Watching for Dolphins
Overview
This poem explores the power of nature as the hope of seeing dolphins at sea inspires belief, faith and
desire for something more before it is extinguished by the realities of life rearing its ugly head.
On a ferry crossing to the port of Piraeus near Athens, Greece, our poetic voice observes the clamour of
the passengers to catch a glimpse of dolphins.
Initially each passenger seems absorbed in their quest and not to recognise that everyone is there for
the same purpose, but their shared hope and desire starts to meld them into one being.
The poem images a hypothetical sighting completing this transformation and providing an epiphany or
life defining realisation. Before crashing back into reality at the port comes into sight and their hope is
ended.
Mini Glossary
Piraeus – a busy port city in Attaca, near Athens, Greece;
bi-focals – glasses that have an unmagnified upper lens and then a magnified lower lens, to help
someone with distance viewing as well as being able to magnify things closer to them. Helps stop people
having to fuss about with taking glasses on and off;
epiphany – a moment of sudden and great revelation or realisation, often associated with finding faith
or religion;
Aegean – the sea between Greece and Turkey;
satyrs – part human, part animal creatures of Greek mythology who were famed for their association
with wine, music, dancing and women;
keel – the underside of a boat.
Domed like satyrs' - comparing a dolphins fin with the shape of the satyr's horns
There is not a huge amount I can tell you about the poet. He was born in the North West of England,
studied at Oxford and his career has been split between lecturing, poetry and editing poetry collections.
This poem was released as part of a collection of the same name: ‘Watching for Dolphins’ in 1983.
The only other important piece of context you need to understand is about the setting of this poem. The
boat crosses the Aegean heading for the port of Piraeus. The Aegean surrounds Greece and contains her
islands. However, the important thing to understand here is the contrast between the natural beauty of
the open water and the busy port of Piraeus that awaits the passengers. As an industrial hub and an
area filled with passenger ferries heading to all over the Mediterranean it stands in stark contrast to the
emptiness of the sea.
Additionally, this is an ancient port that plays a key role in Ancient Greek history. The area is thus
recognised internationally due to its association with this time and also Greek mythology, which has
survived, been reinterpreted and reimagined by succeeding cultures.
Themes
The major themes here are the majesty and wonder of nature, represented by the dolphins even in
their absence as the passengers desire to witness them clearly communicates a sense of how precious
and beautiful they must be.
However, I think the most prominent theme in this poem is the idea of people searching for meaning in
the modern world. There is repeated comparison between this boat trip and a religious pilgrimage
where the passengers are desperately searching for their own revelation or spiritual awakening through
witnessing nature’s beauty.
Content
At first glance the title seems to say it all. The poem is set on every passenger ship crossing the Aegean
and heading to the port of Piraeus (thus generalising the message and ideas of the poem). In the first
stanza, on board, all the passengers compete to find the perfect spot to catch sight of dolphins and get
caught up in this so much so that they forget everything else in their lives.
However, quickly they begin to doubt their chances and they turn to superstitious ideas, signs and
omens to see whether they will catch a glimpse. The competing individuals become united in their
hopes and prayers.
In stanza five, the poetic voice imagines the impact a sighting would have, fully uniting the crowd and
making them feel a deep connection with nature. However, this vision is not to be as in the final stanza
Piraeus begins to loom large and the great ships of the port spoil the natural wonder and any hope of
the dolphins emerging from the depths. The passengers have to snap back to reality and leave as
individuals and with hopes dashed.
Language and Techniques
Although the title provides a neat overview of the narrative of the poem, it is telling that it is in present
continuous form. This suggests that the poetic voice and the passengers are still ‘watching’ and
effectively waiting for their moment of enlightenment – not literally continuing to look for dolphins as
this would clearly be absurd once they are on land.
The idea that this poem is about more than one boat trip is communicated in the opening line. These
events take place on ‘every crossing to Piraeus’ and these are ‘packed’, suggesting that this search for
meaning and ‘epiphany’ is generalised and thus the passengers are all of us, each looking for our own
inspiration.
Why dolphins? There could be a few reasons. Firstly, there is a certain mystery and mythology with
dolphins. Not only are they beautiful creatures, but they are regarded as being highly intelligent, playful
and graceful. These connotations are recognised in the simile ‘domed like satyrs’, which compares them
to the mythological beasts associated with wine, dancing and music. More significantly there are used as
important symbols in different belief systems. In Christian art dolphins are often used to symbolise
purity of heart and the resurrection of Christ. While in Ancient Greek tradition they were companions of
the gods and helped convey the souls of the pure to the Islands of the Blessed (a winterless paradise –
you could connect this with the fact this occurs only ‘In the summer months’).
This religious associations are definitely Constantine’s intention. Notice the way the passengers are
described in the poem. One of the passengers ‘stared like a saint’ suggesting a religious faith and belief
that is driving his watching. In the third stanza they begin searching for ‘a sign’ from the seagulls or an
omen from the weather to guide their faith. They ‘implored the sea’ as if revering it as a god, before
‘praying’ to the sky as they seek ‘epiphany’. The original epiphany was the three wise man visiting baby
Jesus and recognising the infant as God incarnate.
From the Christian to the Greek, the prayed for ‘clang’ of the sky and ‘reverber[ation] with cymbal, gong
and drum’ of the Aegean conjure classical imagery of the Ancient Greek gods. The mixing of Christian
ideas and Ancient Greek ideas has the impact of making this desire less of a specific desire for finding
faith and religion and more about just finding meaning and beauty in the world.
This semantic field dominates stanzas two through to four and connects their desire to see the dolphins
with something more. Really watching for dolphins stands as a metaphor or a symbol for people seeking
some meaning in the world and wanting spiritual awakening.
Along with a sense of universal desire for something more, Constantine suggests various truths about
modern life through his depiction of the passengers. In the first stanza the all the people in the ‘packed
saloon’ try to get through the ‘small door’ with ‘no acknowledgement of a common purpose’. If we take
this poem literally then we have a bit of a crush and people putting each others’ noses out. However, if
we consider the poem as a broader analogy, then this becomes the global competition in order to seek
fulfilment. This lack of understanding that we are all trying to achieve the same thing could thus be
linked to the concept of war and conflict.
The poet also suggests that this need to be fulfilled outweighs all other thoughts. Seeing the dolphins is
a ‘desire’, which makes me think of there being a powerful internal pull towards them more than just a
simple interest in seeing them. The passengers ‘lose every other wish’ and thus are focused on this
above all else. ‘Even the lovers’ tells us that love is not all we need in life, while the ‘fat man hung with
equipment’ also implies that material wealth is not enough to fulfil. This last quotation is a metaphor for
the consumerist lifestyles of the modern world, where one can have whatever they want to eat and own
all the latest gadgets, but the suggestion is that this does not lead to fulfilment as he is still here. The
camera he wears also implies a need for permanence and not just for a fleeting glance or recognition of
meaning in life, rather for something that can be maintained and revisited. Of all the passengers, it is the
materially wealth ‘fat man’ who seems most focused as he ‘stared like a saint’. This simile suggests he
has a strong resolve and faith that he will find meaning through nature’s beauty. It is here that we get a
first sense of the passengers being unfulfilled as he looks through ‘sad bi-focals’. With these glasses he is
able to see both far and near, but they are ‘sad’ and thus his vision of the world is not enough, he needs
something that cannot be seen – meaning.
Constantine provides us with the contrast between a world with meaning and without as the individuals
out for themselves are imagined to come together if they were to see dolphins. Interestingly, at first the
poetic voice presents himself as being aloof or above this desire to see the dolphins with the phrase
‘One noticed’ as if he is merely observing. The description of separate individuals gives way at the end of
the fourth stanza to a unit group -‘we’ – with a shared desire – ‘our longing’. Thus the poetic voice is
now part of the group. From fraught prayers and jostling for position, the group ‘should have laughed’
together and helped each other by ‘lift[ing] the children up stranger to stranger’. Thus the group would
be brought together and become harmonious once they had found meaning. In final line of the fifth
stanza (running into the first line of the final stanza) Constantine writes the dolphins would have gone
‘further and further into the deep parts’, which literally means they would have dived back down into
the depths of the ocean. However, this metaphorically represents the feeling of finding faith and
meaning that dives into our depths or our soul.
This perfect imagined image is juxtaposed in the final stanza with the passengers ‘eyes cast down’ so as
not to share in their disappointment or seek comfort in others, instead the ‘company dispersed’ and
thus were parted. The poet uses imagery that contrasts with the imagined imagery of the fifth stanza
with the ‘great tankers’ feeling overwhelming when considered next to the idea of searching for the
tiniest indication of a dolphin fin above the waves. The word tanker conjures to mind a boat with an
industrial purpose, carrying oil, petrol or perhaps container ships. These are functional and ugly, in
direct contrast with what was being searched for. The water is now ‘black’ and thus polluted and
unpleasant.
The passengers had ‘not seen the dolphins’ and ‘woke, blinking’ back into the realities of their lives. Thus
they are snapped out of a dream and come back from the bright light of hope into the darkness of the
city. This symbolises the realities of modern life and the sense that these people feel uninspired and
unfulfilled. It is telling that Constantine chooses to end this poem in this way, the people do not find
inspiration or meaning, but have to return to their unfulfilled lives. The poem thus acts as a social
criticism that recognises that the way the world is structured leaves many people lacking an
understanding of the meaning or purpose of their lives.
Structure
There a few things going on here, most interestingly the rhyme scheme.
The opening stanza uses visual rhyme, meaning that lines two, four, five and six look as if they should
rhyme and thus the stanza should be ABABBB. However, when you read it these rhymes are revealed to
be lies and the stanza feels disharmonious. Constantine choose to do this to convey the overall message
about seeking meaning – we see these people seeking the beauty of nature on the surface, but when we
dig down we really see that this is not about people seeking beauty, so much as trying to escape the
ugliness of the real world.
The poet continues to use the rhyme to reflect the message throughout the poem. Notice that most
stanzas are imperfect and leave at least one end word unmatched or rhymed. In stanza four as the
people are brought together in shared hope we finally have something approaching perfection with the
first two lines rhyming and then the next four having alternate rhyming lines. This mirrors the peak of
hope.
In the final stanza, when hope is crushed finally, rhyme is abandoned completely. Consider this the
reflection of the ugliness of the world, no longer befitting the beauty of rhyme.
Other aspects you could comment on include:
– the use of onomatopoeia in the fourth stanza that symbolically acts as way of noisily welcoming new
meaning into our lives in a ceremonial, ritualistic manner.
– the use of enjambment throughout that forces one to read the poem quickly and the ideas and
individuals to merge as one. Similarly, the final line of each stanza running onto the next to suggest a
sense of connection.
Tone
There is some variation within the poem. It begins in a detached, somewhat emotionless state, when
observing the passengers as individuals, but there is a real sense of passion and feeling of opportunity
when the poetic voice accepts he shares their hopes and desires, imagining them being
fulfilled. However, this gives way to a sense of inevitable disappointment and gloom in the final stanza.
The Poplar Field
Poplar trees often planted in long rows like colonnades
Overview
This pastoral poem features a nostalgic farewell to the poetic voice’s favourite spot as a child. The trees
he used to shelter under for shade have been cut down and now only the trunk remains as a seat where
the poetic voice contemplates his memories of enjoying this spot and reflects on his own life and how it
comes to mirror that of the poplars.
Mini Glossary
poplars – a very tall tree that grows very straight and is a bit column-esque. They grow very quickly (up
to 165 feet), but have a short lifespan of around 50 years;
colonnade – a sequence of columns in a row;
Ouse – a river that runs through East Anglia, near where Cowper lived and was writing;
hazels – a tree that actually looks more like a shrub and generally only reaches around 15-20 feet tall
and grows outwards rather than upwards;
ditty – a simple song.
Context
William Cowper was a popular poet and hymnodist (chap who writes hymns) in England in the 18th
Century. His poetry generally focused on the natural world and everyday elements of living in the
English countryside, as is the focus here.
