Extending the Nietzschean Metaphor of the Death of God in Poetry through Interrogating Style and Culture

This paper works from the perspectives of poetry, style, philosophy and culture to explore the extension of the Nietzschean metaphor of the “Death of God” in Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach,” T. S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men” and Chinua Achebe’s “The Lament of the Sacred Python” and “The Penalty of the Godhead.” The paper exposes the interconnectedness of these poems of varied eras through their thematic thrust made prominent by the style adopted by the different poets. It argues that the link between the philosopher and the poets is their concern for the health of society. The reading of the selected four poems on the subject matter of the presumed loss of faith in God or gods and the promotion of more reliance on science and liberality by neoliberal world authorities reveal the dynamics of the contemporary terrain and its effects on the psyche of world citizens. The research reveals that the goal of the poets in the depiction of the precipice to which man is bound in their poetry is not only to historicize and poeticize their worries but to escalate the situation of future members of society to such a point that caution could be taken and unwise philosophies jettisoned for time tested principles. It is also the goal of the poets to create an atmosphere for psychological healing. The research concludes that these poems have been able to drive home their point that God is not dead but that humanity has lost their way and place and is heading towards the precipice.