Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain."
T. S. Eliot thought that April is the cruelest month of the year because it brings back memories, including bad ones. I disagree—I like April, it's spring and the weather's nice. I think the cruelest month is January. Christmas and all the festivities are over, and when I reflect on the past year I feel sad for some reason. I realize how fast time is, and many memories swarm my head. And it's cold.
2 comments:
I sometimes think April is a cruel month because of pollen season. April showers can bring about spring allergies....and I have bad allergies. Particularly when it comes to pollen and that has always been immensely frustrating. But anyway, April isn't that bad. I mean, it's eastertime, 'lotta people get together to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, kids'll go hunting for plastic eggs that have little candies inside them or the Easter bunny (to believe or not to believe) will bring them other goods. It's a fun time for a lot of people, including myself. If I'm not sneezing or coughing. I think January's a cruel month as well. Sometimes it's hard for people to come back to school or work after Christmas because they were having such a great time with their families and then it's like wow, back to the hustle and bustle of real life, and it's cold too so some people'll miss sitting in front of the fireplace on cold December nights or drinking hot chocolate with that fun cousin from out-of-town and such. I wonder what T.S. Eliot thought of January...
I actually feel like the cruelest month in New Orleans is August because it’s so oppressively hot…
In all seriousness, I really like your analysis of January. I think T.S. Eliot says April is cruel because the first hints of spring are coming—therefore, it’s a reminder of both past and future, what has been and what will be. April is a liminal state of being, an in-between place, which makes us feel caught or trapped. In contrast, winter is more certain. The phrase “winter kept us warm” seems paradoxical, but it has some truth in it. For one, you can snuggle up with blankets inside!
But honestly, Jun, I think you’re right. I don’t really reflect on the past in April. That’s sort of what we do in December/January (although Christmas is definitely my favorite time of the year, so I can’t say that December is all that cruel for me). As most of you probably know, the word January comes from Janus, the two-faced god. We’re both looking forward to the future and looking back to the past. Plus, winter is commonly associated with death. Therefore, I would say that’s it’s interesting that T.S. Eliot chose April as the cruelest month, but I feel like a main reason he calls out April is precisely because no one would suspect it.
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