His life was not a particularly happy one, losing his mother at the age of seven and struggled with
depression. He tried to commit suicide in 1763 and was committed to a mental institute for the insane
in 1763 and again in 1773, believing God had ordered him to end his life. What is it about poets?
This poem was written in 1785 and published in ‘The Gentleman’s Magazine’ that he was a regular
contributor to. At this time he was living in the small town of Olney in East Anglia (eastern England) and
was working with John Newton writing hymns. Newton is famous for writing ‘Amazing Grace’ which acts
like a second national anthem for Americans. Thus Cowper was a devout Christian and this is reflected in
his poetry.
Themes
Obviously this poem reflects on the beauty of the natural world through the nostalgic memories of the
joy these trees gave him. However, the poplars also stand as a symbol for the pleasures of youth and the
poem explores his reflection on mortality and old age in contrast with these memories.
Content
The poem opens with a definite statement that the trees are no more and continues to offer a epitaph
for them. He celebrates the beautiful sounds the trees made, the pleasant shade they offered from the
sun and the treasured reflected image upon the passing river.
In the second stanza, we see a distance between the present of the poem and the memories being
explored. The gap of twelve years serves to suggest that this is a place that was treasured in his youth,
but then forgotten or left behind. Cowper also moves us from the imagery of the past to the present,
with the poetic voice reflecting while sitting on the stump of one of the trees.
Next he contemplates how the tree has been replaced. The song is lost, while the birds hide in the thick
foliage of the hazels, This thought leads directly to a reflection upon loss of youth as the fourth stanza
with the poetic voice recognising that it will not be long before he too is cut down like the poplars.
The poem ends by commenting on the impact this sight has had on him. It has made him contemplate
the impact of ageing and the way pleasures diminish as we get older and start to be more aware of our
own mortality. Life is presented as being short and fleeting, he recognises that some of the things we
love are even more so.
Language and Techniques
The first thing to comment on is the juxtaposition of the title and the opening line. The poem is defined
by ‘the poplar-field’ and yet ‘the poplars are felled’. This immediately suggests a sense of sorrow and
regret for the demise of the trees. The definitive nature of the opening phrase also tells us that there is
no going back or changing things. This reflects the theme of mortality and ageing that is explored
throughout the poem.
Why poplars exactly? Of course this could simply be an actual memory of Cowper’s, but the trees
certainly act as symbols. Poplars are terrifically tall and imperious, they grow quickly and as a result of
their size served as symbols of victory, vision and triumph for the early Celtic people of Britain.
My family home used to have a pair of poplars where we slung a hammock (good for about three or four
warms days a year!). My whole family were always struck by the trees as they stretched above
everything else in the surrounding area and were visible for miles. I see them as symbols of confidence,
purity and the hopefulness of youth. They rapidly grow straight and true, without deviation (this idea
can also be linked to Christianity and faith with any deviation suggesting losing faith or giving in to sin).
However, this is pretty shortlived in tree terms as they generally die before they reach 50 years old. Our
trees didn’t even make it that far as their roots decided to mess with the foundations of the house and
meant my parents had to spend a lot of money getting someone to cut them down and dig out the huge
tunnel roots. No more hammock!
Cowper communicates this sense of grandeur by metaphorically comparing them to a ‘colonnade’. This
imagery makes us picture the trees as if they were part of a magnificent ancient Greek temple or palace
and the association is intended to magnify their beauty and magnificence to the reader.
However, in contrast to this the rest of the imagery associated with them is much more subtle and
shows an appreciation for the beauty in the simplicity of nature. We have soft aural elements with ‘the
whispering’ wind that ‘sing[s] in the leaves’, suggesting a pleasant and relaxing rustling. This is later
added to with the ‘melody [that] charmed’ the poetic voice and the ‘sweet-flowing ditty’ of the birds,
further implying the calming and pleasant nature of the sounds. The imagery also appears to our sense
of touch as it provides ‘cool’ and ‘shade’. Again, this conjures a sense of the trees as bringing simple,
calming joy rather than something grander as we are soothed from the mild heat of an English summer
rather than being centre stage in the light. In addition, we have the visual image of the reflection of the
trees in the passing river Ouse. The river is personified and receives this image ‘on his bosom’, which
makes it seem like the river is holding it close or cuddling it in appreciation and love. The imagery
combines to create a powerful picture of a peaceful summer day with a gentle breeze, spent under the
shade of the trees by the river bank: idyllic! This contrast between simplicity and grandeur establishes
Cowper’s belief in the power of natural beauty and we are challenged to recognise this simplicity as
every bit as impressive as the best architecture.
The river and the winds (that used to ‘play’ and ‘sing’ in the leaves) are personified in a manner that
makes them seem to love and cherish the trees. This reflects the poetic voice’s passions as this was his
‘favourite field’.
However, this is not simply a beautiful piece of natural imagery, but it stands as a metaphor for youth.
These are the trouble and stress free days where we think life is going to last forever and full of hope
and joy. Unfortunately the older we get the more we realise that it is highly likely (or absolutely certain)
that we are going to get old, have to embrace the realities of life and then ultimately die. If we consider
this is a ‘favourite field’ and that the poetic voice has somehow let ‘twelve years… elapse’, then we can
immediately see that he has been drawn away from the simple joys of life. The word ‘elapsed’ here
means that time has gone by without him really thinking about or being aware of it, there is a sense it
has slipped away before he has realised. These once magnificent columns are now reduced to stumps
that serve as ‘my seat’ and are ‘now in the grass’. Thus they have been cut down and thus the hopes,
dreams, life or purity that might have represented has been lost and replaced by the realities of the
world as we grow up. It is significant that Cowper repeats that they ‘once lent me a shade’ as this
suggests that he has nothing to do this anymore. The shade can be metaphorically as offering
protection against the harshness of the world, meaning that he is now exposed.
Indeed this seems to mark a turning point in the poem. The opening stanzas are predominantly focused
on remembering this beautiful scene and feeling. However, the third stanza moves us firmly into the
realities of the present. The stanza opens with the idea of ‘the blackbird is fled’, implying that the birds
have had to seek new pastures, but the verb further suggests that it is scared and vulnerable as it too is
now exposed. ‘Fled’ has connotations linking to war, destruction, fear and sorrow.
The choice of bird is significant here and not simply part of Cowper’s memory. Blackbirds are important
negative symbols in Christianity that represent the temptations of the flesh and human sin. The devil
disguises himself as a blackbird when trying to convince St Benedict to be a bit naughty. Thus for Cowper
it stands as a symbol for the poetic voice as someone who has lost the purity and innocence of youth
and been tempted by the flesh, with their faith in God somewhat shaken. In contrast to this, the song of
the blackbird is very sweet and calming, so the reference has a double impact of symbolising the
temptations of flesh and conjuring an image of peaceful natural beauty.
This is further suggested by the bird’s new choice of home. I grew up calling hazel a bush, but it is
actually a tree. In contrast to the poplars, it is short and stubby and while you can see the trunk of a
poplar from miles, a hazel tree is heavily guarded by really thick foliage. These hazels ‘afford him a
screen from the heat’ as opposed to a ‘shade’. While the poplar gives cool, the hazel completely hides
away and to sit under one would be cold and dark. There is a definite sense that youthful optimism has
given way to a more cautious, less positive outlook and the new setting stands as an opposite to the rich
beauty described in the opening stanzas.
You can also think about the significant of hazel in a couple of other ways. For the Celts hazels were
symbols of wisdom and thus perhaps this change represents a move from the faith and virtue of youth
to a more pragmatic acceptance of what the world and life is about. I also think about the shape of the
tree representing the realities of middle age/older age body shape. As a youth we tend to be at our
fittest and thus I see an image of a tall, sculpted youth (poplar) giving way to a pot bellied middle age
dad (hazel). However, this might just be a reflection on how I have aged
In the fourth stanza we move away from the natural imagery entirely and focus directly on mortality.
Both ‘fugitive’ and ‘hasting away’ in the first line of the stanza conjure a sense of time moving too
quickly and make it seem as if the poetic voice feels like this has happened without him noticing, time
and his youth have raced away from him before he has realised it. This is added to in the final stanza
with life being compared to ‘a dream’ and thus something shortlived and to be appreciated while it
lasts. This might be difficult for you to appreciate if you are a teenager, but in most adults’ minds they
define themselves as they did when they were young. Every landmark birthday that remind them/us of
the fact that we are no longer young is treated with disdain and disbelief. As I write this I am 33, but still
think about my university days as if they were just yesterday and define myself by that period of my life
– that was twelve years ago – bugger, the poem is about me!
Although the poem gives no indication of the age or state of the poetic voice, it was written by Cowper
when he was 54 and thus probably has a later middle age mentality. He admits ‘I must ere long lie as
lowly as they’, implying that it won’t be long before he is cut down entirely and go to the grave. Notice
the alliteration here, which serves to provide this line with a solemn tone. Further, he tells us that he
will be in his grave before ‘another such grove shall arise’, which means that he believes he will die
within the next 5-10 years as this is how quickly poplars could be regrown.
In the final stanza, we have moved away from simply appreciating the former beauty of the scene, but
the poetic voice has been ‘engage[d]’ by its destruction ‘to muse on the perishing pleasures of man’. The
ending of the poem is juxtaposed with the opening beauty as we are reflecting on death and ageing
where we begin to lose our pleasures, dreams and hopes in the bitter reality of our own mortality. Life is
‘a dream’ and thus shortlived, but even within that we need to appreciate our ‘enjoyments’ as they are
even ‘less durable’. This is a strong message about the need to make the most of our lives, but
particularly our youth. It suggests life is too short, but even shorter than that is the time where we can
really appreciate the best things about it.
Structure
This is a pastoral poem written in quatrains composed of two rhyming couplets. Pastoral poems reflect
an idyllic view of the rural life and celebrate nature.
The simplicity and regularity of the poem reflect the focus of the poem upon the calm beauty of the
natural scene. The rhyming couplets provide a gentle, sing song rhythm, which helps us to capture the
perfection of the image he is describing, the whispering and singing of the trees.
Tone
There is definitely a split here. We begin with a fond reflection and farewell for a natural image that
defined the poetic voice’s youth. However, this gives way to a more bleak realisation of his own
mortality and the fact that the pleasures of his youth are distant and soon to be gone forever with his
death.
The Buck in the Snow
Overview
A peaceful and magical winter scene of two deer in the thick snow is sharply disrupted by the death of
the buck. The once idyllic snowy scene is shocked by the vivid red of the deer’s blood after it has
presumably been shot and killed.
The poetic voice reflects on this death, contemplating its sudden, unexpectedness and how life simply
continues afterwards.
Mini Glossary
hemlocks – an evergreen tree;
buck – a male deer;
doe – a female deer.
Context
Edna St Vincent Millay
Edna St Vincent Millay was a US poet who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1923. Although you might not be
aware of her work, you are almost certainly aware of a phrase she is credited with bringing to the
English language – ‘burning the candle at both ends’ or originally ‘My candle burns at both ends’ (The
Ballad of Harper Weave, 1923), meaning to live life to the fullest or less poetically to stay up all night
partying when you should be sleeping.
From a relatively impoverished childhood, Millay emerged as a skilled and popular poet and playright in
the 1920s. She is renowned for her feminism, ability to present modernist ideas in classical forms and
her exploration of her bisexuality. She had a number of relationships in her life with both men and
women, continuing even when she got married in 1923.
This poem was the titular poem for her 1928 collection The Buck in the Snow and Other Poems. It was
written at a time where Millay was increasingly becoming aware of her own mortality. In 1923 she was
admitted to surgery for a fairly major operation to fix intestinal issues and to remove her appendix. This
marked a period of poor health and her poetry began to explore the subject or death and mortality. The
scene in focus was possibly inspired by the home they purchased together in 1925, which consisted of
625 acres of land surrounded by a state forest preserve.
Themes
The poem explores the beauty and purity of this nature, with the majesty of the deer emphasised by
the brilliant of the snow-clad trees and the stillness. However, this image is rudely interrupted by the
buck’s shocking death, which forces the poetic voice to consider the mortal nature of the world. While
we are struck at first with the shock of death, quickly we realise that life goes on regardless.
