Squidward vs. The Poet

Am I really about to compare a character from Spongebob Squarepants to a character in a literary masterpiece? Is this a far fetched comparison? Yes to both. The poet in the prelude comes across as a pessimistic guy who thinks no one understands his art and has an arrogance about him that can't really be explained. Sounds like someone we know? SQUIDWARD TENTACLES!

Now this comparison was so striking to me, that every time I read the poets parts, my mind automatically read it in Squidwards nasally tone. I imagined a sophisticated Squidward talking and explaining how his gift of poetry wasn't being used to its full potential. Sure call me weird but i'm probably not the only one who saw this... right? RIGHT? Oh well. Anyways,  Squidward Tentacles is a cashier at the Krusty Krab and plays the clarinet. He considers himself a fancy fellow and considers most people inferior to him (i.e. Spongebob, Patrick.) All Mr. Tentacles really wants to do with his life is to play the clarinet masterfully and entertain audiences with what he calls, "unrecognized talent."

Frankly, Squidward sucks at playing the clarinet. However he is arrogant to this fact and continues to believe he has talent. If there is one thing to be said about Squidward, that he is a adamant fellow. Everyone continues to make fun of him for being very bad at playing the clarinet but he keeps going.The poet in the prelude to Faust has the same arrogant tone and self entitlement and believes that if he performs in front of the crowd and does things the Directors way, he would join the "bungling amateurs" (Goethe 6.) The poet goes and and on about how his poems are too good for this general audience. He considers his ability to write poetry a gift from Nature itself. He basically says that his is not there to entertain but to  invoke emotion and speak to the souls of the crowd. But the director and the clown just wanted the audience to leave entertained. It's a battle of entertainment versus enlightened mind. The director wants to dazzle and awe the audience while the poet wants to enlighten the audience with poetry that makes them think.




As you can see in the above picture, this is what I imagined the poet in Faust to look like minus the clarinet. Both the poet and Squidward see themselves as masters of their art. I can't say for sure if the poet is actually good at poetry but I know for a fact that Squidward is horrid at playing his instrument. They both face critics whether it be the clown and the director, or Spongebob and Patrick.