2 Palimpses – Johann de Lange
Palimpsest
1 Bome skryf teen die blou
Trees write against the blue
2 kreukellose lug dinge
uncreased sky things
3 wat niemand verstaan nie.
nobody understands.
4 Houtkappers kom met byle
Lodgers arrive with axes
5 en vel die bome.
and fell the trees.
6 Meulens saag en maal
Mills saw and grind
7 en pulp en plet die hout.
and pulp and press the wood.
8 Stil is die bome;
The trees are quiet;
9 stil, net tot hy kletterend
silent, only until the clattering
10 met sy tikmasjien
with typewriter
11 uit selfs die fynste grein
from even the finest grain
12 die hele gamma van woord
lets the whole gamma of word
13 en pyn ring op ring
and pain, circle upon circle,
14 deur hierdie oggend laat dein.
ring through this morning.
12
, THEME
Destruction and re-creation.
The paper we are writing on was once a tree. Trees are cut down to make paper
(destruction of nature) and then something new is created again on the paper
e.g. writing stories, poems, etc.
Have you ever wondered what trees would say to us if they could talk? Do you think
that someone should speak on behalf of trees? Here perhaps the poet?
TITLE
"Palimpses" is an antique parchment scroll and can be used more than once. For
monks it was very precious. The parchment can be reused by scraping out too
much of what you no longer want (the original writing) and writing about it. It can
therefore be used at least twice. Thanks to modern technology today, the first
message can also be read.
BUILDING (TYPOGRAPHY)
Outwardly, the poem is a modern version of the English sonnet (14 Verses). Stanza
1 = eight lines (octave) and the second stanza = six lines (sextet). The sextet is
bound together by the end rhyme found in verses 11 and 14.
Because there is no ending rhyme throughout the poem, it does not look like the
traditional sonnet, but in the octave, we get an image and in the sextet the
application.
(Inner construction) In the first stanza an image is created of the woodcutters who
cut down the trees and make paper out of them. In the second stanza we get the
application of the image when something is created by writing on the paper.
Stanza 1
In the first stanza we get the process of destruction of nature for the sake of human
needs.
1 Trees write against the blue
2 wrinkle-free sky write things
3 that no one understands.
Verse 1 = imagery = personification = human characteristics are given to a non-
human object.
Trees cannot really write.
Verse 2 = figurative language (connotative)
There is no cloud in the sky.
Verse 3 = However, we do not understand what is written there.
The message of the trees is incomprehensible to our people.
13
Palimpsest
1 Bome skryf teen die blou
Trees write against the blue
2 kreukellose lug dinge
uncreased sky things
3 wat niemand verstaan nie.
nobody understands.
4 Houtkappers kom met byle
Lodgers arrive with axes
5 en vel die bome.
and fell the trees.
6 Meulens saag en maal
Mills saw and grind
7 en pulp en plet die hout.
and pulp and press the wood.
8 Stil is die bome;
The trees are quiet;
9 stil, net tot hy kletterend
silent, only until the clattering
10 met sy tikmasjien
with typewriter
11 uit selfs die fynste grein
from even the finest grain
12 die hele gamma van woord
lets the whole gamma of word
13 en pyn ring op ring
and pain, circle upon circle,
14 deur hierdie oggend laat dein.
ring through this morning.
12
, THEME
Destruction and re-creation.
The paper we are writing on was once a tree. Trees are cut down to make paper
(destruction of nature) and then something new is created again on the paper
e.g. writing stories, poems, etc.
Have you ever wondered what trees would say to us if they could talk? Do you think
that someone should speak on behalf of trees? Here perhaps the poet?
TITLE
"Palimpses" is an antique parchment scroll and can be used more than once. For
monks it was very precious. The parchment can be reused by scraping out too
much of what you no longer want (the original writing) and writing about it. It can
therefore be used at least twice. Thanks to modern technology today, the first
message can also be read.
BUILDING (TYPOGRAPHY)
Outwardly, the poem is a modern version of the English sonnet (14 Verses). Stanza
1 = eight lines (octave) and the second stanza = six lines (sextet). The sextet is
bound together by the end rhyme found in verses 11 and 14.
Because there is no ending rhyme throughout the poem, it does not look like the
traditional sonnet, but in the octave, we get an image and in the sextet the
application.
(Inner construction) In the first stanza an image is created of the woodcutters who
cut down the trees and make paper out of them. In the second stanza we get the
application of the image when something is created by writing on the paper.
Stanza 1
In the first stanza we get the process of destruction of nature for the sake of human
needs.
1 Trees write against the blue
2 wrinkle-free sky write things
3 that no one understands.
Verse 1 = imagery = personification = human characteristics are given to a non-
human object.
Trees cannot really write.
Verse 2 = figurative language (connotative)
There is no cloud in the sky.
Verse 3 = However, we do not understand what is written there.
The message of the trees is incomprehensible to our people.
13