Content
The narrative of this poem is very straight forward. The poetic voice begins by questioning the listener
about whether they too witnessed the deer standing in the snow-covered apple orchard. She then
describes the way they leap away over the wall and into the snowy trees once alerted.
The second stanza stands apart as a single line to emphasis the shocking contrast and juxtaposition of
Millay’s second piece of imagery. She brings us to the present and the buck lying dead, his blood
disturbing the purity of the snow.
In the final stanza Millay contemplates death. She first focuses on its ability to bring something so
majestic and powerful to a stop, before moving on to consider its impact on life. The buck’s female
companion has moved on and the scene is reset, the doe now only more aware of the potential threat
of death that we never know when it will strike.
Language and Techniques
The first thing to note about this poem is its subject. We are not directly focused on the beauty of
nature here, but of the deer. By using the definite article ‘the’ Millay elevates the buck so that it is
considered an individual, special in its own right as opposed to being just ‘a buck’ and one of many.
Furthermore, she goes on to refer to the deer using the third person ‘he’ and ‘his’ repeatedly, again
highlighting that this is a specific individual. Using these terms also put him on human terms as it would
be equally be acceptable to refer to ‘it’ and ‘its’ when referring to an animal. This is important because it
creates a more pronounced sense that this buck’s death means something and allows us to contemplate
it in human terms.
Millay also chooses to emphasise the strength and majesty of this deer in order to comment on death.
In the second line he is referred to as ‘the antlered buck’, highlighting his weaponry to symbolise his
power and fight. In addition, the alliterative ‘long leaps lovely and slow’ to describe the way he flees the
scene once alerted of human presence conveys a sense of elegance and grace in the way he moves. Due
to the thickset snow the deer are not running or trotting away, but springing away. See the video below
for an idea of what I mean (apologies, it is a doe and not a buck, but I am sure you get the idea:
After reading the opening stanza we stand in awe of the buck, but it is the very sense of his
impressiveness that makes the contemplation of mortality more significant. In the third stanza, Millay
comments on ‘How strange a thing is death’ specifically focusing on it ‘bringing to his knees’ and
‘bringing to his antlers’. Here we are struck with the juxtaposition of the initial image first of the elegant
leaps of the buck and now the inelegant knees brought to the ground, its gracefulness destroyed. By
refocusing on the antlers and seeing them grounded Millay challenges us to recognise that death can
come at a time when one feels strongest.
This sense of the suddenness of death is added to by the juxtaposition of peaceful natural imagery with
the shock of the buck’s blood on the snow. Millay paints a tranquil winter wonderland, with ‘white sky’
and ‘the hemlocks bowed with snow’ and a sense of quiet indicated by the fact the deer feel
comfortable ‘standing in the apple orchard’. The whiteness of the scene has connotations of purity and
innocence, with a nature undisturbed by mankind. The trees are ‘bowed’, which serves to provide an
understanding of how heavy the snow is as the branches are bent under its weight, but it also suggests
the trees are bowing as if in respect of the beauty of the scene and majesty of the buck. Thus this
suggests the buck feels like he is in charge of life, nature and the world bow to him. Even when the deer
are alerted (presumably by the hunter who kills the buck) and run off, their movements are slow and
elegant as touched upon before.
The imagery of the second stanza destroys this completely. It opens with four stressed syllables ‘Now
he lies here’, which serve to disrupt the gentle rhythm of the poem and point to the stark change of
feeling. The purity and innocence of the snow is gone as ‘his wild blood [is] scalding the snow.’ The
suggestion is that the heat of the blood immediately begins to melt the snow and thus the perfection of
the former imagery is gone. ‘Scalding’, meaning burning or very hot, is pronounced in the same way
(homonym) as ‘scolding’, meaning telling off, and thus when listening to the poem there is almost a
sense that the snow is being reprimanded for ever conjuring a sense of peace and calm. This would
symbolise Millay considering the cruelty of death as it can strike at a time when we least expect it, when
our lives are settled and calm. Furthermore, the adjective ‘wild’ used to describe the blood suggests that
this creature was free and could do whatever he pleased, but now is tamed by death as seen by death
‘bringing [the buck] to his knees’ as if bowing in subjugation. Notice that this is juxtaposed with the idea
of the trees bowing to the buck in the opening stanza.
In the third stanza, the contemplation of death in the opening two lines, explored above, is swiftly
refocused on how death impacts the living. Millay repeats ‘How strange a thing’, but is interrupted from
the notion of death by that of life. The dash ‘-‘ moves us on to contemplate ‘his doe’. The possessive
pronoun suggests a partnership and in human terms a loving relationship, and yet she ‘may be’ ‘a mile
away by now’. Given the way Millay’s imagery and emphasis of the buck’s majesty made his death so
shocking, it feels almost insulting that life can move on quite so quickly – we almost expect the doe to
be draped over his corpse in a flood of tears and inconsolable. However, this is clearly the way life
works, we have to move on, but in nature this reality is realised all the more immediately.
However, the poetic voice suggests that the doe has not been unaffected by this. In the opening stanza
the deer were in the apple orchards, somewhere open where they could be observed, but now the doe
is imagined to be ‘Under the heavy hemlocks’ suggesting that she is hiding and taking refuge. In
addition, the final line suggests the doe is now acutely aware of her own mortality. This sense is
personified as ‘Life, looking out attentive from [her] eyes’ showing that the doe is now cautious and
fears its own death.
Literally this just refers to the fact the doe would be on edge if they knew that there was a hunter in the
area, but this symbolises Millay’s own growing sense of mortality. Seeing life interrupted by sickness,
illness and death makes her more aware of her own mortality. The fact the buck was in the prime of life
means that she has to be aware that death could come for her at any time too. The innocence
symbolised in the opening imagery also reacts to demonstrate this change of mindset. The trees ‘shift
their loads a little, letting fall a feather of snow’ suggesting that although the scene is almost unchanged
there has been a subtle shift and the purity and innocence has been disturbed with this realisation that
life is not a constant.
Millay explores mortality not just for her own sake, but directs the poem at the reader in the second line
with the formal inversion ‘Saw you not’ question. This challenges us to think about how we see and
understand the world. Do we see it as pure and innocent place or have our eyes been opened. It is
telling the question is followed by the immediate, although initially minor, disruption to the scene with
the noisy ‘I saw them. I saw them suddenly go’. Millay’s repetition interrupts the calm natural imagery
and alerts the deer that then flee the scene. Thus Millay challenges us to recognise the realities of
mortality and of life.
Structure
Millay is a poet who typically used classical poetic structure, form and rhythm, but in this poem she
abandons this as the form could in some way distance her from the reality of the subject. In other
words, this poem is a raw exploration of mortality and Millay does not want to hide the reality by
dressing it up with poetic formalities. You can notice this in her use of long lines and irregular syllable
count across the poem.
The poem utilises a rhyme scheme, but with a single rhyme repeated across the whole of the first
stanza, the stand alone second and then in the second and final two lines of the third stanza. The
disruption to this single rhyme notably occurs when Millay is directly contemplating the death and its
impact. The fact that the rhyme continues even in the midst of this contemplation and then afterwards
hints at the reality that life goes on after death and makes us feel very small when we consider that our
lives are not the end of the world.
Tone
I think about this poem as being like a child who suddenly learns about the realities of the world. In the
opening stanza we have the sense of joy, hope and appreciation of life, but this is rudely interrupted in
the second with the stark reality that all life ends and we can never be sure when. This jerk from joyous
appreciation to stark realisation is then soothed in the third stanza, which feels a bit more controlled
and measured in its assessment of the world/life.
The Buck in the Snow
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
White sky, over the hemlocks bowed with snow,
Saw you not at the beginning of evening the antlered buck and his doe
Standing in the apple-orchard? I saw them. I saw them suddenly go,
Tails up, with long leaps lovely and slow,
Over the stone-wall into the wood of hemlocks bowed with snow.
Now lies he here, his wild blood scalding the snow.
How strange a thing is death, bringing to his knees, bringing to his antlers
The buck in the snow.
How strange a thing,—a mile away by now, it may be,
Under the heavy hemlocks that as the moments pass
Shift their loads a little, letting fall a feather of snow—
Life, looking out attentive from the eyes of the doe.
hemlocks
-
a poisonous fern
antlered
-
with antlers on head
buck
-
male deer
doe
-
female deer
orchard
-
garden
bowed
-
bent under the weight
scolding
-
burning
shift
-
release
attentive
-
vigilant / watchful
Words/phrases from the poem
White sky, over the hemlocks bowed with snow,
Saw you not
White sky, hemlocks bowed with snow, evening
Antlered
buck and his doe
Standing
the apple orchard
saw them suddenly go
Tails up,
with long leaps lovely and slow
stone-wall
hemlocks bowed with snow
Lies
Now, lies, he here
wild blood
scalding the snow
How strange a thing is death
his knees, bringing to his antlers
The buck in the snow.
a mile away by now
Under the heavy hemlocks
as the moments pass
Shift their loads a little, letting fall a feather of snow
Life, looking out attentive
from the eyes of the doe
Structure
Stanzas and lines
Rhyming
Comments
Coming
Overview
This poem defies Larkin’s reputation as a glum and pessimistic poet. The natural imagery of a late winter
sunset and the first bird song serve as a sign of the coming of the spring. The hint of future warmth,
hope and optimism after the dark and cold of winter, conjure emotions of childlike glee without a
conscious understanding of where this emotions comes from.
Context
Larkin was voted the UK’s favourite poet in 2003 (Poetry Book Society, which says a lot about the
national mentality as his poetry is renowned for being glum, understated and no-nonsense, and named
by The Times as Britain’s greatest post-war writer.
This poem was written in February 1950 while he was working as an assistant librarian at University
College, Leicester. It was published in The Less Deceived in 1955. Notably the first poem written for this
collection was entitled ‘Going’ and focuses on his fear of death. This pessimism and focus on departing
the earth is contrasted by this poems focus on arriving, optimism and new life/hope.
In the poem Larkin touches on his own childhood. Although his parents supported him and his interests,
Larkin has always referred to this as a cold and lonely time in his life with a family home that never
received friends or other family members.
Themes
Here Larkin explores the power of nature and the seasons to impact on human mood and emotions.
The gentle, soothing sunset of a late winter’s day heralds the coming of happier times and transforms
the poetic voice from feeling empty and alone to finding happiness and optimism again without really
understanding why. This can also be seen as reflecting the poetic voice finding meaning and hope in the
world.
Content
The poem narrates a very simple scene. As the evenings get longer as winter draws to an end, a mellow
sunset soothes the front wall of houses with a soft warming light. Accompanying this a thrush sings with
a voice that feels fresh and new shocking the whole scene into life after a winter of hibernation.
Larkin echoes the thrush’s twice repeated song with the thought that spring will soon arrive. This scene
inspire a sense of optimism in the poetic voice who is able to wake from an empty and lonely childhood
to a new understanding of the world, filled with hope and happiness.
Language and Techniques
The poem begins with some powerfully soothing imagery. We have the ‘light, chill and yellow’ of a
gentle sunset that does not overpower or dazzle, but provides a gentle warming light and brightness
that has been absent throughout the winter months. Larkin uses tactile imagery to convey the softness
of the scene as the personified sunset ‘bathes the serene foreheads’ of the buildings in view. You can
imagine the light almost massaging the houses frozen throughout the winter back into life. The houses
are described as ‘serene’ as the light is so gentle it affects something of an angelic radiance to the
brickwork.
In lines 5-8 Larkin introduces auditory imagery with the song of a thrush described as ‘fresh-peeled’ as if
brand new, fresh, ripe and the first song of the season. The thrush may not be renowned for its song,
but in this imagery it is ‘astonishing’ due to it interrupting the silence and barren winter, represented by
‘the deep bare garden’ that clearly has not sustained much life throughout the winter. Another famous
poet, Robert Browning, wrote ‘the wise thrush: he sings each song twice over‘ and thus Larkin pays
tribute to the thrush and Browning’s idea by repeating ‘It will be spring soon’ as if the thrush’s song had
words and clearly heralded the close arrival of spring.
