"Saint Judas" by James Wright

I posted my analysis of “Danse Russe” by WCW, this is my final paper for my poetry class, so any comments would be great.

Saint Judas When I went out to to kill myself, I caught A pack of hoodlums beating up a man. Running to spare his suffering, I forgot My name, my number, how my day began, How soldiers milled around the garden stone And sang amusing songs; how I alone Bargained the proper coins, and slipped away. Banished from heaven, I found this victim beaten, Stripped, kneed, and left to cry.  Dropping my rope Aside, I ran, ignored the uniforms: Then I remembered bread my flesh had eaten, The kiss that ate my flesh.  Flayed without hope, I held the man for nothing in my arms.

“Saint Judas” by James Wright

I fucking love this poem.  While that may not be the most politically correct way to begin a proper analysis of a poem that dictates the final action of a biblical figure, I really don’t give a fuck.  In “Saint Judas,” James Wright does everything right.  First, he uses his technical prowess to create a genuine Petrarchan sonnet that doubles as a dramatic monologue, and second he tackles a huge question on the nature of God and morality by using history’s most notorious traitor as a medium of selfless love. The traditional Petrarchan sonnet is a work referring to an unattainable love.  Broken down into an octave and a sestet, each part of the sonnet is designed to tell a different part of the story; the first four lines to express the problem, the next four to develop the issue, and the final six to comment on or solve the problem. In “Saint Judas” I would argue that Wright is not speaking of an unattainable love, but rather that he’s speaking of a love that has nothing to attain.  At this point in his life, the character Judas has cemented himself as the disciple that betrayed Jesus, thus condemning Jesus to the cross and damning Judas to Hell.  Judas has hit rock bottom– he has nothing to gain from anything he does, and with the noose hanging in the back of his mind, his last few actions are of no real consequence.  The love and kindness Judas shows to the beaten man is not a love driven by duty or expectation, but rather is a love shown for love’s sake. Because his actions can no longer save his soul, Judas’ act of compassion for the battered man echo volumes over those of the other Saints who’s benevolence would amount to something. The first half of the octave presents the reader with the problem at hand; “When I went out to kill myself, I caught / A pack of hoodlums beating up a man. / Running to spare his suffering, I forgot / My name, my number, how my day began,” Judas, on his way to kill himself, has come across a man who has been brutalized by a gang of thugs and left to die, and in his rush to assist the poor soul, he forgets the condition of his own soul.  The second half of the octave elaborates on the problem, “How soldiers milled around the garden stone / And sang amusing songs; how al that day / Their javelins measured crowds; how I alone / Bargained the proper coins, and slipped away."  Judas is remembering the scene from an earlier time where he betrays the man he’s spent the past three years of his life following and learning from.  Judas is remembering how damned he truly is and recognizes the conflict that creates with the man. The final sestet does two things: Judas comes to terms with his own damnation, and decides that damnation is no reason to allow another man to suffer. "Banished from heaven, I found this victim beaten, / Stripped, kneed, and left to cry.  Dropping my rope / Aside, I ran, ignored the uniforms: / Then I remembered bread my flesh had eaten, / The kiss that ate my flesh. Flayed without hope, / I held the man for nothing in my arms."  The compassion shown by Judas is staggering given his current state.  The decision to care for the broken man in front of a crowd of Roman guards who clearly identify Judas as the one who sold out the King of the Jews for thirty pieces of silver is a bold move for condemned man. To continue back on the technical elements, Wright is a perfect example of how to use enjambment to create a wonderfully subtle rhyme scheme that does not overwhelm the flow of the work.  I was particularly impressed by the slant rhyme between "uniforms” and “arms” in the sestet.  The two words do a great job of serving as book ends around his memory of the betrayal, “uniforms” being strong, cold, and uncaring while “arms” is compassionate, mourning, and sincere.  I’m also in awe of Wright’s use of iambic pentameter throughout the poem.  This is another instance where Wright uses enjambment to strengthen his form.  Without breaking up his sentences in the proper places many of the lines would end on a weaker beat, which would in turn break the momentum of the piece.  While the pentameter is far from perfect through out the poem, its trace works wonders for the pace at with the poem is read and the way it is heard. I feel there are a few themes that Wright is addressing in this piece.  As I mentioned earlier, the first being loving others when you have nothing to attain, or simply love without any ulterior motive.  At this point, Judas has no reason to have compassion on this man; he’s damned, so good deeds no longer amount to anything, he’s about to kill himself, so any guilt he would feel for ignoring the man’s plight would be very short lived, the man has been robbed and beaten, so he has no way to thank Judas for his kindness, and the man is surrounded by Roman guards, who as civil servants are somewhat obligated to get him back on his feet.  This man would have survived without Judas, but because Judas took action, the man was presented with something more than survival, he was offered compassion. This presents my next theme in “Saint Judas,” the existence of morality outside of religion.  Often times you hear evangelicals and religious zealots preach about the chaotic state of the world and how the atheistic left is draining the moral character from our society with their godlessness.  I would argue, and I believe Wright would agree, that morality is not designated by what god one chooses to serve or not serve, but rather by centuries of culture and ethics passed down from the experiences of our ancestors.  Religion has been used to morally support some of histories greatest monstrosities;  the Inquisition, slavery, the Holocaust, and even the attacks on the World Trade Center.  If I were bolder I would argue if anything the opposite was true, that extremity of religion is greatest threat to morality, and the longer men like Fred Phelps have audiences, the more accurate I feel that statement becomes. I also feel like “Saint Judas” brings up an interesting question on Predestination.  Judas is the most infamous betrayer in all of history.  Every good deed, every moment of joy he brought into someone’s life was erased with a kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane.  My question then is, if God is good, just, and all knowing, then how does Judas fit into the picture? His sole purpose in life was to betray Jesus, thus confirming his damnation.  Without Judas’ betrayal, Jesus is not crucified, and with out the crucifixion there is no resurrection, no resurrection, no Christianity.  In order for Jesus to fill his role as a savior, Judas had to get screwed, regardless of what compassion he may have shown, I don’t see the justice in that, and I would argue Wright doesn’t either. As a college student, the idea of one bad decision defining me for all of history scares me to no end.  Typically a mistake of that caliber ends with a pregnancy, but that’s nothing compared to being known as the bastard who sold out the Messiah for a handful of silver coins.  What I love about “Saint Judas” is that James Wright takes one of history’s most infamous characters, and humanizes him.  You feel the sorrow and weight tugging at Judas’ soul, you feel the empathy he shares with the beaten man, you feel what it’s like to be broken and hopeless and you hurt for him because as the reader, you know this story ends on the short end of a rope.  There is no redemption in Judas’ kindness, and that is what makes “Saint Judas” beautiful.

