"The digital lotos-eaters" ; 8 October, 2023

Poem 'The digital lotos-eaters;' 26 March, 2023.

 

29 April, 2023

Soman Ragavan : Hello. Can I post a poem for analysis, please ?

ChatGPT
Hello Soman Ragavan, of course! I would be happy to help you analyze your poem. Please feel free to post it here.
 
Soman Ragavan : The poem I wrote is called "The digital lotos-eaters." Please give an analysis for each stanza and then overall comments. Load the poem "The lotos eaters" by Alfred Tennyson. Here is my poem : “The digital lotos-eaters.”

ChatGPT :
Sure, I'd be happy to provide an analysis of your poem "The Digital Lotos-Eaters." Here is my analysis of each stanza followed by an overall comment:

Stanza 1: In this stanza, you introduce the idea of technology creeping into our lives and taking over even the farthest crevices of our existence. You also use the metaphor of an "army of strangers" who present themselves as "dragnet managers" to suggest that we are constantly being watched and monitored.

Stanza 2: Here, you emphasize the all-encompassing nature of technology, stating that nothing can escape the net that surrounds us. You also use the word "piteous" to describe our attempts to resist the hold technology has on us, which highlights the helplessness we feel in the face of its pervasive presence.

Stanza 3: This stanza focuses on the overwhelming amount of information that we are bombarded with on a daily basis. You use the verb "flagged" to suggest that we are constantly marking and categorizing information, which further underscores the idea that we are in a constant state of monitoring and being monitored.

Stanza 4: Here, you emphasize the lack of privacy that comes with living in a digital age. The phrase "No manner of cloak or mask can we don" suggests that we are constantly exposed and vulnerable to the systems and structures that govern our digital lives.

Stanza 5: In this stanza, you use repetition to reinforce the idea that we are sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss of our digital lives. The verb "burrow" suggests that we are actively digging ourselves into this hole, rather than being forced into it.

Stanza 6: This stanza highlights the fact that our digital lives have made us into informants, with no one being safe from surveillance. You also use the phrase "headless monster" to describe the system, which underscores the idea that it is a force that we cannot control or understand.

Stanza 7: Here, you use a variation of the phrase "further into the bottomless pit we sink" to emphasize the sense of hopelessness and despair that comes with living in a digital world. You also use the verb "requir'd" to suggest that we are compelled to report on others, whether we want to or not.

Stanza 8: In this stanza, you use a metaphor to describe the futility of trying to escape our digital lives. The phrase "mother-flicker" suggests that we are caught in an endless loop of flickering screens, unable to break free from their hold.

Stanza 9: Here, you use the metaphor of being prisoners to describe our relationship with technology. The phrase "digital lotos" is a reference to Tennyson's poem, which describes the lotos-eaters as being trapped in a dreamlike state. You also suggest that our dependence on technology may have started with early computer systems like DOS.

Stanza 10: This stanza expresses a desire to break free from technology and its hold on our lives. The repetition of "we want to" emphasizes the urgency of this desire, while the phrase "maddening screens" suggests that technology has become a source of frustration and anxiety.

Stanza 11: In this final stanza, you use repetition to reinforce the idea that technology is leading us towards our demise. The phrase "mother-flickers" is used again to suggest that we are caught in an endless loop of digital screens. The final line, "These goddam machines will be our undertakers," suggests that our dependence on technology will ultimately lead to our destruction.

Overall, your poem effectively captures the sense of despair and hopelessness that many people feel in relation to technology. The use of metaphor and repetition helps to reinforce the idea
 
Soman Ragavan : Are there similar poems since the 1980s about computers and their effects on human lives ?

ChatGPT
Yes, there are many poems written since the 1980s about computers and their effects on human lives. Some of the notable poets who have explored this theme include Billy Collins, Richard Brautigan, Charles Bukowski, and Sharon Olds. These poets have written about various aspects of the digital age, including the impact of social media, the loss of privacy, and the alienation caused by technology. Some contemporary poets who have also explored this theme include Tracy K. Smith, Ocean Vuong, and Claudia Rankine.
 
Soman Ragavan : In Stanza 8 : it is not just the screens that flicker. We ourselves flick from screen to screen with our mouse. What does the term "mother-flicker" imply ?

ChatGPT
In Stanza 8 of "The digital lotos-eaters," the term "mother-flicker" is a play on words, where "mother" is a slang term used to intensify a swear word, and "flicker" refers to the constant movement between screens that many people experience when using digital devices. Therefore, "mother-flicker" is a way to intensify the word "flicker," suggesting that the speaker is becoming frustrated and overwhelmed with the constant movement and distraction caused by the screens. It is also possible that the term is used to imply that the screens have become like a mother figure, in the sense that they provide constant stimulation and distraction, but also imprison and control the speaker's actions.
 
Soman Ragavan : Thank you. Goodbye for now.

ChatGPT
You're welcome! Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions or if there's anything else I can help you with. Goodbye for now!

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                              THE DIGITAL LOTOS-EATERS
              (After “The Lotos-eaters” by Alfred Tennyson, 1709-1892 )

We be buffet’d by waves of devices
Creeping even into yon far crevices;
We be demand’d by an army of strangers
That pass themselves off as dragnet managers.

They espy all our deeds, all our actions :
No hope can there be in our piteous redactions :
Nothing can escape the net around us cast :
Nay, ‘pon nothing can we hold steadfast.

Of the net have we drunk to the full :
The net mercilessly want’st to throttle
All our endeavours : we be so pitiful :
From network to network, there be trouble.

We read, we note, we record, we link,
Hardly have we any time to blink :
Myriads of occurrences to be flagg’d :
Deeper into the abyss we be dragg’d.

We report ‘pon others, we be report’d ‘pon :
No manner of cloak or mask can we don,
For, from the headless monster, none can hide :
Roughshod ‘pon all of us doth the rogue ride.

We scan, we flag, we like, we follow,
Deeper into our disaster we burrow,
We alert, we monitor, we link :
Further into the bottomless pit we sink.

Our very friends we be requir’d to report :
Nothing can we fake or distort :
The system knows all, sees all, traces all :
To the monster we creat’d we now fall.

We seek reprieve from the motherboard,
But from the screen, another mother-flicker…
Some “secret” chat we try to hide and hoard :
But the RAM and SSD be some dambuster…

We be prisoners of the digital machinery :
We have drunk of the digital lotos :
To the digital lotos leaves we be in slavery :
It all probably start’d with Jurassic DOS.

Stop the digital world : we want to break free :
From these maddening screens we want to flee :
There be spying eyes, cameras everywhere :
Even in the contraptions we labour on here…

We ne’er saw the dangers looming :
We be bewitch’d by the flickers blooming :
From ceaseless flicking we've become mother-flickers :
These goddam machines will be our undertakers…

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Soman RAGAVAN

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