Notice that the thrush is ‘laurel surrounded’ with this evergreen clearly the only thing to survive in the
garden. Laurels have been an important symbol since the time of the Ancient Greeks. where a crown of
laurels represented victory and success. Thus the thrush’s song is presented as a victor’s song and the
coming of spring is a victory over the darkness and cold of the winter.
Both the sunset and the song serve to bring the surrounding houses to life from a winter death. We
rarely associate building with natural beauty, but they are given beauty and life (personified with
‘foreheads’ being ‘bathe[d]’ and ‘brickwork’ being astonished). Larkin chooses to do this as the houses
metaphorically stand to represent himself, something plain and ordinary, but something brought to life
when given inspiration and meaning.
How can I make an assertion that the houses represent Larkin? The key clue is in lines 12-13 where he
refers to his ‘childhood [as] a forgotten boredom’. This immediately draws attention to a correlation
between his life and this natural imagery of the changing of the seasons, winter for spring. For Larkin
this would represent the end of his lonely and isolated childhood and finding meaning, fulfilment and
happiness upon leaving home – the poem was written 8 years after he had left the family home. His
childhood ‘boredom’ is represented by the left behind cold, dark and lifeless winter and the optimism of
his adult life is represented by the arrival of spring, warmth, light and newly realised beauty in the
world. The misery of childhood is ‘forgotten’ both because he does not want to dwell on it and because
he is carried away by the hope and optimism of the coming spring in his life.
As well as referencing his own childhood in these lines, he also uses a simile explain the fact that he
does not fully understand how his new found optimism and happiness has come about. He is ‘like a child
who’ sees an ‘adult reconciling’, which immediately puts him in a position of innocence, but more
importantly ignorance and naivety as he cannot quite appreciate what the adult has gone through. It
made me think of a brief period in my life where my parents split up and plunged the whole family into
chaos for a couple of months. Although I didn’t understand the reasons for the breakup or what brought
them back together again, I recognised the ‘unusual laughter’ and the return of the spark between my
parents and that was enough for me to be happy again – no further questions asked, no additional
understanding needed.
For Larkin this represents going from a position of wintry despair where he feels like he will never come
out of this unhappy childhood to suddenly seeing signs for hope and the gloom instantly lifting as he
finds meaning in his life.
I mentioned in the Context section that this poem has a counterpart entitled ‘Going’ focused on death.
The titles are inextricably linked and this stands as a stark contrast where Larkin focuses on his optimism
for the future and what awaits once his winter is over.
Structure
The poem is written as a single stanza of 19 lines, but can roughly be divided into an opening nine lines
and a closing ten. The opening paints the late winter imagery that serves as a metaphor for the finding
of optimism and hope from a place of darkness, which is presented in the final ten lines.
Larkin uses no rhyme scheme and an irregular line length, but conveys the gentle soothing effects of the
imagery with his use of very short lines and the relaxed pace of the poem.
Tone
Larkin defies his critics by delivering an uplifting tone throughout the poem. This is not a chest thumbing
celebration, but a calm recognition that things are looking up and can only get better now the winter is
giving way to the spring. Only once does the poem dip into the struggle of the winter/the difficult period
in Larkin’s life when recognising the prior ‘boredom’ that is immediately ‘forgotten’.
The Caged Skylark
Overview
Hopkins uses the comparison with a caged skylark to explore the limitations that can be placed on a man
by obligations, work and religious faith.
We see the skylark subdued and reduced to occasional song when locked away, but when free being
able to defy storms and babble contentedly. All the time Hopkins is drawing parallels with the state of a
work-burdened man and suggesting that only with freedom can either achieve their full potential and be
happy.
Mini Glossary
dare-gale – two words combined to suggest the lark’s bravery as it defies storms;
scanted in – neglected conditions;
bone-house – another word combo which represents the human body, but expressed this way has
specific connotations that link it with the idea of being imprisoned;
aloft on turf – the cage is hung up high and has turf placed at its bottom presumably to make the skylark
feel more at home;
meadow-down – the seed pods on top of dandelions.
Context
This poem focuses on the conflict between his religious devotion and poetry. However, Hopkins is also
thought to have struggled with repressed homosexuality and with bipolar disorder. Thus he ticks the box
for having a complicated poetic life!
His adult life was a conflict between his poetry and his faith. In January 1866, while studying Classics at
Oxford University, he made the decision to give up poetry for Lent, suggesting he viewed it as a vice.
Later that year, in July, he made the decision to convert from the Church of England to Catholicism. In
doing so he estranged himself from his family. By 1868 he decided to join the religious order of the
Jesuits, burnt all his poetry and gave up writing entirely for seven years. However, after being asked to
write a poem by a religious superior in 1874 he was dragged back in.
This poem is one of eleven celebrated sonnets, In God’s Grandeur, written in 1877. In the same year he
would fail his final theology examination and ensure that he could not progress up the ranks of the
Jesuit order. He evidently struggled with some of the aspects of religious devotion and the life of
chastity, poverty and obedience required by the Jesuits. This poem seems to sound his frustrations with
his religious commitment and the life it required him to live.
Hopkins never published any of his work, with his great friend Robert Bridge responsible for bringing
him posthumous recognition, as his faith forbade him from pursuing anything that could be seen as
egotistical. However, as an artist he longed for an audience for his poetry and engagement with them.
As a result of this conflict he was left feeling like a double failure – unable to fully commit to his religious
or artistic obligations.
Themes
The poem uses the symbolic beauty and strength of the free skylark and its song to explore the human
need for freedom from obligations and burdens in order to be able to realise our full potential. The
constant parallel between the caged bird and man reflects on Hopkins own conflict between his artistic
ambitions and his religious faith, but can be taken more generally to be seen as a conflict between an
individual’s pursuit of happiness or fulfilment and the pressures placed upon them by work, faith, family
and obligations.
Content
Although this is presented as three stanzas in the Songs of Ourselves collection, it is really one sonnet.
The opening octave establishes the parallel between the caged bird and a man with both seen as having
higher aspirations – the lark free flying in a gale and man’s artistic or religious inspiration in the heavens.
However, these aspirations are squashed by the lark’s cage and the obligations in front of the man that
prevent both from being able to truly dedicate themselves to their passions. Even though at times these
passions or songs shine through regardless, both bird and man are more often in a state of despair and
depression as a result of being trapped and locked away.
The sestet that follows explores the difference made when both are free. In lines 9-12. Hopkins shows
that although the bird may rest and nest just as in the cage, it does so with on its own terms and no
longer feels trapped or constrained, but is filled with constant song and happiness. In the final three
lines, man finds fulfilment on earth, but only if he is not weighed down by obligation and
responsibilities.
Language and Techniques
The most crucial element to understand here is the continuous analogy between bird and man.
Hopkins chooses the skylark as it symbolises fun, freedom and fulfilment. In modern days we use the
phrase ‘larking around’ to mean messing around or being playful and this stems from an old maritime
association of skylarks and playing practical jokes or making tricks. Even the song of a skylark sounds
playful and good natured. This serves to intensify the sense of injustice in the bird being imprisoned as
the skylark is one that clearly enjoys its freedom.
He further builds upon this sense of injustice by describing the bird as a ‘dare-gale skylark’. Hopkins
borrows a technique from Anglo-Saxon poetry called kenning when making a compound of two
uncommonly associated words to provide an alternative way of understanding the more commonly
used phrase ‘dare-gale’ = ‘storm-defying’. The compound focuses on the idea that this small bird has
tremendous bravery and the ability to withstand the strongest storms, which make the fact it is ‘scanted
in a dull cage’ seem even more unjust. Its life of incarceration means it reaches a state ‘beyond
remembering [its] free fells’ as if this bird no longer recalls the time its flew freely. The imagery makes
us picture a proud and strong bird reduced to a boring life where it does not get to fulfil its potential and
embrace its natural desire to fly free in these conditions.
As this injustice and deprivation of freedom is something that we can easily imagine, Hopkins uses it to
convey his own sense of feeling trapped by obligation. While the lark is caged. ‘man’s mounting spirit in
his bone-house… dwells’. The ‘mounting spirit’ conveys an idea that our spirit wants to rise and soar
without limitations and yet it cannot because it is burdened by the human body. Again Hopkins uses a
kenning (‘bone-house’ = ‘body’) to add negative connotations and make us see the human body as
comparable to a prison with the bones like the bars of a cage keeping us trapped and preventing our
spirits from mounting. The poet adds ‘mean house’ to the description suggesting that our spirits or souls
are confined by our bodies and by our earthly existence.
In Christianity the human body is ‘the body of sin’ (Romans 6:6) as our natural desires lead to mankind
committing sins. Thus Hopkins could be seen as simply reflecting a struggle between his desire to lead a
spiritually upright existence and his human desires and urges. However, given the context of this poem
being written at a time where he was struggling with the reality of an austere Jesuit lifestyle, I feel it is
more likely to reflect that it is the ‘drudgery, day-labouring-out life’s age’ represented by an unfulfilling
and empty life, with labour being work that you do for someone else rather than oneself.
In lines 5-6 we see further evidence of my interpretation. The skylark is confined to the artificial ‘turf’ of
the cage, while man is metaphorically on a ‘poor low stage’, thus an unimportant or insignificant role in
the world. However, in spite of this, both are capable of ‘the sweetest, sweetest spells’ meaning that
they can momentarily demonstrate their full beauty or talent. The repetition of ‘sweetest’ serves to
emphasise just how fulfilling it is to achieve this feat. For the bird this represents it occasionally finding
voice and singing its merry tune, while for man or Hopkins particularly these ‘sweetest spells’ seem to
suggest his poetry. The eleven sonnets written in 1877, a time of great religious angst for the poet,
demonstrate just this.
Yet this brief high is juxtaposed with a bitter low. Bird and man ‘droop deadly… in their cells’ which
implies a physical state of melancholy or depression that makes them physically dropped. The hard
alliterative ‘d’s here stand in contrast to the soft sibilance of the previous line (‘sing sometimes the
sweetest, sweet spells’) and provides us with an auditory juxtaposition in the tone of the poem. This
depression is interrupted by the attacks against the cage caused by ‘fear or rage’. This imagery
demonstrates the level of frustration of both, but it also communicates a sense of futility as the
‘wring[ing of] their barriers’ cannot even break or bend the bars of their cages and thus there is no hope
of escape. Thus both may have moments of light and joy even when imprisoned, but neither will ever
forget that they are trapped and unfulfilled.
As this is a sonnet, the opening octave establishes the thought or argument of the poem, while the
concluding sestet provides a volta or turn of the argument. Hopkins moves the thought on by painting
imagery of what bird and man are when free from the cage or obligations weighing them down. Life
does not change so that it is unrecognisable as the bird still needs rest and somewhere to nest, but the
fact it is ‘his own nest’ a ‘wild nest’ means that it feels free and makes its own choices. Their is a sense of
wonder established by Hopkins with the opening of line ten as if confronted with the wondrous song of
the skylark: ‘Why, hear him, hear him’ with the repetition conveying a sense of joyous disbelief or
surprise hearing the ‘babble’ of the bird. It is interesting that the poet refers to the birds song when it is
caged and ‘babble’ when it is free. Babble can be used to describe meaningless talk or speech, but here
it is oxymoronically seen as more beautiful and praiseworthy than the song because it conveys a sense
of busyness and personal occupation for the bird. This message extends to man as part of the sonnet’s
continuing analogy.
In the final three lines Hopkins focuses directly on man rather than bird. This sense of human fulfilment
‘will be flesh-bound when found at best’ stands at odds with the idea of this poem backing up the
religious idea of the body being sinful and our souls being the true or pure representations of ourselves.
Thus the poet thinks that we reach our best or fulfil our potential on earth rather than in heaven or in an
afterlife type scenario. However, only when ‘uncumbered’ or burdened with obligations, responsibilities
or work that distract from a man finding his own way.
