Kenneth Koch's Conversation

Often in life, one looks back on previous days with fondness. Having garnered wisdom, past experiences and decisions can be reflected upon in a new light. Having lost that time forever, times past are more often than not clouded by happiness and nostalgia. Such is the theme for Kenneth Koch's poem "To My Twenties." As a man looking back on a "Fantastic unheard of nine- or ten-year oasis" (Line 8), this narrator reflects on carefree and innocent times with increasing nostalgia in a deceptively conversational tone of voice.

The narrator looks back on this period of his life and refers to it as a time "When everything was possible" (Line 2). He recalls himself as being "Unsure of himself, upset and unemployable" (Line 13). Koch does remarkable work in this poem as he pits a narrator reflecting on a bygone era in his life. Knowing that several decades have past since this seemingly carefree decade, this narrator is able to think deeply about his mindset, life choices, and appreciation for what life was able to give him in his twenties.

Taking the post-modern approach of exploring the quotidian while eschewing a grand, unifying narrative, Koch's poem is written in conversational language arranged in poetic lines. Although the tone is light and the word choices are conversational, Koch explores very profound themes. He writes, "In you I marry,// In you I first go to France; I make my best friends// In you, and a few enemies" (Lines 23-25). He even goes so far as to ask, "Although now that I look back on you// What part have you played?" (Lines 32-33). While pointing out very obvious facts such as the twenties falling between the teens and thirties, it is with that device that Koch is able to focus on the beauty of reflection. When his narrator bumps into a friend on the street who asks if he has time for a chat the narrator replies, "I am in my twenties!// I have plenty of time!" (Lines 22-23).

Through the disguise of simple poetry, Koch creates a very powerful reflection on early life. Recalling his past with increasing nostalgia, Koch is able to utilize the wisdom of his narrator to reflect on what is most important in life and when. He concludes his poem with the following seven lines:

What you gave me you gave me whole
But as for telling
Me how best to use it
You weren't a genius at that.
Twenties, my soul
Is yours for the asking
You know that, if you ever come back.

These lines offer a prime example of how the simplicity of verse in this poem continues to illustrate profound themes. Knowing through experience how better to live life, this narrator would still return to these blissful years if only they were to ask.

Empty Space

For Anne Waldman, there is no real or singular identity to existence. Believing that we know things only through the knowledge of other things, the poet believes that the universe is not a stable object. In her poem "Makeup on Empty Space", Waldman brings these themes to life in an extended, gendered metaphor, utilizing the material adornment makeup to fill a void. 

In her poem, Waldman seeks to explore her belief that everything in this world is mere appearance. The "empty space" that she describes should stand for anything in the universe that humans come into contact with. This poem uses the metaphor of makeup to illustrate the passing nature of phenomenal experience. Painting on makeup is the same action of adorning the universe in any way, which Waldman sees as ephemeral and fleeting. 

Anne Waldman views adornment of the universe, for the sake of her poem, makeup, as a conflict between material culture and the philosophical goals of the Buddhism she practices. Indeed, this poem in itself is an act of putting makeup on empty space. It is an act of decorating the universe through language. 

“Makeup on Empty Space” is a very unique poem. Using heavy repetition, Anne Waldman strengthens her point by describing the ultimate futility of adorning fleeting aspects of daily existence. Written as a type of performance, the text here is used in order to promote that performance.

The narrator of this poem “binds” several things throughout it. She binds the “massive rock”, the “hanging night.” Using this set of repeating action verbs, Ann Waldman explores further her universal refrain. Putting makeup on  an empty space, Ann Waldman shows that the universe is an entity without an identity and something whose adornment is a futile and ephemeral experience.

The Simple Life

A member of the "Beat" Poets, Gary Snyder is a man whose poetry is characterized by simple language and the freedom of self-expression. His poem "Mid-August at Sourdough Mountain Lookout" is no exception to this spontaneous and free-spirited writing style. The narrator of this poem looks out from atop a soaring height down to the beautiful nature below, all the while thinking of past memories and the appreciation he has for his solitude.

The first stanza of this poem is rife with meditation. Snyder's lines flow smoothly in a trace like state. Describing the scene that he views from above, the narrator states, "Down valley a smoke haze/three days heat, after five days rain" (Lines 1-2). These simple observances are what illustrate the nature of this poem. The simplicity of the verses is deliberate and speaks to the fact that  they were written by a man whose appreciation for nature is apparent in his poetry. Snyder even appreciates "Swarms of new flies" (Line 5) and the way the "Pitch glows on the fir-cones" (Line 3).

