While on earth we are made human, and as such every man or woman is susceptible to the virulent criticisms put forth by people no more supreme than one's self. It is in this same sense that Whitney Houston succumbed to the pressures of fame and fortune by turning to a drug habit that eventually contributed to her death. Though these two artistic figures inhabit starkly contrasting worlds, they are inherently drawn together through their struggles with life in the public eye and the effects of criticism and fame.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Whitney Houston: A Modern Day Keats
In the wake of the tragic passing of Whitney Houston, one of my favorite artists, I couldn't help but draw a few fundamental parallels between the deaths of the two artists. Throughout Shelley's elegy, fame and notoriety play a fundamental role in determining the catalyst for Keats's death. In the preface, Keats illustrates the progression of mental to physical deterioration in large part due to the "savage criticism" of his Endymion. Shelley argues that the emotional distress inflicted on Keats's "susceptible mind" eventually manifested itself into his physical demise. Later in the 5th section Shelley describes fame as a "bright station" where others "not all dare to climb" (38). Furthermore that one must tread "the thorny road,/which leads, through toil and hate, to fame's serene/ abode" (44-46). Shelley argues that with infamy comes a road of "toil and hate", referring to the public scrutiny and criticism that so many artists must endure before making it to "fame's serene abode".
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I LOVE this parallel. I think this post relates Shelley's relationship to Keats with common relationships people have with celebrities, such as musicians or athletes. I feel that Shelley has an appreciation for the criticism becuase, as we discussed in class, it keeps the piece alive because it is being discussed. Some people would argue that negative publicity is better than no publicity at all. Towards the end of the poem, Shelley says "That Light whose smile kindles the Universe" (478) presenting Keats as having the potential to survive beyond his physical body through his works, just as Whitney lives on in her music.
ReplyDeleteThis post definitely brings the prevalent conflict many writers of this time strove to explore in their works: bodily mortality versus poetic immortality. As we discussed in class, especially with regard to Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn," the concept is one we, as mortals, struggle with. Shelley and Keats and other artists of their time (regardless of what field) attempted, or so it seems, to achieve artistic immortality through their pieces. Perhaps this was a way for them to come to terms with, or at the very least give some hope, to the idea of eternity. Not surprisingly, the passage of time and inevitable death is a heavy thought to breach or accept. Whitney Houston's drug addiction is a more modern-day coping mechanism to distract from feelings of immortality. Certainly, her music acts as a medium through which she may live on. However, I think Houston may have also resorted to illicit drug activities as a way to deflect attention from physical mortality though, quite ironically, that activity is what contributed to her early demise.
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