Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Donald Justice’s "Pantoum of the Great Depression" masterfully captures the essence of a difficult era through the repetitive, interwoven form of a pantoum. The poem’s structure mirrors the cyclical and often monotonous nature of life during the Great Depression, emphasizing themes of endurance, ordinary suffering, and the lack of grand narratives or heroic deeds in the everyday lives of those who lived through it.

The poem opens with the lines, “Our lives avoided tragedy / Simply by going on and on,” setting a tone of weary perseverance. The use of the word “avoided” suggests that tragedy was always near, yet the continuous, unremarkable passage of time itself served as a shield against more dramatic disasters. This idea is reinforced in the next stanza, “Simply by going on and on / We managed. No need for the heroic.” Justice implies that survival itself was an achievement, requiring no acts of heroism, but rather a quiet, persistent endurance.

In describing the era, Justice reflects on the “storms and small catastrophes” that dotted their lives, yet he admits, “I don’t remember all the particulars.” This line suggests that while individual events were significant at the moment, they blend into a larger tapestry of daily struggles and minor crises. The recurring line “There were the usual celebrations, the usual sorrows” underscores the normalcy of these fluctuations in fortune, portraying them as part of a continuous cycle.

The neighbors, acting as a “chorus,” symbolize the collective experience of the community. They witness and share in each other’s lives, but their presence also highlights the lack of poetic dialogue or grand storytelling: “Thank god no one said anything in verse.” This dismissal of verse and grandiosity speaks to the stark realism of their existence. Life is portrayed as a series of mundane, unspoken sufferings, without the embellishments of poetry or drama.

Justice further explores the theme of unremarkable suffering with the lines, “If we suffered we kept quiet about it. / No audience would ever know our story.” Here, the lack of an audience implies a sense of isolation and the invisibility of their struggles. The “ordinary pities and fears” that consumed them are presented as common, yet deeply personal experiences that did not attract outside attention or sympathy.

The poem’s setting is vividly evoked through simple, yet powerful imagery: “We gathered on porches; the moon rose; we were poor.” The gathering on porches suggests a sense of community and shared experience, while the rising moon signifies the passage of time. The phrase “we were poor” is delivered with stark simplicity, emphasizing the persistent reality of their economic condition.

Justice captures the slow passage of time with the line, “And time went by, drawn by slow horses.” This metaphor evokes a sense of languid movement and the gradual progression of days that blend into each other. The mention of “The Great Depression had entered our souls like fog” portrays the era as an all-encompassing, pervasive presence that seeped into every aspect of their lives, dulling their spirits and obscuring clarity and hope.

The concluding stanzas of the poem reflect a resigned acceptance of their circumstances: “We did not ourselves know what the end was. / People like us simply go on.” This resignation is tinged with a sense of inevitability and helplessness, suggesting that their survival was due more to blind chance than to any particular virtue or flaw. The final line, “And there is no plot in that; it is devoid of poetry,” poignantly underscores the poem’s central theme. Their lives, marked by continuous struggle and ordinary endurance, lack the structured narrative and lyrical beauty that poetry often provides.

In "Pantoum of the Great Depression," Donald Justice captures the quiet resilience of those who lived through one of America’s most challenging periods. Through the repetitive, cyclical structure of the pantoum, he reflects the monotony and endurance of daily life, portraying a community bound by shared experiences of hardship and a collective determination to simply keep going. The poem’s understated language and vivid imagery create a powerful testament to the enduring human spirit amidst adversity.

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