Darkening Ecliptic
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Background
Darkening Ecliptic is undoubtedly the most popular literally hoax in the history of Australian poetry. It is a collection of 17 nonsensical poems randomly composed purposefully to criticize a modernist magazine that was edited by Max Harris. The poems are said to be co-written by James McAuley and Harold Stewart (Heyward 1993). They were created in one day and then submitted to the modernist magazine for publishing. The creators through a letter that accompanied the compilation convinced Max Harris that the fictitious poet Ern Malley actually wrote the poems (Lewis 1995). Max Harris after brief consultation with his friend decided to publish the poems and he even designed a special cover art for the poems (Heyward 1993). It was later revealed that he had indeed been hoaxed (Heyward 1993).
Despite the traditionally perceived gibberish that these poems portray, they actually do have a systematic approach as well as an artistic correctness as David Brooks (2011) claims. These poems were a reflection of another 18 ancient poems that were written by two French youngsters, who allegedly motivated James and Stewart. In this exegesis, I will analyze to what extent the modern art; poetry and film have been portrayed in the collection, and then follow it up with a detailed discussion of two of the seventeen poems.
Modern Art
Modern art is the artistic system that was applied in many fictional works of art done in the late 17th century up to the late 18th century. The recent work, especially that one which was carried out in the 20th and 21st centuries is termed postmodern. The Darkening Ecliptic was written in 1943, a period that falls within the modern art era.
Modern art is characteristically expressed through experimentation. The modern artists explore the new ways in stage management,