Jericho Brown extensively discusses myth, elegy, fable, and fairy tale through a soft evaluation of masculinity, race, and sexuality in “The New Testament.” Extremely musical, Jericho Brown’s poetry is characterized by reverence- subsequently transporting and changing the target audience. Brown suggests that “As for praise and worship, I make preference to the last.” Further, “The New Testament” largely discusses the elimination of culture and ethnicity, elegizes two brothers who are haunted by shame, yet triumph and survive in the event of brutality and illness (Jacob, 2016). Besides, Brown does not necessarily revise the Bible but rather seeks the redemption source. “The New Testament” encompasses one of the leading poems encountered in a collection. Further, Brown’s “The New Testament” extensively draws on mythology, fairy tales, and Bible tales with the primary aim of commenting on queerness, masculinity, race, and family. Besides, Brown utilizes language and imagery in a bold and evocative manner. The poems described in “The New Testament” are engaged in an empathetic, human, and enlightening manner in order to bring out its meaning to the intended audience. Brown pulls a real skill by establishing poems that display raw emotion as well as personal experience, and provokes social and political resonance. Brown’s personal work regarding masculinity and how men fall in love or fail to love is one to focus on, read loudly, and pay attention to. Brown extensively raises the individual to Biblical proportions (Jacob, 2016). More importantly, Brown’s “The New Testament acknowledges the issue of mortality, specifically the souls and body, and the grief-stricken broken relationship between brothers, which could be seen in the art cover designed by Leon Bonnat. The art cover shows two male figures, one standing and the other seated. The calmness of the two individuals is juxtaposed with the immense strength and tension evident in the bodies highlighted in the artwork, together with expression that seems ambiguous. The stories presented by Brown are considerably old and our strategies for narrating them dictate how we come to gain knowledge for the suffering of other individuals. Besides, there are four poems entitled “Another Elegy” in Brown’s The New Testament (Jacob, 2016). An elegy refers to a poem that is usually authored as a lament for the dead. As such, these four poems can be considered as ‘lamenting’ similar thing through various senses or simply directions.
In the first poem, there is evidence of elegy in the last four lines which states “Expect to lose again as you stand for nothing over his body, witness or reporter, murderer or kin.” These lines express deep grief as well as sorrow over personal loss. Further, “over his body” relates to a dead individual. It is evident that lament is expressed through verbal means whereby the potential character lament regarding something that they have lost. More importantly, the author states in the first line that “expect death in every line and death is considered a metaphor that stands for nothing.” Besides, the author is conveying a message to the imaginary audience that death cannot be avoided and it happens to everyone regardless of their status in the society. Also, Jericho Brown educates his audience on the need to embrace death and expect to lose someone they love again as they stand for nothing (Jacob, 2016). In addition, the poem is extensively characterized by themes of loss, mourning, and reflection. Nevertheless, the author utilizes elegy in this poem in order to explore the themes of redemption and consolation. Brown suggests that death enters whether or not your house is not in order and whether or not you are clean. This gives a consolation that death does not discriminate and anyone can become a victim.
Further, in the second poem, the author opines that “One day, I was born, that was long ago.” In essence, this means that the character is a dead person and died long time ago. Additionally, elegy is evident in this line in that the author largely describes what happens to a body in the event of death. For instance, Brown states that “My students cross and un-cross bare legs, one thigh, in turn, holding the other down.” The author indicates “my students” which necessarily relates to the termites that feed on a body when dead. The author incorporates the themes of loss and reflection (Jacob, 2016). Brown solely reflects on the happenings in the deathbed. He states that “I live with a disease instead of a lover.” This relates to a traumatizing moment since the author is already dead. He goes ahead and states “To my body, share a house but do not speak.” This statement reflects on the theme of loss. In essence, “to my body” means a non-living thing. Besides, elegy in this poem extensively reflects on death or loss.
In addition, in the third poem, Jericho Brown states in the first line that “This is what our dying looks like.” In essence, this means that the author or character in the poem has already had an experience of death. More importantly, the author argues that “… and there is nothing to do but watch the sun go down into the ground that cradles us as any coffin can.” In essence, it is largely known that a coffin or casket is a funerary box that is often used for viewing or storing a corpse, either for burial or simply cremation. Besides, coffins are usually tapered in order to conform to the shape of a human form. As such, this poem is considered an elegy since it reflects upon death or a loss. Brown seemingly states “this is what dying looks like” and goes ahead to reflect upon the happenings witnessed by a dead person (Jacob, 2016). Also, this poem explores the theme of consolation, reflection, loss, and redemption in that the author reflects upon what dying looks like. Brown suggests “… in his sleep, unaware of the earth moving beneath him…” this statement refers to a dead person who has no idea of what is happening in the outside world or the world around him.
In the fourth poem, Jericho Brown states that “… you wipe, you rub, but love will not move.” This statement is in relation to a dead person. Before a funeral ceremony or burial, a deceased person is often wiped and rubbed before being donned in fresh clothing. By stating this, the author presents an instance of elegy in the poem. This is because he reflects upon death or loss. The poem is characterized by themes of reflection and consolation. This is evident in the lines where the author states “let him walk out with the good spoons or die without a signature, and much remains for scrubbing.” In essence, Jericho Brown here reflects upon the life of the deceased. The author laments the death of a character by expressing deep grief and sorrow. By suggesting that “… and much remains for scrubbing” the author means that the deceased leaves behind several things that need to be eliminated (Jacob, 2016). Nevertheless, the poem is considered an example of elegy since it extensively discusses the life left behind by the deceased person and summons myth, fable, and most importantly, elegy.
In conclusion, these four poems can be considered as lamenting a similar thing. Further, Jericho Brown extensively discusses myth, elegy, fable, and fairy tale through a soft evaluation of masculinity, race, and sexuality in “The New Testament.” Extremely musical, Jericho Brown’s poetry is characterized by reverence- subsequently transporting and changing the target audience. Brown suggests that “As for praise and worship, I make preference to the last.” Further, “The New Testament” largely discusses the elimination of culture and ethnicity, elegizes two brothers who are haunted by shame, yet triumph and survive in the event of brutality and illness. The poems described in “The New Testament” are engaged in an empathetic, human, and enlightening manner in order to bring out its meaning to the intended audience. Brown pulls a real skill by establishing poems that display raw emotion as well as personal experience, and provokes social and political resonance. Brown’s personal work regarding masculinity and how men fall in love or fail to love is one to focus on, read loudly, and pay attention to.
Reference
Jacob L. (2016). The New Testament by Jericho Brown. The Hopkins Review 9 (1), 138-141.
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