’n Retoriese analise van die vyf lykdigte in T.T. Cloete se &lt;i&gt;Allotroop&lt;/i&gt;

Section: Inleidingunclassified

“Ruik die verderf in die kieliebakke”: Breyten Breytenbach se blik op die lyk

Crous

2008

“…Die kerkhofgedig word ook nie vermeld in die meeste ander Afrikaanse bronne (Marais 2008, Spies 2001, Viljoen 1995, Nienaber-Luitingh 1967 wat ek oor die elegie geraadpleeg het nie. Van Zyl (1987:14) verwys wel na Thomas Gray se 'Elegy written in a country churchyard' en Edward Young se 'Night thoughts' as 'begrafniselegieë' of 'peinsende elegieë', maar beperk hierdie soort poësie tot agtiende-eeuse Engelse digters en sluit derhalwe Afrikaanse gedigte en digters nie hierby in nie.…”

unclassified

Meditations in a churchyard: An exploration of Afrikaans graveyard poets and graveyard poetry

Taljaard-Gilson

2017

The term ‘kerkhofgedig’ (‘churchyard poem’) does not feature in academic discussions on Afrikaans poetry, neither does it appear in Cloete’s authoritative work of reference, Literêre terme en teorieë (1992). There are mainly three reasons for this omission in Afrikaans literature. In the first place the Afrikaans word ‘elegie’ (elegy) has become a superordinate for most poems dealing with grief or melancholy about a certain event or condition, for example, a lamentation, obituary poem, dirge, requiem, et cetera. Secondly, graveyard poetry is associated with (English) poems and poets from the 18th century, not with more contemporary Afrikaans poets. In the third place, the elegy and the churchyard poem are related poetic forms which share many characteristics, making it difficult to distinguish between the two genres. In Afrikaans literature the churchyard poem is therefore not regarded as an independent poetic form with unique features, as is the case with churchyard poetry in English, French, German and Dutch. Nevertheless, a number of Afrikaans poets have written churchyard poetry over the decades. In this article it will be determined whether Afrikaans graveyard poetry does in fact exist. This will be accomplished by providing a historical background to graveyard poetry and by comparing traditional graveyard poems to modern poems. Then churchyard poetry will be compared to the elegy. In conclusion a clear definition for graveyard poetry will be formulated. The following questions will consequently be answered: What is graveyard poetry and does it exist in Afrikaans?

Is T.T. Cloete ’n Calvinistiese digter?

Odendaal¹

1997

Is T.T. Cloete a Calvinist poet?T.T. Cloete has had a strong influence on contemporary Afrikaans poetry, particularly as a religious poet with a fanerotic world view. Some critics have characterized him as a Calvinist poet, and the validity of such a description is discussed in this article. It is pointed out that Cloete's Biblical orientation as well as the importance given to the so-called general or creational revelation of God in his poetry, is typically Calvinist. The panentheistic trend in his view of the relation between God and cosmos, the aesthetic mysticism that distinguishes his experience of God and the consequent discomfort in his poems about the meaningful ness of death in the dispensation of God, are, however, indicated as motives deviating from a typically Calvinist world view. In these respects his views, as expressed in his poetry, show similarities with those of the Catholic tradition, even with those of the Eastern Christian church.