After his lines of praise to nature, Snyder begins to explore the psychology of the narrator. He writes, "I cannot remember things I once read/A few friends, but they are in cities" (Lines 6-7). For this man, appreciation for a world outside of man's influence leaves a greater impression. It is in the simple life that this narrator finds his greatest happiness. He recalls "Drinking cold snow-water from a tin cup/Looking down for miles" (Lines 8-9).  These natural sights create more of an impact on his memory and way of life than any man or book possibly could.

The facet of life that brings the narrator the most happiness is living it simply and austerely. Gone is the pressure of friends and city life. Snyder writes of a narrator who embraces the simplicity of nature as opposed to the ephemeral power of material possessions. This man lives among the trees and among the flies, away from friends whom he can hardly recall. Even "things [he] once read" (Line 6) were unable to form a lasting impression as powerful as drinking snow or gazing down a valley filled with new flies. In this poem, Snyder hails the power of the simple life and its profound effect on a man who chose to pursue it. the beat poets may have embraced a sort of "counterculture", but the counterculture that this narrator chases after is one more natural and inherently human than any life in cities or among friends may hope to suggest.

Learning from Nature

Very much in the vein of the Romantic poets, the poetry of Walt Whitman speaks of a special and internal connection with nature. Formed from the atoms of the earth, the speaker of Whitman's poem "Song of Myself" describes how through careful observance, "the origin of poems" (Line 36) as well as "the good of the earth and sun" (Line 37) can be easily possessed.

The speaker describes that "every atom of [his] blood" is "formed from this soil, this air" (Line 6). This narrator is a creature of nature just like anything else. Formed from the bare minerals of the earth that keeps him alive, this speaker is an entity with a strong connection to natural splendor. He asks his audience, "Have you reckon'd a thousand acres much? Have you reckon'd the earth much?" (Line 33). Through the observance of the earth and her acres, the speaker begins to suggest that possession of intimate knowledge (which he describes later) can be achieved.

Whitman creates a speaker who appreciates the minutiae ignored by the common masses. He elegantly states in a serious of statements careful observances from his daily life outdoors. He says, "The play of shine and shade on the trees as the supple boughs wag" (Line 29), "The smoke of my own breath" (Line 21), "The feeling of health" (Line 31) "The delight alone or in the rush of streets" (Line 30). This person is someone who takes a positive stance on how to look at and how to appreciate the beauty of the world around us. Simply by his notice, the world seems to be more beautiful and something to hold very dear.

Walt Whitman is a poet known for his descriptions and connections with nature. Although he sounds like the Romantics, Whitman's view of Nature seems to be more primal in essence. He's more like Keats than Shelley in that sense. Gone is the embellished language of yesteryear to make way for a natural poetry that mirrors the natural world that it describes. The experience of nature is what Whitman hails, not the escape from reality through nature. For this narrator of this poem, observing the natural world that constructs our reality is what makes him sing.

Hope at the End of the Century

Known for such piercing works of tragedy as Tess of the D'Ubervilles and Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy has never been one for the faint of heart. This distinction remains true in his poem "The Darkling Thrush" written at the end of the 19th century. Pitting a narrator against a desolate landscape with a "beruffled" (Line 22) and singing bird, Hardy uses this juxtaposition to show that natural creatures may know of a happiness far away from suffering that humanity will never understand.

Very much in the same vein as John Keats and Bysshe Shelley, Hardy shows a narrator defined by his predilection to unhappiness who finds comfort in the song of a bird. Referring to the features of the land as "Century's corpse" (Line 10), this narrator is one whose outlook on life at the end of this particular year is not very positive. Every natural occurrence that he feels or sees serves as a reminder that time is passing and hope for the hopeless doesn't seem to be coming any time soon.

It is not until he hears the "evensong" (Line 19) of sickly looking bird that he begins to think more deeply on the nature of happiness. Describing his song as one of "joy illimited" (Line 20), the narrator feels that this bird knows of a happiness of which "[he] is unaware" (Line 24). Although the ending stanza of this poem is one that may offer a glimmer of hope for mankind, the narrator ponders how this creature can know joy in such a terrible land and time. Here, Hardy is speaking very much toward the nature of humanity during this time in the world. Filled with despair and finding joy in nothing, this narrator may enjoy the song of this bird yet will never be able to attain its carefree joviality.