The final thought comes in the form of a metaphor and a simile. Hopkins conjures imagery of a meadow
of dandelions in seed that are not disturbed or ‘distressed’, but enhanced by a ‘rainbow footing’
suggesting that they are made to look more beautiful in the fresh spring days where gentle drizzles meet
sunshine with the touch of a rainbow’s inspiration. This is compared to a man with his ‘bones risen’,
which takes us back to the idea of being imprisoned in our ‘bone-house[s]’, and suggests that we can be
freed not by death and no longer being in our bodies, but by pursuing our own inspiration, passions and
desires.
Structure
This poem follows the form of a French sonnet with an opening octave (with two distinct quatrains)
establishing the problem and the concluding sestet offering a solution or answer to the predicament.
The bleak tone and imagery of the opening are immediately contrasted with the more uplifting imagery
of the free skylark. This allows the reader to reflect on problems that a more than likely personally
relatable and give them a suggestion of the path to resolution. For this poem, who doesn’t feel like they
are weighed down doing things they don’t want to be doing and do not have enough time to do the
things they love? Solution, break free and do what you love!
The volta (turn of the poem from problem to solution) in line 9 changes the tone of the poem in terms of
subject, but also in terms of rhythm and rhyme. Hopkins regular syllable count in the opening octave is
disrupted and freer, while the rhyme scheme becomes more melodies with four lines ending with one
rhyme sound and the other two with another.
Tone
From the bleak depiction of human reality, or maybe just Hopkins’ reality, in the opening octave that is
somewhat constricted by the regularity of the poetic form, the poem shifts into a more celebratory tone
as we imagine both man and bird free. The rhythm shifts and becomes more irregular and free, while
the rhymes are enhanced and become more melodious.
You Will Know When You Get There
Overview
Curnow conjures the most beautiful imagery of the sun setting over a New Zealand beach as a lone
mussel forager makes their way down to the shore.
The sun’s last rays reflect, glitter and shine on the sand and rocks as the night arrives behind the man as
he reaches the sea. To complete the perfection of this moment, nature and man work in unison with the
tide reaching its lowest point and revealing the sea floor and presumable ripe pickings of mussels.
This natural scene also acts as a reflection on ageing, mortality and coming to terms with death.
Mini Glossary
wet-metalled – this refers to the wet sand having an almost metallic shine with the last light of the sun
reflecting on it;
celestial – belonging to heaven;
campfirelit – literally faces that are illuminated only by the firelight;
excrescent – unneeded and unnecessary;
fissure – a narrow tear or chasm.
Context
Karekare beach, NZ
Panatahi Island, Karekare © russellstreet Flickr
Allen Curnow is one of New Zealand’s most celebrated poets with his work renowned for their
connection with the country’s stunning natural landscapes. As a young man he trained to be a priest
before changing his mind and pursuing a career in journalism and poetry. He also often explores a sense
of conflict between the imagination/mysticism/religion and rationality. This poem is no exception, as it
explores the almost mystical and divine beauty of Karekare (on the north west coast of New Zealand’s
north island) beach as the sun sets, darkness encroaches and the tide recedes.
This is the titular poem of Curnow’s 1982 poetry collection: You Will Know When You Get There: Poems
1979-81. With Curnow at the beginning of his 70s his poetry began to explore the nearing of death and
this poem can be seen to touch on a sense of readiness and embracing the end.
Themes
As per the title of our poetry collection, this poem again explores the beauty of the natural world. This
time the specific focus is on the spectacular combinations of the sunlight fading at the very end of the
day and the empty beach of Karekare. However, the poem also celebrates the way man has learnt to live
and understand the natural world as the lone mussel man is guided to his treasure and the tide recedes
to welcome him.
In addition, the poem serves as an analogy for someone coming to terms with their own mortality and
recognising the true beauties of the world and appreciating that the end is approaching with acceptance
and grace.
Content
The poem follows the journey of a lone man down the beach. He is there to collect mussels at low tide,
but is alone as he does so at the very end of the shellfish season (in New Zealand the summer months
are mussel season) and at the end of the day.
The beach is fresh from a minor rain shower and the wet sand glints in the fading sunlight like metal.
The final light of the day touches the sea and is occasionally visible in the occasional shimmer of sand as
it follows the man’s journey down to the beach. As he proceeds he walks past two boys who are
camping on the beach, who look at the man without speaking as he is not lit clearly as the sun falls
behind him.
He reaches the sea as the tide is at its lowest and with one hour remaining before it will be too dark to
go about his task of collecting the mussels revealed by the receding tide.
Language and Techniques
On first read this poem can be quite tricky to follow, but hopefully the content section above makes it
clear. It’s challenging because it is full of some really rich imagery that is perhaps not as typical as in
other poems or scenes explored in poetry.
The most magical imagery for me is the way that explores the light upon the beach. As the man
descends the beach towards the shore, the ‘wet-metalled’ sand represents the silver reflection of the
light upon the rain dampened sand. Similarly, the ‘crushed rock’ (either sand or that sort or gritty sludge
of tiny rocks you often find on beaches) ‘randomly glint[s] underfoot’ creates this wonderful image of a
diamond like sparkle that seems to move with a mind of its own, but is simply reflecting the light in a
multitude of directions all at the same time.
The light on the sea ‘gathers the gold against it’. Notice that this section is in quotation marks as it is a
reference (intertextuality) to a poem by Ezra Pound, Canto 17, written in the 1920s. The particular
section it is taken from describes the exquisite beauty of a Venetian lagoon transformed in the
moonlight. A lone man on his boat says “In the gloom the gold Gathers the light about it”. The line
suggests that as darkness falls upon the water the glints of light seem like gold. Curnow alters the line
slightly, but borrows the same imagery of the beauty and sparkle of the last light upon the water. Again
here we have an association between this natural image and precious material – diamonds and now
gold.
This is added to with the vivid descriptive detail about the sun and the journey of the light. It travels
‘through summits, trees, vapours thickening and thinning’, being obstructed and all this ‘shredding’ it to
a point where the beach only enjoys the final embers of the sunlight. The fact Curnow details the
distance and difficult the light has faced to reach the beach implies that the sunlight was determined to
reach this place as if allowing the beach to gently sparkle in such a manner and providing the man with
enough light was its sole aim and purpose. This emphasises the feeling that this natural scene is
approaching perfection or something divine.
We see the conflict between a sense of seeing this beauty as being something created by god and a
rational understanding of the image in the seventh-eighth lines as Curnow calls it ‘Too credibly by half
celestial’. This suggests that it would be easy to see this beautiful scene as being God’s creation, but the
phrasing mirrors the common idiom too clever by half, which actual suggests the opposite of what it
says (i.e. that you think you are clever, but are not). Therefore Curnow acknowledges that the beauty of
the image may inspire people to believe that there is a God, but that really that is just the reality of the
natural world – it is too divine, too perfect, to be the work of a divine figure.
Notice how Curnow accuses the moon of ‘sponging off’ the sun, which implies that its beauty is only
really a reflection of the sun and thus stealing its glory and the moon itself is not responsible for this
perfection.
In contrast to the magnificent final effects of the sunlight, the man passes two boys who look up the
beach toward him with their ‘campfirelit faces’. If you are into your camping, you will know that in the
darkness the fire lights up certain parts of your faces, but others are shrouded in shadow and it looks
somewhat spooky or mysterious. When I was a child, you used to tell ghost stories by shining a torch
underneath your chin to achieve exactly the same sort of impact. This reflects the uncertainty and
caution of the boys. In the literal sense of the poem, they show a ‘hesitancy to speak’ because as they
look up the beach towards the subject of the poem he is a dark figure as the sun is behind him and thus
not lighting his face at all. However, the poem also stands as a metaphor or analogy for embracing one’s
mortality (explored in more detail later) and as such the uncertainty of youth and their fear of
ageing/death (the approaching darkness) stands in contrast to the certainty of this figure.
As the poem reaches its end the man reaches the newly revealed sands as the tide reaches its lowest
point (this occurs when the sun and the moon are at a right angle to each other as hinted at as the
‘moon [is] sponging off the last’ light of the sun, so it is coming up as the sun goes down). It seems he
has an ‘arrangement with the tide’ as he has arrived at the perfect time for the mussels to be revealed
and there still to be enough time for him to gather them with light.
Although Curnow gives us a literal narrative of this lone mussel gathers journey, it is clear that it also
stands as a metaphor for someone who has come to terms with the approach of death or their own
mortality. ‘Nobody comes up from the sea as late as this’ might literally suggest he is one of the last
people out gathering mussels, but metaphorically this suggests that the man is at the end of his days
and if nobody else comes up from the sea, why should we expect him to do so once he gets there?
Curnow repeats ‘nobody’ this time adding ‘else goes goes down’ suggesting that others do not embrace
the journey that he is taking. We see this with the boys on the beach, they are fearful and look
suspiciously upon someone who is embracing this journey into the depths in the darkness. This difficulty
of this descent is suggested by the poet describing it as the ‘last steep kilometre’. This steep decline
represents the final act of death or dying.
It is not simply the fact that the man is making the journey that suggest he has come to terms with life
ending, we also have the way that he seems to have reached harmony and total understanding with the
world. He is so at one with nature that at times it appears that natural elements are his tools and at
others they are his friends or companions. The sun is metaphorically referred to as a ‘tank in the sky’
and as ‘the dammed reservoir’, which are both man made methods of containing water and suggest that
the man has control over the flow of the light. This is evidenced by the fact it reflects in such a magical
way during his journey and provides him with just enough to complete his task. The ‘dammed reservoir’
is a metaphor for the way the full brightness of the sun is blocked off as the sun gradually descends
below the horizon.
The personified sun follows the journey of the man ‘in its way’, suggesting some sort of companionship
or shared purpose, but even more significantly the man has ‘an arrangement with the tide’ to have
‘shallowed three point seven metres’ – again nature, the tide, is personified. Nature respects him and is
in tune with him. The precision of the receding tide again hints at the man being in precise control of the
natural world around him. As he walks ‘the earth [is] rolling back and away behind this man’ suggesting
that he is leaving and being separated from this world, but again there is a sense of agreement and
concordance between the man and the world.
As he reaches the water we have this almost Biblical image of the water being forced back (ala Moses
parting of the seas) as ‘a door slams, heavy wave, a door’. The aural imagery compares the breaking of a
wave to the slamming of a door, followed by the heavy lifting of water as a new wave rises and then
repetitively slams as Curnow repeats ‘a door’. This conveys the strength and force of the water, which
causes the revealed ‘sea-floor [to] shudder’. This imagery conveys the way that freshly revealed wet
sands seem to breath and move as the sands begin to settle. The word ‘shudder’ conveys for the first
time any sense of danger or apprehension, which now appears at the final step – death.
The final line continues this newly introduced fear as Curnow emphasises that the man is ‘alone’ and in
contrast to the beautiful imagery of the descent the final image is of the man moving ‘into the surgeblack fissure’. This literally paints an image of this new chasm of darkened, sodden sand, but has
connotations of falling into the pits of the earth or hell. It is like the world has opened up and is going to
swallow him. We might have come to terms with mortality, but the final act of death is one that we take
alone and is unavoidably scary as we have no clue what comes next.
These lines could be a Biblical reference. In Psalm 60, David asks God to ‘Heal [the world’s] fissures, for
it shudders’. This comes at a time where he claims ‘God, You have rejected us’ and thus there is a sense
that at the final moment of our death we are confronted with doubt and fear that there is nothing after
death and that God will not be around to welcome us to an eternal party in the sky.
There is one final, fairly crucial point to touch upon – the use of pronouns. Who is the man? At first the
poem takes us on his journey without any clear indication, but on line twelve the second person ‘you’ is
introduced – ‘down you go’. This is repeated in the final line – ‘Down you go alone’. Now, I don’t know
about you, but I am not a mussel picker living near Karekare beach, so how do we explain Curnow’s
choice here? His intention relates to the metaphorical or analogous meaning of the poem. Ageing,
coming to terms with mortality and death are a part of the human experience and thus we are drawn to
reflect upon our own mortality.
