More Random Poetry

1. Modernism Through Whitman, Stevens and Sandburg

            Modernism is a movement of art which is characterized by a break with classical traditional forms, themes, and methods of expression ("Modernism," def. 3) Modernism rejects some conventions of Victorian poetry in favor of a more malleable style that expresses less sentimentality.  Modernism breaks from previous poetic styles such as the Italian poetic tradition that was concerned with sentimental love, sonnet forms, and rhyme.  A lack of formalist verse is predominant in this tradition.  Modernism does not seek to make an explanation or justification but instead presents an idea or concept and may question it without requiring any at all.  Many modernist poems present the futility of war, being careful to honor soldiers and offer a simultaneous condemnation of the concept of war.  Others present nature, where the essential function and aesthetic of small insignificant things are magnified or the impersonality and omnipotence of nature is suggested.

            Walt Whitman's "Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night" is modernist in its free verse depiction of the horrors of war.  The poem honors the soldier while condemning the war.  Whitman takes careful notice of his language, leaving out excess emotions and allowing the reader to develop their own opinion from the scene presented.  The soldier of the poem is honored by the vigil kept by the speaker: "And there and then and bathed by the rising sun, my son in his / grave, in his rude-dug grave I deposited" (22-23). This line signifies the transition from night to day and gives the grave an impersonal connotation.  The soldier is honored by the speaker's vigil while around him the battlefield continues.  The rising sun represents the futility of war and shows how as morning breaks the soldier must end his vigil, bury his comrade in his impersonal grave, and return to the fight.  Such stops for reflection must end so that the soldier may march on and experience more repetition of this cycle.  The day has come, and the impersonality of the unchangeable sun marks the dawn of another day of futile and gruesome war.  The impersonality of the scene shows Whitman's modernist interpretation of war.

            Wallace Stevens' free verse of "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" gives readers a representation of modernism by noticing that which is often overlooked.  The existence of the blackbird is cause enough to grant importance to it.  The speaker asks the men of the town how they do not see that the blackbird "Walks around the feet / Of the women about you?" (28-29). The speaker stresses that the blackbird exists, and one may believe it ugly or useless but it is an inescapable and integral part of the world.  The animal serves a purpose along with all other things. The narrator claims the animal's importance: "the blackbird is involved / In what I know" (33-34).  Everything is essential to human knowledge, but although we seek to understand we can only give attention.  Stevens' poem shows that the blackbird exists and deserves attention, but refrains from giving a subjective explanation. 

            A subjective explanation is also absent from "Grass" by Carl Sandburg.   This short free verse poem echoes modernism with the futility of war coupled with the impersonality of nature.  Sandburg's verse does not reveal an opinion, but instead lends weight to the desolate and impersonal imagery of a field of war-dead graves.  The speaker demands that the bodies be piled high, alluding to great battles and instructs the men to "Shovel them under and let me work-- / I am the grass; I cover all" (2-3).  The grass represents the all powerful qualities of nature.  Shoveling bodies under the ground makes them forgotten as the grass spreads over the fresh dug graves, creating a paradox that makes the poem's absence of sentimentality elicit a strong emotional response.

2. Sexual Freedom in the Works of Walt Whitman

            Much of Walt Whitman's use of modernism can be credited to his thematic exploration.  Whitman's most prominent theme is one celebrating a progressive view of sexuality.  He celebrates the physical form and the liberty to do with it whatever one sees fit.  In "One's-Self I Sing" he declares a need and importance for the physical body and the freedom of its use, while "As Adam Early in the Morning" encourages readers to release their inhibitions.  These poems explore sexual freedom through images of the body.  Whitman further explores sexual freedom with "A Glimpse," which adheres to this theme by depicting a romantic relationship between two men.

            Whitman's "One's-Self I Sing" is an open celebration of the body and its relation to time, place, and sexuality.  The poem distinguishes images of body through words like top, toe, form, and physiology, lending a message of strong human imagery.  The speaker stresses the importance of the body: "Of physiology from top to toe I sing" (3).  As physiology represents the scientific study of the body, this song is a celebration of the physical features of mankind.  The narrator further stresses physical form: "Not physiognomy alone nor brain alone is worthy for the Muse, I / say the Form complete is worthier far" (3-4).  The poem negates a narrow focus on physiognomy and the brain, stressing completion instead.  The speaker claims the physical form encompassing all is most worthy of celebration.  The narrator gives a liberal suggestion of how one may utilize and interpret the human body by stressing "freest action" (7).

            The call to progressive thought toward the human body is also stressed in Whitman's "As Adam Early in the Morning."  The title evokes biblical Adam, naked and shameless, proudly exhibiting his bare humanity for all to see.  Whitman uses a physical sounding word progression, stressing voice, touch, touch, palm, hand, body, body to bring a slow exchange of two intermingled bodies and two intermingled touches.  The poem represents a departure from inhibitions, a soothing call for readers to put away their shame and show their own humanity with Adam like pride.  The speaker's final words create an atmosphere of invitation: "Touch me, touch the palm of your hand to my body as I pass, / Be not afraid of my body" (5). 

