Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

John Hollander's "After Violet" is a contemplative and richly imagistic poem that delves into themes of perception, memory, and the nature of light and color. Through intricate language and metaphor, Hollander explores the interplay between the tangible and the ethereal, the seen and the unseen, and the transition from childhood wonder to mature reflection.

The poem begins with a vivid scene: "Now, at the eastern edge of the black grass, he drinks a draught of the juice of the last flower." This line sets a tone of twilight or dusk, a liminal time that often symbolizes transition and reflection. The "black grass" and the "juice of the last flower" evoke a sense of finality and absorption, as if the speaker is taking in the last remnants of daylight or life.

The image of "Ten black drops have been flung into the night, as if by his little finger dipped into the deepest of cups" suggests an act of deliberate creation or destruction, where the speaker interacts with the essence of night. The consideration of "the three higher colors that have been beyond color always" implies a contemplation of the fundamental aspects of reality that transcend ordinary perception. These higher colors could symbolize abstract concepts or spiritual truths that lie beyond the physical spectrum of visible light.

As the speaker reflects on childhood, he recalls the chemist's window: "In the chemist's window it was the same water that bubbled up through the differently colored glass tubes." This memory connects the mundane and the miraculous, where colored water represents the awakening of potential and the transformation from transparency to vibrancy. The colored spheres in the chemist's window—ruby, emerald, amber—serve as metaphors for the awakening of perception and the discovery of beauty in the ordinary.

Hollander contrasts the concept of color as a mere surface property with its deeper significance: "not as if a radiance had been selectively stained, but as if the colorless had been awakened from its long exile in mere transparency." This line emphasizes the transformative power of perception, where the act of seeing brings forth hidden depths and meanings.

The poem then shifts to a more philosophical tone, contemplating the end of the "diaspora of water" and the "eternities of the book." These lines suggest a convergence of elements and ideas that were once dispersed, a return to unity and understanding. The image of fireflies "flickering with their hopeless fictions" underscores the transient and elusive nature of truth, echoing the idea that narratives and memories are constantly shifting and reinterpreted.

The speaker's reflection on the "fiction that the first text was itself a recension of whispers" adds a layer of metafiction, suggesting that all stories are derived from earlier fragments and echoes, much like how light and color are perceived through layers of interpretation.

As the poem approaches its conclusion, the speaker anticipates the coming of morning, though "morning will bring no light along the right-hand path on the margin of the dark." This line conveys a sense of inevitable continuity and the persistence of darkness even as dawn approaches. The speaker's "old man's dream of dawn" symbolizes a longing for renewal and clarity, while acknowledging the enduring presence of shadow and uncertainty.

In the final lines, the speaker chooses to remain "to hum his hymn of the hedges, where truth is one letter away from death." This poignant metaphor highlights the proximity of truth to mortality and the delicate balance between understanding and oblivion. The blessings for those who have "crushed the olive for the oil," "cracked the oil for the light," and "buried the light for the three tones beyond" encapsulate the cyclical nature of creation and destruction, transformation and transcendence.

Hollander's "After Violet" is a meditation on the interplay between light, color, memory, and perception. Through its richly layered imagery and contemplative tone, the poem invites readers to reflect on the nature of reality and the ways in which we perceive and interpret the world around us. The exploration of higher colors, the awakening of the colorless, and the convergence of dispersed elements all contribute to a profound sense of wonder and introspection, making "After Violet" a deeply resonant and thought-provoking work.

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