Original Research
Die vrou in T.T. Cloete se 'toepasslngs van dante'
Literator | Vol 19, No 1 | a509 |
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/lit.v19i1.509
| © 1998 R. Ward
| This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 26 April 1998 | Published: 26 April 1998
Submitted: 26 April 1998 | Published: 26 April 1998
About the author(s)
R. Ward, Departement Afrikaans en Nederlands, Universiteit van Stellenbosch, South AfricaFull Text:
PDF (360KB)Abstract
Woman in T.T. Cloete’s 'toepasslngs van dante'
In T.T. Cloete's fourth collection of poems, Idiolek (1986), several references are made to the poetry of Dante Alighieri. At the core of this collection are three poems under the heading "toepassings van dante". The first, "Silhoeët van Beatrice", is a description of the outline of Beatrice's naked body. The second poem, "mooi marilyn monroe foto in rooi", is based on a pin-up of Marilyn Monroe posing naked against a backdrop of red velvet. Although these two women are almost exact opposites - Beatrice possessing a divine beauty and an almost Christ-like nature, whereas Marilyn Monroe is portrayed as a dumb blonde and sex symbol of the fifties - the two poems are suspiciously similar in style and content. Both women are portrayed as being fundamentally perfect ("fundamenteel perfek"). In symbolizing the same virtues, they lose their unique and contrasting characteristics, and merge into a symbol of female perfection. Although the third poem, "columbae", does not have the Beatrice/Marilyn Monroe-figure as subject matter, it can be read as dealing with the issue of individuality and uniqueness, thus commenting on the previous two poems.
In T.T. Cloete's fourth collection of poems, Idiolek (1986), several references are made to the poetry of Dante Alighieri. At the core of this collection are three poems under the heading "toepassings van dante". The first, "Silhoeët van Beatrice", is a description of the outline of Beatrice's naked body. The second poem, "mooi marilyn monroe foto in rooi", is based on a pin-up of Marilyn Monroe posing naked against a backdrop of red velvet. Although these two women are almost exact opposites - Beatrice possessing a divine beauty and an almost Christ-like nature, whereas Marilyn Monroe is portrayed as a dumb blonde and sex symbol of the fifties - the two poems are suspiciously similar in style and content. Both women are portrayed as being fundamentally perfect ("fundamenteel perfek"). In symbolizing the same virtues, they lose their unique and contrasting characteristics, and merge into a symbol of female perfection. Although the third poem, "columbae", does not have the Beatrice/Marilyn Monroe-figure as subject matter, it can be read as dealing with the issue of individuality and uniqueness, thus commenting on the previous two poems.
Keywords
No related keywords in the metadata.
Metrics
Total abstract views: 3171Total article views: 4320
Crossref Citations
1. T.T. Cloete as literary critic, theoretician and historian (Part 1): Columns, anthologies and literary criticism
Hendrik Van Coller
Literator vol: 37 issue: 1 year: 2016
doi: 10.4102/lit.v37i1.1263