The Symphonic Poem Style
by Jerome Heath
profjerryheath@hyahoo.com
The symphonic poem style was developed by the writers of scripture. The important development is the use of competing themes to enhance emotion. Whether the competing themes are from the original author or from editors, one of the meanings of these themes is their development of emotional enhancement.
Two of the best sources of this kind of poetry is Isaiah and Revelation. Isaiah 24+ is one of the most carefully constructed symphonic poems. In Isaiah there are many competing themes, that is it is more like Wagner, then like Dvorak. The dissonant theme is apparent in Isaiah 24:
"The new wine dries up and the vine withers; All the merrymakers groan."
But the dissonant theme is mixed with the positive theme (here among others):
"O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name."
But again:
"You have made the city a heap of rubble;"
And:
"You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat:"
In competition with another theme, the birth of The Son, from previous verses, we are told:
"We were with child, we writhed in pain,
but we gave birth to wind."
And so we find:
"The fortified city stands desolate,
an abandoned settlement,
forsaken like the desert;
there the calves graze,
there they lie down;
they strip its branches bare."
But in Isaiah 35, to resolve the dissonance, we are told, as the positive reasserts itself:
"The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy."
In Revelation there seems to be only two themes, and we can picture them as the good (heavenly) and the evil (earthly). The themes mix as in all good symphonic poetry but they are clearly distinct in meaning. In revelation chapter 20 is perhaps the most dissonant portion of the "evil" theme:
"They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
"Then I saw the great white thrown and Him who was seated
on it.
Earth and sky fled from His presence."
"The lake of fire is the second death.
If anyone`s name was not found written in the book of life,
he was thrown in the lake of fire."
And, here, the dissonance is almost complete, there appears no possible resolution. But this "perfect" symphonic poem resolves this, the most complete of dissonance, with some of the most beautiful poetry ever written (similar to the Love Death in Tristan and Isolte):
"[But] I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
and there was no longer any sea.
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband."
Of course there is more as the author has captured a most beautiful moment in symphonic poetry, and does not want to miss any opportunity at emphasizing the greatness of this moment.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead starts with The Light much like Revelation, but ends with the choice between hell and rebirth. The Ring of Wagner starts with Rhiengold and nature and ends with Gotterdammerung, which includes both hell and rebirth as a premonition of World War II. Revelation starts with The Light and ends with Immanuel; God is with us. The realization that The Light is Jesus, and is Bhagavan not Brahman, allows us to see that God is with us.
Bible quotations are from the New International Version, Zondervan Bible Publishers: Grand Rapids, MI.
Jerome Heath
profjerryheath@hyahoo.com
The Apocalypse The New Earth The River A Time of Passing Concrete Jungle Twinkle Garlands Trauma`s End