What do you think? Am i ranting on the predestination bit?

hmmm why does my uterus hurt and why do i feel kinda off. weird. surely these are not the warning symptoms of a predictable biological process that occurs on a regular schedule. anyway. im going to wear white pants today.

i’ve noticed i don’t have much of any ability to hold my own private energy or happiness if i am in the company of someone who feels tired or depressed, & on the other hand if i am around someone who is feeling pretty alright then i usually feel pretty alright too. i feel like i don’t have much of any independent emotional state & instead i just kind of take in whatever feeling is in the air & that becomes how i feel. maybe that is how people usually are

I made a patreon!! Until I am able to work, I hope to make some money from my art. For $5 a month you can get access to diary scans, one piece of new writing a week, and at the end of the month I’ll send you a typewritten letter in the mail :)

Limited Life Webweave // sources under readmore

What is a webweave? Previous art: Third Life | Void Falling | Attempt 33 | Martyn

Pt. 1: Non-threatening feminist boy / @teanne ◆ Excerpt from Why We Tell Stories / Lisel Mueller via @fourteen-lines ◆ Emerald clock ◆ Digging Your Own Grave / @thatsbelievable ◆ a place i will go to this summer / @eliasericson ◆ Sand timer ◆ All have the same 24 hours tweet ◆ Invent my own family / @mountainqoats ◆ Shield #3 Brooch / Sergey Jivetin ◆ Osgood / @candiedspit ◆ Untitled (posted 2.18.23) / @petersolarz

Pt. 2: As I Walked Out One Evening / W. H. Auden ◆ I Know Not, I Know Not / Takashi Murakami via @zegalba ◆ Wouldn't It Be Nice article title / Ben Mathis-Lilley via @tikkunolamorgtfo ◆ Should You Remind Them About It? / @thatsbelievable ◆ In case of happy ending / cécile via @visual-poetry ◆ Fallout New Vegas alert ◆ [walking into a surprise party] tweet / @JUNlPER ◆ Seasonal bows / @eyanin ◆ Aerial attack / @catcrumb ◆ Vibe Check poll / @borgevino ◆ i can kill ppl textpost / @sharkyz ◆ Matchbox / @trxnspxrxnts ◆ Drawing, Stag and Hounds / William Hunt Diederich ◆ I had a dream comic / @deep-dark-fears ◆ Untitled (posted 2.4.23) / @petersolarz