This poem serves as an example to show the nature of suffering and the appreciation of nature. Like Keats and Shelley, Hardy uses a singing bird to show the way a narrator can be moved both mentally and spiritually out of a gloom ridden life. To learn the nature of this bird's happiness is something that humans could never comprehend, but the joy that it brings is something to respect, appreciate and desire.

Ephemeral Power

After having achieved the distinction of being in power and wielding control over one's own subjects, it would be difficult to imagine that the elevated political status should ever disappear. Such an idea sets the stage for the main theme of Percy Bysshe Shelley's famous sonnet "Ozymandias." Presumably having a statue erected in his honor himself, the only memory of this once powerful ruler is broken stone, sunk into the earth where "the lone and level sands stretch far away" (Line 14).

For many a dictator or ruler, power gives them the authority to live a certain type of lifestyle. Being in control of an empire of subjects has had the historical tendency to go directly to the head of the rulers who wield the control. As Shelley describes of this king Ozymandias whose only memory lies vacant in a desert, power more often than not seems to disappear after the subject who hails it has died. On the statue of this king reads, "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;//Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"  (Lines 10-11).

The casual irony with which Shelley constructs this poem cannot be lost on the audience. Here may stand the remnants of a statue that continues to embody the character of its subject, yet the "Works" (Line 11) that the king wishes its bearer to hail no longer remain. Indeed, even the comprehension of the language with which the inscription was written would be lost on the modern "traveller" (Line 1) who discovered this "shattered visage" (Line 4). While his face may remain in tact enough for a stranger to comprehend his demeanor, the actions of King Ozymandias no longer hold any weight now that his empire is lost.

Power can only last for a certain amount of time, and the tendency for these rulers to believe themselves to be immortal is the greatest irony of all. Because this poem was published just before Napoleon's death, an apt comparison can be made to this ruler who held immense power during his life, but whose influence waned almost entirely by the time of his death. Just as the land around the statue of King Ozymandias is "boundless and bare" (Line 13), so too is the haughty superiority with which many an emperor has looked down upon his subjects. Only time can know how long the ephemeral nature of influence will last, and the "sneer of cold command" (Line 5) that characterizes pompous rulers will die along with their impermanent supremacy.

The Failure of Man

To attain the freedom of the beings of nature and the endless happiness that fills their days has often been the dream of many a man and poet. Such is the case for Percy Bysshe Shelley in his famous poem "To a Skylark". Hailing this creature with the ability to live away from the restrictions and unhappiness of daily drudgery, this skylark is a being whose elevation over the souls of man knows not the sufferings that humans face every day.

Though the speaker of the poem highlights the skylark's ability to remain unhindered by ennui, sadness and having the capacity to think deeper and more beautiful thoughts, he acknowledges the fact that man will probably never be able to attain even half the joy that this striking bird must know. Shelley concludes the poem with a plead to this skylark saying, "Teach me half the gladness/That thy brain must know,/Such harmonious madness/From my lips would flow,/The world should listen then--as I am listening now" (Lines 101-105).

Even half of the joy that fills the soul of this bird would be enough for the speaker to teach the world how to live life more happily. If only humanity should connect with Nature on the level that it understands the important aspects of life could man attain the freedom of this skylark. Yet, because this is impossible, man fails to elevate itself to this higher, more natural level.

It is indescribable for this speaker to realize the liberty of this skylark, or to accomplish teaching its message to the masses. Even after comparing this bird to a "poet" (Line 36), a "high-born maiden" (Line 41), a "Glow-worm" (Line 46) and a "rose" (Line 51) in a catalog of similes, the speaker fails to accurately depict the essence of the symbol that Shelley has chosen.

Shelley describes this bird to be like a spirit from heaven, singing on high above all creation, impervious to the sadness and pain that humanity knows all too well. In his praise of this bird, the speaker of Shelley's poem comes to the conclusion that he has failed to not only describe the spirit of this bird, but has also failed to accomplish living up to its freedom. There is a reason why poets look to Nature for inspiration. The natural world can teach man how to live in harmony, beauty, and freedom from sadness and stress. Shelley explores a realistic scenario in this poem. Man may highlight nature as a teacher and as a muse, but the reality is that man will never be able to live up to what nature has to teach, or even half of what it can teach us because humanity is too wrapped up in itself and in its own suffering.