?

 

[Hammer of Might]

Be quiet, silly people.

 

[swizzlenuts]

Be quiet, silly people.

Check your PMs

 

[~Neurotica]

All Peters can think about is PMS... Holy shit.

 

[Hammer of Might]

Cool - check yours!