The human condition in literature vs. music?

Question

Does anyone know any awsome songs that show a clear description of any of the following:

frailty, loneliness, frustration, isolation and the need for love?

Leonard Cohen probably. Any suggestions?

As for the literature, I had T.S. Elliot in mind, what do you think?

Answer 1

As to t. s. eliot, I would definitely recommend "The Wasteland" for loneliness and "The Story of J. Alfred Prufrock" for the need for love. Another great frustration/loneliness book is Ralph Elison's "Invisible Man." For frailty/frustration, you could use "Notes from the Underground" (adored by the "beats" of the late fifties and early sixties) by Dostoevsky. There is Alan GInzberg's "Howl!" which is great for isolation. A hard book to find that deals with isolation that is staunchly tainted further by World War II is "Mind at the End of its Tether" by H. G. Wells in which he argues that man is at the end of his existence and what is needed to continue are just the needs you list: strength (mental and spiritual), companionship (greater than just two co-existent partners focusing on one another), contact (that is more worldly and sincere-ethically, spiritually, and metaphysically) as well as love (of the AGAPE type it would seem after reading it). Kierkegaard in "Sickness Unto Death" deals well with loneliness, frustration, and the need for love quite eloquently. Dostoevsky further deals with love in "The Brothers Karamazov" as does Dante Alegieri in "The Divine Comedy." However, Dante covers Frustration and need for love and frailty in all levels of the comed as each of the three parts are merely mirrors of each other at the level of aesthetics, rationality, and spirituality (h**l, Purgatory, and Paradise).

Leonard Cohen is also an excellent choice for most of your topics. "Alexandra Leaving" for lost love/need for love. Believe it or not, for loneliness, I would use "Hallelujah!" which most people love since it was so hot in the movie. However, use Cohen's lyrics in full, not those used for the movie as they have been edited way down! You could also use Cage's music (of which there are just a few recordings) for isolation as it deals with chaotic noise and how we are to fit in it, if at all. Shoenberg's 12-tone row music has a real definite loss of love and isolation "feel" to it. You could use for frustration, loneliness and isolation, "The Wall" as it is outstanding, especially "Comfortably Numb."

I hope that this helps as I have a BA and a MA in Humanities and this was just plain "fun" to do off the top of my head!

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