The man in the poem has come to terms with it and appears to appreciate the final light of his life and
how special it has been. Curnow is challenging the reader to feel the same way, to find the light in our
final hours/years before embracing the scary prospect of death itself.
This also relates to the title where we are told ‘You Will Know When You Get There’ suggesting that
there will be a moment in our lives when we reach this state of appreciation of life and acceptance that
ageing, mortality and ultimately death is a necessary part of it and no longer fear it. Interestingly CIE
drop the capitalisation of ‘will’ in the title of this poem, which is not always done. This could reflect how
the certainty of the acceptance in the poem actually gives way to slight doubt in the final lines and thus
the certainty that we will all reach this state of acceptance is somewhat challenged.
Structure
I think the structure of this poem is really rather clever. It is a sort of shape poem. If you turn the poem
on its side the two line stanzas seem to act as choppy waves, with no regularity and a sense of up and
down.
In addition to that, Curnow uses enjambment heavily across the poem, even to the extent that some
sentences or ideas seem to collide and be difficult to separate (e..g ‘wet-metalled where a shower
passed shredding a light which keeps pouring out of its tank’ vs. wet-metalled sand, where a shower
passed and shredded the light, which keeps pouring out of its tank in the sky). This conveys a sense of
the continuity of the sea and the waves, rising and then crashing, but without a clockwork regularity.
Tone
The majority of the poem reflects the way the man calmly embraces his mortality. There is a sense of
quiet joy and appreciation for the wonders of life, that only gives way at the end to the fear of
impending death. There are a couple of hints at this initially in the poem too, with the repetition of
‘nobody’ conveying a sense of isolation and loneliness, but the poem continues in an appreciative and
soothing manner before the shock of the waves, the shudder of the sea floor and the earth opening
before him.
Afternoon With Irish Cows
Overview
The poetic voice contemplates the existence of the seemingly mundane and boring herd of cows that
occupy the field across from his home. Despite their seeming simplicity, he cannot quite shake the
feeling that they are more mysterious and profound than they seem.
The ponderance is interrupted by a particularly powerful mooing that causes the poetic voice to
investigate. Although the noise is so deep and powerful it suggests severe pain, we recognise that his
noise is simply the cow celebrating being a cow and its own existence.
What was previously depicted as a simplistic existence is recognised as being a wonderful existence in
the rich beauty of the landscape. As the poetic voice realises this, the cow turns its eye on the poetic
voice as if it is now time for the cow to analyse and judge the purpose of his existence.
Mini Glossary
dumbfounded – astonished or made speechless;
unadulterated – pure;
cowness – the quality of being a cow
Context
I’d never had the pleasure of reading any Billy Collins before researching this poem, but I am now a fan.
One of the most popular poets in the US, his poetry is marked for a conversational style and witty
observations of the world around him. However, don’t be deceived into thinking this poem is just about
cows, there is always a level of depth in his work.
This particular poem was published in 1998 as part of the collection ‘Picnic, Lightning’. The Irish element
on the title perhaps connects with his Irish heritage and may have been inspired by trips to Ireland as he
has presented a number of poetry workshops in the country.
Of more significance is the history of Irish cattle. Kerry cattle are believed to be descendants of Celtic
shorthorn cows who were first brought to Ireland around 2,000BC. They are considered to be one of the
oldest breeds of cattle in the world and there are many hints in the poem that these cows have some
sort of ancient knowledge or understanding that reflects this heritage.
If you are interested in hearing Collins’ style of poetry, check out the video below. All the poems shared
in it and humorous and thought-provoking. I’ll be stealing the final one for when my children are
teenagers.
Themes
The most obvious theme here is the pastoral beauty of the countryside enjoyed by the cows. The
simplicity of the poem’s narrative, the cows’ existence and the rural landscape are painted in a manner
that makes them seem relaxing, peaceful and beautiful.
Alongside this we are challenged to reflect on the meaning of existence, in the first instance through the
consideration of the mundane lives of the cows and then with the mirror turned around to inspect our
own.
Content
In the opening stanza, Collins describes a field filled with cows doing what they do – eating grass and
wandering around. He ends it with a sense of mystery as he imagines that at times when he cannot see
them that they have flown away.
The cows have eaten their fill of grass and lie down without really doing anything. Now Collins pictures
them as some sort of great philosophers, imagining this rest as some sort of profound reflection or
meditation.
The mundane life of cows is occasionally interrupted by a powerful moo that interrupts the poetic voice
in whatever he is doing. Although it sounds like the cow must be in pain, the reality is that it is just being
noisy. We get a description of the cow putting the whole of its body into this moo that seems to be
purely for the purpose of announcing that it is a cow.
However, in the final stanza, Collins interprets this moo as a defence of the state of existence for these
cows. While the poetic voice seems to question the point of being a cow in describing their limited
activity, this moo serves to highlight all the good things the cow has got going: a peaceful existence
amongst the vivid beauty of nature,
We end with the cow’s eye being cast upon the poetic voice in a way that seems to turn the reflection
process around and get us to think about the value or meaning in his/our existence.
Language and Techniques
The title of this poem is somewhat deceiving. On first read, you see it as a merely descriptive title that
reflects the focus of the poem, but on closer look there is quite a lot suggested by the phrasing.
It almost sounds like an entry someone would make into their calendar: ‘Afternoon with Irish Cows’. The
preposition (‘with’) conveys a sense of companionship and makes this sound like a date or a meeting.
The cows are not just cows, but ‘Irish Cows’ and this implies they are in some way special. I mentioned
above the history of Kerry cattle and I think Collins deliberately plays upon their ancient heritage in
order to help develop this sense of the cows as having a deeper meaning and existence than we might
naturally perceive.
The poem begins with imagery of the cow’s grazing in their field. They are ‘stepping all day from tuft to
tuft’, which suggest a monotonous and repetitive existence of moving from one patch of grass to the
next. This sense is furthered when they lie down for the ‘long quiet of the afternoons’, implying their
lives are very mundane and uninteresting. Added to this, their ‘big heads down in the soft grass’ and
their ‘munching’ combine to make them sound like very simple and almost thoughtless creatures. While
this might not seem particularly complimentary to the cows, notice how calm this imagery is – repetitive
movement, relaxation, soft grass, quiet.
This initial perception of the cows, I would say, is quite traditional – great, dumb beasts. However, the
poetic voice never seems to accept this. He finds a mystery in the cows before he realises what it is at
the end of the poem. As he glances out of a window and doesn’t see the cows, we have this hyperbolic
and humorous thought of their having ‘taken wing’ and ‘flown off to another country’. Rather than
explain the completely explainable disappearance, this wanton fancy suggests the cows actually have
more about them and could at any minute make the decision to move on or make a change about their
existence. Even the phrase ‘suddenly empty’ to describe their absence from view gives the cows a sense
of mystery and glamour.
Similarly, when the cows lie down and seem to stare into space, this simplicity is not accepted. They are
depicted as some sort of philosophers, as if they are meditating – ‘How mysterious, how patient’. Again
this is recognising or inventing some secret profound element to their existence. Collins juxtaposes
these ideas by also describing them as ‘dumbfounded’. The word can mean either amazed or made
speechless. The inclusion of the word ‘dumb’ suggests some recognition that their staring into space
could be recognised as such, rather than in the profound terms prior to it.
Collins also describes the cows’ hides as ‘black-and-white maps’. This metaphor depicts their mottled
skin, but the comparison suggests again a sense of deeper mystery and history. In the opening stanza
Collins referred to the cows flying to different countries and again here we have the suggestion of travel.
This is by no means meant to suggest that the cows really are some sort of secret, super cows travelling
around the world fighting crime, but it does hint at their heritage and simply having maps suggests one
has travelled and explored. I will come back to this idea later as it ties in at the end.
In contrast to the mundane opening description, the third stanza explores the ‘phenomenal’ sound
emitted occasionally. Collins is juxtaposing the dull with the extraordinary as he continues to search for
some special quality in the cows. He furthers this description with the hyperbolic comparison to
something ‘being torched or pierced… with a long spear’. This serves to emphasise not only how loud
this is, but also to eggrandize the cows further as they are capable of making this powerful noise for
seemingly not reason – without being skewered.
The fourth stanza distances us from the image of the cow as a dumb beast living for our consumption
and the imagery presents the cow as a remarkable and powerful animal. She is ‘anchored’ to her spot,
with her body fully committed (neck, head, belly, ribs, mouth) and utilised to create this almighty
sound. This is literally a ‘full-bodied cry’ and she is giving it all she has and the message and sound
comes from ‘the darkness of her belly’ suggesting it has come from deep down inside her, like an
expression of her soul.
Upon rushing to see why the cow was making this sound, the poetic voice recognises this is simply a
celebration of her ‘unadulterated cowness’. This phrase, while humorous, suggests a deeper meaning
and existence once more. She is celebrating her existence and thus demonstrating pride, in defence of
our possible reflection earlier on that would suggest the life of a cow is pretty boring, uninteresting and
unimportant. This is metaphorically declared to be an ‘ancient apologia’ or formal defence of the life of
cows. Again this positions the cows as an old and philosophical creature with a heritage that has led
them to their current state of existence. This ancient heritage also seems to be reflected as the moo
‘echoed’ through the cow and thus seems to reflect the voices of her ancestors (sometimes I have to
remind myself I am analysing a poem about cows!).
Collins summarises the cow’s defence of all things cow by connecting it to her surroundings. Her moo
reaches out to ‘the green fields’, ‘the gray clouds’, ‘the limestone hills’ and ‘the inlet of the blue bay’.
This creates a simplistic pastoral image of a beautiful, rugged rural landscape. The simplicity of the
imagery reflects the simplicity of the cows’ life, but is no less beautiful for it. In this defence there is a
strong sense that the cows have chosen their existence and are proud of it, despite it appearing
mundane. Those maps on their hides reflect the journey they have taken to reach this point, but they
are now content with their lot.
The final lines really open the poem up. Once the defence is uttered the cow ‘regarded’ the poetic voice
and thus dismisses any suggestion of simple-mindedness as the tables are turned and she passes
judgement and analyses the poetic voice in turn. Here, her ‘wild’ eye stands in contradiction to the
notion of the cow being a domesticated animal, tamed beyond freewill and thought. Her eye is also
‘shocking’, but this does not refer to appearance, rather to its impact on the poetic voice as the eye asks
the question of him – he now needs to justify his existence.
Interestingly we can already pass judgement on the poetic voice, although the poem ends. The cow is
described as walking around, eating, lying down and then mooing. Our poetic voice sometimes ‘pass[es]
a window’, ‘put[s] down the paper’ or puts down ‘the knife I was cutting an apple with’. His rural
existence is very much the same as the cows, with no great meaning or excitement or justification of his
purpose on the earth. Only the power to contemplate existence seems to put him at odds with the cow
and the ending of the poem turns this on its head. The poetic voice not only lives ‘across the road’ from
the cows literally, but also metaphorically their existence is basically the same.
Aside from the title, Collins never specifically tells us that he is observing cows. You could probably make
an argument that this reflects that the poem is not really about cows at all, but rather this whole poem
acts as a metaphor to allow us to explore the difference between rural simplicity (represented by the
cows) and urban existence (represented by the poetic voice in his house). This might be going too far
though. I’ll leave you to be the final judge.
Structure
The poem is written in free verse, with the conversational tone that Collins’ regularly uses. Each of the
five stanzas, contains seven lines, but one complete idea. This causes the reader/audience to
contemplate each stanza as a whole and this allows the contradictory impressions, of the cows as being
at once stupid and profound, to feel like the poetic voice’s inability to make his mind up or come to a
final conclusion about them.
Tone
For the majority of this poem we have a tone of idle contemplation over something that seems almost
insignificant. However, there is a noticeable shift in the final two stanzas where the cow is recognised as
being a proud creature and the tone lifts to a feeling of being inspired and then finally there is a note of
caution and worry as the reflection is turned upon the poetic voice.
