Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Fanny Howe’s "By Halves" explores themes of incompleteness, longing, and spiritual distance, weaving together the earthly and the celestial in a meditation on partial fulfillment. The poem employs an almost dreamlike logic, where movement and desire are perpetual but never entirely realized. Through fragmented experiences and interactions, the speaker grapples with the fundamental human condition of being "halfway there."

The opening lines—"We are always halfway there when we are here"—establish an existential paradox: presence is always provisional, and arrival is never complete. The phrase suggests that life is defined by a perpetual state of in-betweenness, where moments are transient, and any sense of finality remains elusive. The "nocturnal missions into the dream of heavenly completion" imply that in sleep or imagination, there is an escape from this partial existence. Yet, the word "dream" signals that such completion is unattainable in waking life.

The speaker finds a fleeting sense of "blessing" while walking over a bridge—an image that reinforces the idea of transition. The presence of an angel suggests a spiritual or metaphysical guide, yet even in this sacred companionship, the journey remains unfinished. The "strange party" to which they arrive introduces a social dimension, where human interaction comes into conflict with the purity represented by the angel. The "group?s president" becomes an agent of disruption, using "his words" to wound the angel’s "impenetrable—but tender!—skin." This contradiction—the angel as both invulnerable and deeply sensitive—underscores the tension between divine detachment and human vulnerability. The "ruin" of the moment suggests that earthly pleasures and connections are subject to external forces, easily fractured by miscommunication or cruelty.

The speaker’s anticipation of "the time of my life, mutual but unfulfilled passion" reveals a deep yearning for something more—perhaps love, transcendence, or understanding—that remains just out of reach. The phrase "mutual but unfulfilled" emphasizes a shared desire that is thwarted, reinforcing the poem’s motif of incompleteness. The angel, in contrast, accepts this condition with a "pleasure I can?t imitate," highlighting the speaker’s struggle with the limitations of human existence. The angel’s "eyes ringed with pain" suggest a sorrowful knowledge, an awareness that the speaker lacks.

The poem concludes with the angel’s affirmation that "we are only halfway on our way to such a communion." This final realization reinforces the notion that fulfillment—whether spiritual, emotional, or existential—is always deferred. The use of "communion" implies a sacred unity that remains unattainable in the present state. The angel’s perspective contrasts with the speaker’s frustration; where the speaker longs for arrival, the angel understands the necessity of the journey itself.

"By Halves" ultimately articulates the tension between aspiration and reality, between human longing and the divine patience required to accept incompleteness. The bridge, the party, and the angel serve as metaphors for the way we navigate connection and meaning, always approaching but never quite reaching the fullness of our desires. The poem’s quiet resignation suggests that perhaps being "halfway there" is the only certainty we are granted.

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