Pt. 3: But the creature that wants to kill you / @keydekyie ◆ spill blood repetition texpost / @duckdotcom ◆ Everybody Dies soup / @snailspng ◆ Every Teenagers #1 / @everyteenager4free (deactivated) ◆ Statue Grave of Jane Margyl / @horrorlesbians ◆ Broken Hourglass ◆ Beautiful Island / Zachary Schomburg via @exitwound ◆ mr. cat is finally out of jail comic / @alisonzai ◆ Excerpt from End-times at an Italian restaurant / @ryebreadgf ◆ Church Birdcage ◆ Can't trust anybody Caution Sign / @secondimpact ◆ (covered in blood) textpost / @darthsenatorpalpatinecreampie ◆ Excerpt from Broken Hierarchies: Poems 1952-2012 / Geoffrey Hill via @heteroglossia ◆ A Softer World #264 comic / e horne + j corneau ◆ Pocketwatch ◆ Gut Feeling / @anatolknotek ◆ blue eyes art / @escuerzoresucitado ◆ Untitled (posted 2.8.23) / @petersolarz

Limited Life Webweave // sources under readmore

What is a webweave? Previous art: Third Life | Void Falling | Attempt 33 | Martyn

Pt. 1: Non-threatening feminist boy / @teanne ◆ Excerpt from Why We Tell Stories / Lisel Mueller via @fourteen-lines ◆ Emerald clock ◆ Digging Your Own Grave / @thatsbelievable ◆ a place i will go to this summer / @eliasericson ◆ Sand timer ◆ All have the same 24 hours tweet ◆ Invent my own family / @mountainqoats ◆ Shield #3 Brooch / Sergey Jivetin ◆ Osgood / @candiedspit ◆ Untitled (posted 2.18.23) / @petersolarz

Pt. 2: As I Walked Out One Evening / W. H. Auden ◆ I Know Not, I Know Not / Takashi Murakami via @zegalba ◆ Wouldn't It Be Nice article title / Ben Mathis-Lilley via @tikkunolamorgtfo ◆ Should You Remind Them About It? / @thatsbelievable ◆ In case of happy ending / cécile via @visual-poetry ◆ Fallout New Vegas alert ◆ [walking into a surprise party] tweet / @JUNlPER ◆ Seasonal bows / @eyanin ◆ Aerial attack / @catcrumb ◆ Vibe Check poll / @borgevino ◆ i can kill ppl textpost / @sharkyz ◆ Matchbox / @trxnspxrxnts ◆ Drawing, Stag and Hounds / William Hunt Diederich ◆ I had a dream comic / @deep-dark-fears ◆ Untitled (posted 2.4.23) / @petersolarz

Pt. 3: But the creature that wants to kill you / @keydekyie ◆ spill blood repetition texpost / @duckdotcom ◆ Everybody Dies soup / @snailspng ◆ Every Teenagers #1 / @everyteenager4free (deactivated) ◆ Statue Grave of Jane Margyl / @horrorlesbians ◆ Broken Hourglass ◆ Beautiful Island / Zachary Schomburg via @exitwound ◆ mr. cat is finally out of jail comic / @alisonzai ◆ Excerpt from End-times at an Italian restaurant / @ryebreadgf ◆ Church Birdcage ◆ Can't trust anybody Caution Sign / @secondimpact ◆ (covered in blood) textpost / @darthsenatorpalpatinecreampie ◆ Excerpt from Broken Hierarchies: Poems 1952-2012 / Geoffrey Hill via @heteroglossia ◆ A Softer World #264 comic / e horne + j corneau ◆ Pocketwatch ◆ Gut Feeling / @anatolknotek ◆ blue eyes art / @escuerzoresucitado ◆ Untitled (posted 2.8.23) / @petersolarz

Draft of a chapter where my protagonist (Jeremiah) gets too high

sad slav saturday

favorite poem from that kids are better poets than us article on poetryfoundation. i tear up every time

Hey guys, I’m not the type to e-beg or ask for donations but my dad had a heart attack on Friday and my grandfather died the same way….I really need money for transportation (I get paid Friday so only until then) and groceries right now…anything helps here’s my PayPal or u can leave a tip thank you for ur support ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🪢

Brian Eno and photoshop (1955)

why is trying to make a new friend so embarrassing. hi. me again. asking for your attention once more even though i am literally just some random person to you. it's because i want to be not just a random person to you. please understand