            "A Glimpse" seats sexual openness in a tavern surrounded by workers and bar patrons who represent the average blue-collar world.  This casual attitude is illustrated in the simple love shared between the two men.  The speaker notes a a view "Of a youth who loves me and whom I love, silently approaching / and seating himself near, that he may hold me by the hand" (4-5).  They are in quiet enjoyment of their situation, yet their simple act of holding hands is a raspy trumpet, declaring their affection for others to see.  Whitman makes no attempt to conceal their motions and no reference to any negative feeling. The speaker is not interested in concealing their actions.   The workmen share a parallel with the two lovers, as their celebration and jests create an atmosphere of jubilation.  The two lovers openly enjoy the moment and soak in the celebration of the evening.

3. Nature in Frost and Stevens

            The conceptualization of nature is an integral part of many poems and a vehicle for an underlying message.  For Robert Frost, nature becomes an integral part of his persona, weaving his pastoral and human themes together with the greater image of nature.   His nature is one of cold desolation, dissatisfaction, and regret.  Frost's snowy places relate to the emotional darkness inside while Wallace Stevens' beautiful nature scenes contrast against dark imagery like the Crucifixion.  The poetry of Stevens tends to focus on tropical climates where the providence of nature proves heavenly. Stevens accepts the beauty experienced by man's cohabitation with nature.  The poets converge in theme as they use imagery of nature to relate to human ideas and elements, presenting a query to spiritual belief. 

            Robert Frost's poems consist primarily of  his natural imagery conflicting with human values.  Most prominent is the image of the desolate place.  Frost's comparisons in "Desert Places" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" bring the imagery of the desolate and desert like landscape to the foreground of attention.  The speaker of "Desert Places" becomes intertwined with this desolation when making the claim that the snowy evening "includes me unawares" (8).  "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" recalls these desolate and dark scenes in a similar manner by depicting "the darkest evening of the year" (8).  While often read incorrectly to see innocent imagery, a careful reading of Frost shows a distinct and cold darkness that permeates through his work.

            Wallace Stevens' work shows a view of nature opposite of Frost.  Stevens' poetry is filled with imagery of a lush tropical paradise.  Like Frost, nature is a critical part of the reasoning process of the speaker, but the nature of Stevens is celebratory.  "Sunday Morning" is an homage to the providence of the landscape of Florida.  The woman of the poem is enjoying the beauty of the day with "Coffee and oranges in a sunny chair" (2).  Oranges and sun add a connotation of brightness to the scene. "The Idea of Order at Key West" is a celebration of human artistic quality amplified against the beauty of the sea, immediately proclaiming "the genius of the sea" (1).  The greatness of the singer is amplified by comparing her to a sea that is  positive and intelligent.  In a similar manner to "Sunday Morning," Stevens utilizes bright imagery: "emblazoned zones and fiery poles" (50-51). 

            Although their depictions of nature differ in drastic ways, the poets relate humanity with nature.  Both poets utilize a combination of feminine song with nature and spiritual questioning.  Stevens's "The Idea of Order at Key West" paints a picture of a woman's song that exceeds the sea in its beauty, while "Never Again Would Birds' Song Be the Same" shows Frost's Eve-like heroine surpassing the natural song of birds.  The questions raised by these poets through Frost's "Design" and Stevens's "Sunday Morning," show a tendency to question.  Stevens's comparison of religious imagery to beauty questions fundamental religious principles as the woman asks if she could find "In any balm or beauty of the earth, / Things to be cherished like the thought of heaven?" (22-23).  The speaker wonders if one could find a better paradise than the one presented.  Frost's "Design" leaves an open question to divine providence: "What but design of darkness to appall? / If design govern in a thing so small" (13-14).  The speaker is asking if the tiny scene of darkness he has just witnessed is a coincidence or some ultimate design.  With this careful contrast against nature, Frost and Stevens highlight questions while offering an intersection of man and nature.

Works Cited

“Modernism, n.” The Oxford English Dictionary. 3rd ed. 2002. OED Online. Oxford University Press. 6 November 2011 < http://www.oed.com>.

Frost, Robert. “Desert Places.” Nelson 102.

---. “Design.” Nelson 96.

---. “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Nelson 100.

Nelson, Cary, ed. Anthology of Modern American Poetry. New York: Oxford, 2000. Print

Sandburg, Carl. “Grass.” Nelson. 111.

Stevens, Wallace. “Sunday Morning.” Nelson 135-38.

---. “The Idea of Order at Key West.” Nelson 138-39.

---. “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.” Nelson 127-29.

Whitman, Walt. “A Glimpse.” Nelson 3.

---. “As Adam Early in the Morning.” Nelson 2.

---. “One's-Self I Sing.” Nelson 1.  transparent

---. “Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night.” Nelson 3-4.