Joel

I found that reading this book is easily comparable to Whitman's poem, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d." What I found similar is the sense of sadness and despair followed by a hope for better. Just as Whitman laments of death and the darkness that comes with it, he keeps in mind the joy of life, of growing things and of birth.

For Whitman, his words emphasize a suffocating darkness or a sad pain. Joel, however, speaks of not only of darkness, but of fear and coming ruin. In chapter 2 of Joel says, "Let everyone tremble in fear because the day of the Lord is upon us. It is a day of darkness and gloom, a day of thick clouds and deep blackness." Joel uses descriptions of fire as coming war and destruction. Just as Whitman speaks of the Lilac growing with life, so does Joel describe a light in the darkness. "But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved..."

What I found really fascinating when reading the book of Joel is the way it is written. Too often I have come to view the Bible as a set of rules or something more akin to a textbook on ancient traditions and life. However, the way that Joel writes, his imagery, his words, truly impact. It makes one realize that these authors were bright, intelligent people expressing a vision or a truth just as any other poet. In this way, I can see some poets being a little on the prophetic side.