L'Etranger Poem by Irene Pang

L'Etranger



This poem is written as a reflection on Albert Camus' tour-de-force novel, L'etranger (the Stranger) . However, instead of applying Albert Camus' writing style, I attempted to write like Shakespeare, using his Elizabethan English, which I eventually realized, ain't easy at all.

Maman died today,
or perhaps, yest'day.

Thou walk'st under the yellow leaves,
see'st the polished hearse with no griefs,
thinking of none but the weather,
while in casket laid thy mother.

Then sunset fadeth in the west,
and night breeze embarketh on quest.
Thou perceivest the air be calm,
so touchest thy face with thy palm.

Raptured with soothing emotions,
thou remain'st still without motions.
Then it occurreth to thee slow,
that the fires of life still glow.

Though thy Maman has left with Ange,
nothing really, say'st thee, has changed.

(4/8/2008)

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Irene Pang 12 May 2008

Je prends le francais a l'ecole, mais mon francais n'est pas tres bien. Donc, je ne pense pas que je peux lire l'Etranger en francais... I understand perfectly well why you quoted my last two verses in particular. Of course, Camus is an atheist! One of the core principles of Existentialism is that God does not exist. As a result, everyone of us is responsible for what deeds we committ instead of relying on a supernatural power above us to overlook our responsibilites. Camus wouldn't believe that Meursault's mother 'has left with Ange' because Camus himself does not believe in the existence of such power. However, my poem was not written from Camus' perspective. Rather, it was written from my own perspective. 'Though thy Maman has left with Ange' is merely a verse that allows me to inform the fact that his mother was already dead. The verse was not meant to reflect what Camus believes... And what do you mean Taoist reality?

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Roland Bastien 10 May 2008

L etranger fut ecrit en Francais. Camus shaped the North African consiousness through the Existentialism panameter, a philosophical and literary movement, variously religious and atheistic, stemming from Kierkegaard and represnted by Sarte, Heidegger ctc. your verses': Though thy Maman has left with Ange, nothing really, say'st thee, has changed ---- YOU Missed the Camus ' point de vue' - read l'etranger in French, that might help (north African reality, not Taoist.)

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