London Snow
Overview
Bridges paints an image of the silent nighttime arrival of a snow which transforms London from a
polluted industrial city and lifts the inhabitants from their normal gloom into a temporary winter
wonderland.
The snow leaves London unrecognisable, save for the dome of St Paul’s cathedral. All the hustle and
bustle of this giant mega city is brought to a stop; all signs of inequality are hidden; youthful joy and
wonder are unleashed; and the army of workers briefly put their woes aside and are lifted by the beauty
of their new white city.
Mini Glossary
perpetually – constantly or never ending;
hearkened – an old fashioned way of saying listened, Biblical association with ‘hark the herald angel
sings’ hymn;
solemn – dignified, majestic;
crystal manna – snow compared to crystals and seen as manna, miraculous heavenly food;
asunder – apart, but again old fashioned and with Biblical links: ‘those whom God hath joined together
let no man put asunder’;
Paul’s – St Paul’s Cathedral, which has a large dome that is prominent, even now, in the London skyline;
toil – extremely difficult and incessant work.
St Paul's Cathedral
Context
Robert Bridges had an unconventional route into poetry. His first career was in medicine and he
practiced up until 1882 before he had to retire as he had lung disease. Throughout his medical career he
was based in London, but would move away to a more rural setting soon after retiring and marrying in
1884. After this point poetry became his main focus, but his earliest work was privately published in
1873, while still practicing.
During his lifetime he was never a particularly renowned or well loved poet, even though he spend the
last 17 years of his life as the Poet Laurette. If you have any interest in World War I poetry (which you
definitely should have) you might be interested to know that he was drafted by the government to write
poetry as propaganda for the war effort.
His poetry is marked for its strong Christian themes and ideas. He also penned several hymns that
remain popular to this day. This is evident in our poem as is his experience of London life in the
nineteenth century.
London at this time was the largest city in the world, but was not the city you might know or think of
today. At this time it was an industrial city that was marked for its pollution and poor air quality, which
was only really tackled after the great smog of 1952 when 4,000 people were killed by the toxic air in the
space of a week. (Read more) It might be comparable to the situation in some of the major industrial
cities in Asia like Beijing, Shanghai and Bangkok. It was also not dominated by high flying bankers,
stockbrokers and the professional classes, but had a huge underclass and many people lived in states of
absolute poverty.
Themes
This poem focuses on the awe inspiring weather and its ability to enthuse and excite, but alongside this
it showcases the power that the weather can have over man. For all the might and busyness of the
world’s biggest city, it is brought to a near standstill by the downpour. While the industry of the city is
brought to its knees, the people are lifted by the snow and all the imperfections of the city and the
struggles of their lives are momentarily paused as their sense of awe at the beauty of the scene before
them.
As part of the second theme mentioned, we also have a strong social theme here as Bridges paints a
picture of the grim realities of working class existence in London at the time.
Content
The poem begins in the middle of the night as heavy snow begins to silently cover the city. Any
remaining traffic of busyness is quickly hushed and the imperfections of the city are covered by the thick
snow.
By the dawn of the new day, the snow clouds have drifted away, but a thick coating of snow remains. As
the city wakes up, people are awe-struck by the beauty of the scene, which is created not just by the
perfect whiteness, but also the uncommon silence of the city. This silence is soon disrupted by the
gleeful chatter of schoolchildren fooling around in the snow as kids do.
Next the city tries to come back to life, but the traffic is now restricted to only a few slow moving and
lightly loaded carts struggling along. The prominent sight of St Paul’s cathedral comes into view as the
sun rises. At this point the workers emerge and battle the conditions to make their way to work and as
they go the perfection of the snow starts to give way to the grime and imperfections of the city again.
However, these workers are lifted from their stress, worry and cares as all is forgotten in their
appreciation of the beauty of the city in the snow.
Language and Techniques
The title here pretty much does what it says on the tin – the poem is about ‘London Snow’. However,
you could argue there is a sense of possession in the phrasing that makes this snow somehow more
special or more important than snow elsewhere. I’ll leave you to decide whether you think that is the
case.
In a way similar to the sea in ‘The Sea Eats The Land At Home’, the snow arrives ‘when men were all
asleep’ and ‘stealthily’, but the connotations here are completely different. While the time of the sea’s
arrival feels calculated to inflict the most damage, the personified snow’s arrival is peaceful and
designed not to disturb those sleeping in any way. A good way of thinking of the difference would be to
think about a burglar breaking into your house in the middle of the night vs. Father Christmas silently
smuggling presents under a Christmas tree.
Notice this sense is further communicated with the verbs ‘hushing’ and ‘muffling’, which imply the snow
the calm and quiet needed by the ‘drowsy’ town. You can add to this semantic field of calm words and
phrases such as ‘floating’, ‘silently sifting’, ‘veiling’, ‘softly drifting’, ‘sailing’. All these verbs personify the
snow in a way that suggest considerate and gentle movement, designed so as not to disturb rest. Here
the whole city is also personified and there is a sense that the city needs a chance to rest as it is
‘drowsy’ as opposed to being asleep like its inhabitants and it is the snow that settles the whole city with
‘murmurs failing’ reflecting the idea of someone in an uneasy sleep finally being able to relax.
At the time London was the biggest city in the world and it continues to be one of those cities that
people talk about as that never sleeps, meaning there is constantly something going, some busyness,
excitement and noise. Bridges hints at this as even now ‘the latest traffic’ needs to be stilled. However,
it is not just the whine and grind of the city that means it needs to rest, but also its appearance and soul
(if you like). The snow settles on the ‘city brown’ associates the city with a sense of being dirty or
unclean. Later, the workers ‘tread long brown paths’ revealing this again and reinforcing this sense of
uncleanliness. We can take this two ways: London at the time was an industrial city suffering the ill
effects of pollution and the stains of industry and the smoke and soot would have left buildings
somewhat blackened; but this can also be interpreted as a metaphor for the conditions of the people
living in the city.
As mentioned in the Context section, London was a city of haves and have nots, with a huge underclass
of people scraping a living and existence alongside the most affluent people in the whole of the British
Empire. So when the snow hides the ‘brown’ it is hiding this ugliness and this is further suggested by the
idea that it is ‘hiding difference, making unevenness even’. Literally the imagery here shows us level
surfaces created by the blanket of snow, but metaphorically this can be seen to represent all the
imperfect and signs of poverty being covered up and the whole city looking like one.
Bridges also seems to hint at that in some of his initial verb choices to describe the descent of the snow.
Above I listed a number of verbs that gave the impression of softness and care, but in amongst these
verbs we also have verbs with more negative connotations such as ‘deadening’ and ‘stifling’. These
imply the opposite of allowing for rest and give the snow a mean streak. However, the juxtaposition of
these two groups of verbs is deliberate and is designed to show the snow as being sympathetic to the
people, but not to the grind of the city that disturbs their peace. It is also described as falling
‘perpetually’ and ‘incessantly’ suggesting a will and determination to achieve its aim. All the
imperfections and stresses of London are targets and killed off or stifled for now.
The reaction to the snow demonstrates that this dual purpose has been successful. Not only does
London sparkle in its new coat of white (explored three paragraphs down), but its inhabitants are filled
with joy and wonder. First we see this with the school children for whom the snow is ‘crystal manna’. In
the Bible, God provides the Israelites with manna, a miraculous and divine food, to sustain them while
they wander around in the desert doing God-knows what. For these children, the snow provides them
the same relief and thus suggests that they find their school days akin to the way the Israelites found the
desert (pretty bleak). (Note that schools a hundred years ago were not the pleasure ride that you lot
enjoy today and they were probably being bored to death with ancient Greek translations and being
whacked with the cane every ten seconds). The strict code in British schooling at the time stands in
contrast to the way they ‘rioted’ in the snow and this suggests that its arrival has given them a sense of
freedom and joy, an opportunity to rebel and be proper kids.
We also have the reaction to the snow of London’s workers. Described as ‘trains of sombre men’,
Bridges is suggesting an image of the working class masses flocking to the factories and warehouses of
London. By metaphorically comparing them to ‘trains’ he creates a sense of how their lives are
dominated by routine and schedule, implying they are part of some sort of unstoppable machine. He
adds the hyperbolic ‘past tale of number’ to emphasise the sheer scale of this impoverished class. The
social message here is clear as the poem presents them as having cares that ‘encumber’ and having
‘daily word… [and] daily thoughts of labour and sorrow’. This suggests that their lives are a constant
struggle and dominated by work and sadness.
However, for one moment these are put on hold. All the terms above are framed in terms of being
paused or delayed. ‘But even for them awhile no cares encumber’ tells us they are freed from their
normal tensions and their miserable words and thoughts are ‘unspoken’ or ‘slumber[ing]’. Although
their condition and lives have not changed, ‘the beauty that greets them’ as they emerged from their
homes is enough to make them forget their worries and simply revel in the brilliance of nature.
However, notice that Bridges moderates this with the adverb ‘awhile’ reminding us that this is only
going to be short-lived. The final phrase ‘the charm they have broken’ that this imagery has freed them
from a spell cast over them forcing them to continue their miserable lives. Bridges does not go further to
suggest that this is permanent and the fact that their journeys to work leave ‘long brown paths’ implies
that the bleak reality of their lives will soon be fully realised again.
Let’s return now to exploring how Bridges presents the newly white city. As the day dawns people are
awoken by ‘the unaccustomed brightness’ also referred to as ‘the strange unheavenly glare’. The
visual imagery here literally depicts the bright reflection of the pure white snow, but goes further to
suggest that this is more than a sunny or a pleasant day. When Bridges uses the phrase ‘unheavenly’
don’t think he means the opposite of heaven, but rather he wants to associate heaven and London in
the snow as if to say this is a not-quite divine ‘dazzling’ image, but pretty close. The words ‘strange’ and
‘unaccustomed’ can be taken literally as showing this brightness is uncommon, but also as linking to this
idea of the grim and poverty of London being so far disassociated with idea of brightness and divinity.
In response to the visual imagery, ‘the eye marvelled – marvelled’. The repetition makes us feel as if the
beauty forces us to do a double take and take the time to appreciate the beauty. The boys playing do
the same thing as they repeat ‘O look at the trees’, which shows how even in their excitement and
games they are overcome by the sheer magnificence of nature’s beauty. In the same way, Bridges use of
anaphora (‘The eye…’, ‘The ear…’) demonstrates the feeling that the whole scene is so impressive the
people feel the need to take it all in. This second line here gives us aural imagery showing an
appreciation of the ‘stillness of the solemn air’ and enjoyment the peace of the scene as much as the
beauty.
The last thing I want to look at here is the use of Biblical allusion. The Bible is pretty consistent on its
theme that all men are equal in the eyes of God and the snow is seen as producing this levelling effect as
touched on before. We also have the commonly accepted association between the colour white and
purity, divinity and holiness. If you are not convinced of the religious angle of this poem, consider the
reference to ‘the sun… standing by Paul’s high dome, [and] spread[ing] forth below his sparkling beams’.
St Paul’s cathedral is the centre of Christian London and while it’s dome is dominant in the London
skyline, that is not the only reason it is being referred to. It is also suggesting some sort of divinity in the
scene, as if the snow, the cathedral and the sun have decides to work together to create this image of
divinity.
Still not convinced? There is also a subtle use of biblically associated words, such as ‘frosty heaven’,
‘unheavenly glare’, ‘crystal manna’ and a couple of others I haven’t yet touched upon. The ear
‘hearkened’ recalls the use of the phrase ‘hark’ in the Bible (6 times) and in Christian hymns (‘Hark, the
herald angel sings, glory to our new born King’). In the Bible we don’t just listen to God or his angels, but
we ‘hark’ suggesting what they’ve got to say is pretty important. Similarly the roads of London are
abandoned by ‘a country company long dispersed asunder.’ The word asunder is used 46 times in the
Bible and I can’t think of a single other use I’ve come across. It means to split apart, but when it is used
in the Old Testament (the good bit where everyone goes round killing each other) it usually sounds quite
brutal. This matches up with the idea in the poem that the sounds and stresses of London life are
brought to a halt and silenced in an unsympathetic manner in favour of bringing calm for the people.
