If a body, meet a body,
comin thro the rye,
would that body, catch the body,
running through the rye?
Comin thro the rye, poor body,
comin thro the rye,
would that body, catch the body?
Need that body cry?
If that body, catch the body,
running through the rye,
would the body, take that body,
fly across the sky?
Need that body cry, poor body,
if that body, catch the body?
The English Sonnet “Coming thro-ugh the Rye” is an adaptation of the Scottish song “Coming thro the Rye”, by Robert Burns, to the novel by J.D. Salinger, “The Catcher in the Rye”. In the novel, Holden Caufield makes a reference to a line of the song: “If a body catch a body coming through the rye”. When remembering this line, Caufield imagines himself next to little kids in a field of rye. In his fantasy, it is his responsibility to catch the kids in case they run away from the field and fall off a cliff, serving as the catcher in the rye. This reference is often interpreted in the context of the novel as a desire to save the kids from growing up and becoming phony. It is important to notice, however, that while Holden identifies himself to the song because of the line “If a body catch a body coming through the rye”, the line actually reads “Gin a body meet a body comin thro the rye”.
“Coming thro-ugh the Rye” combines elements from both the song and the novel. It maintains the title of the original song because the poem is meant to be an adaptation of the song to the novel. Yet the hyphen in t
he word “through” suggests a distinction between the two. This subtle distinction introduces a dichotomy in the poem, that of the distinction and yet unification of the song and novel. This dichotomy is maintained throughout the poem and it is evident in its form and content. The first stanza introduces this distinction between the song and novel through its form. The first two lines, for instance, are taken verbatim from the song: “if a body meet a body, comin thro the rye”, while the last two reference the novel: “would that body, catch the body, running through the rye?”. This distinction is also evident on the way the word “through” is spelled. The second line maintains the original spelling of word in the song, while the fourth line maintains the spelling in the novel. The content of the first stanza unifies the song and novel, and poses the next question: once Holden meets the kids, is he going to catch them as they are running through the field?
The second stanza maintains the same distinction in form. The first two lines are taken verbatim from the song, “Comin thro the rye, poor body, comin thro the rye”. The last two reference the novel, while keeping elements from the song: “need that body cry?”. What is relevant about the second stanza is that it introduces, through its form, a consistent method to distinguish between references to Holden and references to the kids in the poem. Although no na
mes are used, Holden is identified as “that body”, the body that “catches the [other] body”: the body of the kids. With this distinction in mind, “would that body, save the body, need that body cry?” can be translated to “would Holden catch the kids? Should Holden give up?" The third stanza assumes that Holden is able to catch the kids. Now the question is no longer whether he will be capable of catching them or not, but whether he will be able to acually save them: “if that body catch the body, running through the rye, would the body take that body, fly across the sky?” The third line is the only figurative line in the poem, and it is aimed to make the entire poem open to different interpretations. “Would the body take that body, fly across the sky” refers to the kids. They are the ones taking Holden to “fly across the sky”. On one hand, this line can be interpreted to mean that, although Holden succeeds at catching the kids, they still fall off the cliff, taking Holden with them. In other words, although Holden does his best at preventing the kids from growing up and becoming phony, he ends up growing up and becoming phony himself. On the other hand, it could mean that by catching the kids, Holden prevents, not only all the kids from falling off the cliff, but also himself.
“Coming thro-ugh the Rye” combines elements from both the song and the novel. It maintains the title of the original song because the poem is meant to be an adaptation of the song to the novel. Yet the hyphen in t
he word “through” suggests a distinction between the two. This subtle distinction introduces a dichotomy in the poem, that of the distinction and yet unification of the song and novel. This dichotomy is maintained throughout the poem and it is evident in its form and content. The first stanza introduces this distinction between the song and novel through its form. The first two lines, for instance, are taken verbatim from the song: “if a body meet a body, comin thro the rye”, while the last two reference the novel: “would that body, catch the body, running through the rye?”. This distinction is also evident on the way the word “through” is spelled. The second line maintains the original spelling of word in the song, while the fourth line maintains the spelling in the novel. The content of the first stanza unifies the song and novel, and poses the next question: once Holden meets the kids, is he going to catch them as they are running through the field?The second stanza maintains the same distinction in form. The first two lines are taken verbatim from the song, “Comin thro the rye, poor body, comin thro the rye”. The last two reference the novel, while keeping elements from the song: “need that body cry?”. What is relevant about the second stanza is that it introduces, through its form, a consistent method to distinguish between references to Holden and references to the kids in the poem. Although no na
mes are used, Holden is identified as “that body”, the body that “catches the [other] body”: the body of the kids. With this distinction in mind, “would that body, save the body, need that body cry?” can be translated to “would Holden catch the kids? Should Holden give up?" The third stanza assumes that Holden is able to catch the kids. Now the question is no longer whether he will be capable of catching them or not, but whether he will be able to acually save them: “if that body catch the body, running through the rye, would the body take that body, fly across the sky?” The third line is the only figurative line in the poem, and it is aimed to make the entire poem open to different interpretations. “Would the body take that body, fly across the sky” refers to the kids. They are the ones taking Holden to “fly across the sky”. On one hand, this line can be interpreted to mean that, although Holden succeeds at catching the kids, they still fall off the cliff, taking Holden with them. In other words, although Holden does his best at preventing the kids from growing up and becoming phony, he ends up growing up and becoming phony himself. On the other hand, it could mean that by catching the kids, Holden prevents, not only all the kids from falling off the cliff, but also himself. As mentioned, the poem is open to different interpretations. The last two lines restate the main question of the poem: “Need that body cry, poor body, if that body catch the body?” In other words, if Holden catches the kids, would that prevent them from becoming phony?
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it is beautiful !!!
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