Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Between the Wars" by Robert Hass is a richly textured poem that intertwines personal reflection with historical memory, using vivid imagery to explore themes of war, loss, and the ephemeral beauty of nature. The poem's setting in upstate New York, coupled with references to Polish history, creates a poignant juxtaposition between the personal and the historical, the immediate and the remembered.

The poem begins with the speaker's personal routine: "When I ran, it rained. Late in the afternoon— / midsummer, upstate New York, mornings I wrote, / read Polish history, and there was a woman / whom I thought about." This opening establishes a contemplative tone, with the speaker's activities—writing, reading, thinking of a woman—set against the backdrop of a rainy afternoon. The rain, a recurring motif, underscores the moodiness and introspection of the speaker.

The imagery of nature plays a significant role throughout the poem. "The light came up and redwings settled in the cattails. / They were death's idea of twilight, the whole notes / of a requiem the massed clouds croaked / above the somber fields." Here, Hass employs the natural world to evoke a sense of melancholy and foreboding. The redwings, often associated with vibrancy and life, are now seen as harbingers of death, their presence akin to a requiem.

The invocation of "Lady of eyelashes" and other sensuous descriptions—"Whiteness, otter's body, / coolness of the morning, rubbed amber / and the skin's salt"—introduces an almost mystical or divine feminine presence. This section transitions into a direct address to Poland, symbolizing a historical and cultural connection: "This is Poland speaking, / 'era of the dawn of freedom,' nineteen twenty-two."

Hass's exploration of light and darkness further enriches the poem's texture: "First darkening, then light. And then pure fire. / Where does it come from? out of the impure / shining that rises from the soaked odor of the grass." The shifting light symbolizes the flux between hope and despair, between the beauty of nature and the harsh realities of history.

The poem also delves into folklore and myth, adding a layer of cultural depth: "In the eastern marches / children know the story that the aspen quivers / because it failed to hide the Virgin and the Child / when Herod's hunters were abroad." This reference to a biblical story imbues the poem with a sense of timelessness and moral gravity, connecting the natural world to human history and myth.

As the poem progresses, it becomes clear that the past's traumas haunt the present: "The war is over. There are unburied bones / in the fields at sun-up, skylarks singing, / starved children begging chocolate on the tracks." The juxtaposition of the natural beauty of skylarks singing with the grim image of unburied bones and starving children underscores the enduring scars of war and the persistence of suffering.

The concluding lines bring the historical and personal threads together, reflecting on the human condition and the enduring impact of historical events: "the black train crosses the frontier from Prussia / into Poland in the age of the dawn of freedom." The train, a symbol of progress and movement, also carries the weight of history, the memory of war, and the promise of freedom.

"Between the Wars" by Robert Hass is a meditation on the interplay between personal memory, historical trauma, and the natural world. Through its evocative imagery and reflective tone, the poem captures the complexity of human experience, the beauty and brutality of life, and the haunting presence of history in the present.

Copyright (c) 2025 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...