I think I’ve convinced you now. Bridges use of these references makes us view the struggle of the
workers in Christian terms and perhaps was designed to make people more sympathetic to their
conditions and think about ways to improve their lot. Alternatively he is just associating the power and
majesty of nature with God.
Structure
The poem is one long stanza and Bridges uses enjambment throughout and only three definite pauses
to reflect the unrelenting snow storm at the beginning of the poem. The syllable count of the lines is
irregular and reflects the rhythms of speech rather than conforming to any poetic standard.
The rhyme scheme is very important to this poem. Bridges uses alternate line rhymes, with each rhyme
(apart from the opening and closing rhyme) being repeated three times. This again helps reflect the
snow falls as it seems continuous as there is no break between rhyming sections, but a constant overlap.
It also has a musical effect and contributes to this semi-divine image as we listen to the poem.
The musicality of the poem is also contributed to by the repetitive use of present continuous verbs
(‘ing’) throughout the opening eight lines and some internal rhyme used at different points of the poem.
We also have the use of sibilance in the opening which helps establish the gentleness of the snow’s
arrival (‘Stealthily’, ‘settling’, ‘silently sifting’, ‘softly’, ‘sailing’).
Tone
On first read this poem feels like the snow fall itself, calm and gentle appreciation of the wonder of the
beauty of the scene. However, as you read it again, we have these harsher conflicting elements that
make this poem more than simply about appreciation the majesty of the image, with the tone reflecting
a subtle frustration at the conditions and lives of London’s workers.
The Sea Eats The Land At Home
Overview
Awoonor uses this poem to tell us the story of much of the western coast of Africa. The Southern
Atlantic ocean is gradually eroding the coast and in this poem we see the localised impact as a village is
devastated.
A personified sea at first seems playful and mischievous in carrying away wood and cooking materials,
but soon becomes a raging force determined to inflict pain and hardship upon the inhabitants of this
village. It leaves these people stripped of their livelihoods, food, warmth and comfort.
Alongside being seen literally, the poem can also be seen as the deterioration of traditional culture and
lifestyle in Ghana, with the destruction being a result of neglected gods.
Mini Glossary
hearth – fire place/pit;
Aku – Ghanaian female name meaning ‘born on Wednesday’;
bark water – as far as I can see, means water filled with debris;
Adena – African female name meaning ‘she has saved’.
Context
Awooner was a Ghanaian poet famed for his close connection with traditional African culture and
religion. His work often focused on themes of ancestry and Ewe (his tribe) culture and reflects the style
of traditional African oral poetry. He was also known for his concern about the influence of Western
decadence on this culture.
He lived a colourful life and one with some variety job titles: poet, teacher. lecturer, manager of Ghana
Film Corporation, founding father of Ghana Playhouse (theatre and drama centre), radio play writer for
the BBC, ambassador, representative to the UN and Chairman of the Council of State (advisory board to
the Ghanaian president). He also managed to pack in a stint in prison for allegedly supporting a coup to
overthrow the military government.
This poem was written sometime in the 1960s when Awooner was studying at the University of Ghana,
before all those interesting roles. It reflects upon the devastation caused to a traditional, undeveloped
village community on the southern coast of Ghana, something he will have been familiar with as he
grew up in the Volta region. This region has seen an increasing amount of land swallowed up by the sea
and whole communities have been lost, or cut off as the sea fills up lagoons in land. This was not a oneoff flood or storm, but a continuing problem that Ghana and other countries on the western coast face
and struggle with.
Tragically he was killed by the terrorist attack on the Westgate Mall, Nairobi, Kenya in 2013.
Themes
The poem describes the devastating power of nature as the sea swallows communities and wrecks
lives. It also reflects on the changing times and values in Ghana as the traditional gods have abandoned
the people and cause this destruction to demonstrate their anger.
Content
The poem describes a village (it says town, but the primitive nature of the scene described suggests a
smaller, less developed settlement than we would think of in the West) devastated by flood water from
the sea. Initially it seems somewhat mischievous as it moves firewood and pots around before bringing
them back. However, this soon intensifies and the sea takes on a more nefarious manner. Like some sort
of monster it sneaks in at the ‘dead of night’ to catch the villagers unaware and pulls down walls and
carries cooking utensils away for good.
Awooner moves onto describe the emotional impact of this, with the lamentations of the villagers
sounding akin to something you’d expect at a funeral. The villagers turn to their gods pleading for help,
but without answer.
We then move from the general devastation to the specific suffering of Aku who has lost her means of
feeding her two children, who are left vulnerable and shivering in the storm. It is clear the gods have
abandoned her as everyone else. Even their livestock is consumed and destined to be lost. Next the sea
swallows the possessions of Adena that were her source of joy and which would have served as her
dowry. Thus we see the sea depriving these villagers of food, warmth, comfort, happiness and
livelihoods.
The poem ends with renewed emphasis that this is not something that can be recovered from, but the
‘whole land’ has been consumed and cannot be saved.
Language and Techniques
The title immediately personifies the sea and makes it seem monstrous. The suggestion of
overwhelming power is immediately established with the idea it ‘eats the land’. If the land beneath our
feet cannot withstand its force, the villagers have no hope. The repetition of the phrase throughout the
poem really emphasises how unavoidable and unstoppable this is. This impression is confirmed in the
opening line as ‘the sea is in the town’. This conveys a sense of permanence both through the matter of
fact statement and the use of the present continuous tense.
Awoonor toys with the way we perceive the sea. Although the title and the repeats phrase ‘the sea eats
the land’ suggests devastation, the verb choice is rather neutral, even if the action is anything but
neutral. In fact, in the opening lines of the poem the sea seems to be merely a mischievous menace to
the villagers as it is ‘running in and out of the cooking places’ and ‘collecting’ firewood, but then
‘sending it back’. It almost sounds like a child playing a game, trying to tease and irritate – if you don’t
understand this try having a two year old! The imagery here paints a view of quite calm and gentle
currents flooding the village.
However, it becomes all together darker as the poem progresses. The fact it arrives in ‘the dead of night’
suggests that it is coldly calculating the best time to cause maximum devastation. As the villagers sleep
they are caught unawares and do not have any opportunity to react. Alongside this sneakiness, we go
from the playful teasing to ‘Destroying the cement walls’ demonstrating the incredible power and in its
stronger currents it ‘carried away the fowls’ and their cooking utensils. Teasing becomes violence and
theft. Note how significant these things are: we have the walls that represent comfort, security and
warmth; the fowls, representing livelihood; and the cooking utensils that serve as a means to eat.
Later Awoonor recognises the sea as ‘cruel’, ‘raging’ and ‘angry’. The devastation is seen to be
deliberately targeting the community and punishing them. You could read this as simply recognising
these human traits in the natural conditions. However, you could go further and link these to Awoonor’s
ideas about his country loses touch with its traditional cultural roots and religion. The influences of the
West have meant that the gods no longer get the respect they once had and take it out on the
remaining worshippers. This may be reading too far into things, but otherwise we accept that this
indiscriminate destruction and hate is the nature of the sea.
Another important aspect of this poem is the use of a semantic field linked to grieving death. This
begins with the ‘dead of night’, which perhaps offers a first hint at the wider impact of the sea
consuming the village. Awooner builds on this with the description of the women of the village’s ‘wails’,
‘mourning shouts’ and ‘weeping mournfully’. These emotional responses are commonly associated with
the sharp pain caused by death to a loved one. Later the sound of ‘sobs’ and ‘the deep and low moans’
of the village are drowned out by the ‘eternal hum of the living sea’. The moaning is visceral and
animalistic, demonstrating the extent of the damage done to this community, a terrible tragedy that
cannot be undone. The contrast provided with the sound of the sea being ‘eternal’ indicates that this is
truly the death of the village. These words in combination tell of the gravity of the situation in this
village and more generally in the coastal regions of Ghana.
When considering the implication of these words and phrases, it is also important to consider the
perspective of the poetic voice. Although there is a distance between the village and Awoonor
suggested in the opening ‘At home’ as if this is happening away from him, the repetition of ‘home’
throughout the poem indicates that this is still the place closest to his heart and where he feels truly at
comfort and relaxed. Thus the poem is not offering a sympathetic glance at this situation, but feeling the
pain of loss almost as sharply as those directly in the firing line.
Awoonor moves the poem between the general and the specific. He introduces Aku as a way of
demonstrating the devastation on an individual level. The often misattributed quotation ‘a single death
is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic’ conveys the idea that a personal story leads to a much greater
feeling of empathy than a more general overview. Here Awoonor proves the point. Aku is ‘stood where
her cooking-pot stood’ suggests that she and the other villagers live a primitive existence with few
valuable, the singular ‘pot’ is lost and thus she has no means of feeding her family. The vulnerability of
their position is further exposed as her two children are ‘shivering from the cold’ and rather than Aku
being able to warm and comfort them she is physically overcome with her mourning with ‘Her hands on
her breast’. There is something deeply moving about this as the woman has lost the little she had and
now is seen in this one image as being bereft of hope and unable to support her children.
Aku and the villagers are said to be ‘Calling on all the gods they worship’ and yet they have been
‘deserted’ by the gods and ‘neglected’ by their ‘ancestors’. At first glance this may seem like some pretty
poor showing from the gods, but I think there is an implication that this worship is prompted by the
destruction of the sea. At the very least, there is a suggestion that the gods are not shown the same
reverence by all. As mentioned above, the way the sea is personified in such a monstrous and cruel
manner suggests that it is punishing the people for something and I would suggest this is linked with
those Western influences Awoonor stood against as they were decaying traditional cultural beliefs and
ways of life. I see Awoonor’s idea that the gods and ancestors had deserted the people as a piece of
dramatic irony as it is really the other way around.
Furthering this idea is Adena. The meaning of this name is ‘she has saved’ and juxtaposed to the humble
Aku losing a single, essential pot, we see that Adena ‘has lost… trinkets’. This suggests greater wealth
and materialism that could be associated with Western decadence and conflict with traditional,
simplistic existence. ‘Trinkets’ further implies that these are not functional items or anything of real use,
but simply pretty things to look at or displays of wealth. Adena here could represent the changing times
and effectively be being blamed for this disaster. I find it telling that while Aku appeals to the gods and
feels abandoned, Adena is not connected with them in this way.
If I can stop myself pointing the finger at Adena for one second, we should acknowledge that her loss
also sees her lose her ‘dowry and her joy’ and thus this adds another level of destruction for the sea. Not
only do we have warmth, family, comfort, livelihood, but also happiness and love added to the mix.
The poem ends by repeating the phrase used throughout the poem ‘the seas that eats the land at home’
twice. The added emphasis of ‘eats the whole land’ in the final land is a conclusively and emphatic
reminder that this devastation cannot be undone. And yet, it also poses questions. We know that Ghana
has not been swallowed whole, nor the Volta region. Thus this final line could connect with this idea that
the devastation and loss is not only relating to the actual damage caused by the sea, but also serves as a
metaphor for the traditional Ghanaian culture that has been swallowed and consumed by creeping
Western customs and decadence.
Structure
Some versions of this poem have it separated into four stanzas, but in Songs of Ourselves it is one
continuous stanza. The impact of the poem running together is that it helps convey the sense that the
impact of the sea is inescapable.
The poem follows the oral traditions of African poetry without the confines of a rhyme scheme. The
rhythm flows with the different stages and emotions of the story being told. The best way to understand
this is to have a glance at the syllable count (next to the poem in green) and see the ebb and flow
between longer and shorter lengths, which also reflects the ‘lap-lapping’ waves.
Tone
Although the poem is presented in the present continuous, there is a sense of mourning and loss
throughout as if there is no hope of rescue, respite or release from the sea’s anger. The poem laments
the suffering of a community, but sees no hope and no future.