Project
proposal
Do not stand at my grave and
weep
By Mary Elizabeth Frye
Do not stand at my grave and weep:
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starshine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry: I
am not
there; I did not die.
This is the sonnet that I am choosing to
adapt, because I feel like I can get the best result from this sonnet over the
other choices.
I plan to film part of this in a graveyard,
with my main actor standing at a war memorial. I think that it would be good to
have a military grave or memorial, due to the play on words I could do for I am a thousand winds that blow. I would
want to tell part of a soldier’s story, with a twist at the end of the soldier
not actually dying, but standing behind the main actor at the end of the film.
I want to try and include some general
shots, such as the rain falling onto trees, along with the wind blowing some
leaves into the air, or just show the trees blowing in the wind. I would like
to have a shot of the stars,
The line I am the diamond glints on snow could be achieved through imagery by having snow glisten on dew or frost
instead of snow. This would be equally effective, without taking the words to
the poem literally
The sound in this adaptation will be very
important, as there are some lines in this poem that cause the reader to
imagine sounds, such as I want to evoke emotion in this film, as it is meant to
be sad, so I think I will have some soft piano music in the background, as I
think that this will bring out the most emotion in the audience.
The main thing that I need to work on is
the actual narrative for this poem
Mary Elizabeth Frye
The original poem was written in 1932 by Mary
Elizabeth Frye (1905-2004) from Baltimore, MD. There are in existence many
slightly different versions of the poem. This extremely famous poem has been
read at countless funerals and public occasions. The author composed this poem
in a moment of inspiration and scribbled it on a paper bag. She wrote it to
comfort a family friend who had just lost her mother and was unable to even
visit her grave. This is the only surviving poem of Mary Elizabeth Frye and
quite possibly her only poem.
She uses numerous metaphors to bring relief to her mourners. The speaker
uses metaphor to express the message that she is still present in the
surroundings even if she is dead. She uses the various aspects of nature to
symbolize freedom, happiness and comfort. She tells her loved ones that they
can think of her when they see the snow and the sun, feel the wind and the
rain. Phrases like ‘sun on ripened grain’ and ‘gentle autumn rain’ are signs of
comfort and relief.
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