Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Philip Levine’s "Jewish Graveyards, Italy" is a deeply reflective poem that explores themes of memory, loss, and the passage of time through the lens of Jewish graveyards in Italy. The poem is structured into three sections: Dust, Shade, and Rain. Each section uses vivid imagery and poignant reflection to delve into the ways in which the past continues to shape the present.

Dust

The first section, "Dust," begins with the imagery of decay and abandonment: "Within a low wall falling away into dust, a few acres of stones, wildflowers, tall grasses, weeds." This description sets the stage for a meditation on the passage of time and the transience of life. The juxtaposition of nature’s persistence ("wildflowers, tall grasses, weeds") with the remnants of human presence ("a few acres of stones") underscores the theme of decay and renewal.

The old man who let the speaker in returns to his rocking chair, his presence a symbol of continuity and endurance amidst the decay. The quiet, almost haunting atmosphere is punctuated by natural sounds and distant human activities: "Dove moans, or something like them, from under the low, scorched pines, and farther off the laughter of other birds, and beyond the birds, the hum of a distant world still there." This layering of sounds emphasizes the persistence of life even as individual lives pass away.

As the speaker bends to read the names on the gravestones, he is struck by their "Full, majestic, vanished names that fill my mouth and go out into the densely yellowed air of this great valley and dissolve." The act of reading these names aloud is an act of remembrance and an acknowledgment of the lives that once were. The dissolution of the names into the air symbolizes the inevitable fading of memory, paralleling the physical decay of the gravestones.

Shade

In "Shade," the speaker moves from the heat of the city to the supposed coolness of the graveyard, seeking respite. However, he finds that "at noon there's no more shade in this place than on the streets." This observation underscores the inescapability of the harsh realities of life, even in a place associated with rest and reflection.

The encounter with a "huge symbolic spider" refusing to scuttle into a bin of firewood highlights the presence of death and decay, yet the speaker’s reflection on prayer and childhood imagination suggests a yearning for a time when escape was possible through fantasy and faith: "Once upon a time when even the weather proved too much, I would close my eyes and find another weather."

Despite his search for deeper meaning or connection, the speaker is confronted with the mundane reality of the graveyard: "I don't find the grave of the unknown English poet the world scorned or his friend who lived, I don't hear the music of a farther life beyond this life." Instead, he finds the grave of Sofia Finzi Hersch, a woman who died in New Jersey but is buried among her Italian relatives. This blending of personal and historical narratives highlights the interconnectedness of individual lives and the broader sweep of history.

Rain

The final section, "Rain," begins with the melancholic image of an old woman unlocking a gate in the rain: "At the end of a street of rain there's always a place to find, a gray rope to pull, a dull ringing from within, an old frowning woman shuffling in felt house slippers to unlock the gate and say nothing." The rain, a symbol of both renewal and sorrow, sets the tone for the reflections that follow.

The speaker’s musings on life and death—"how life goes on, how seasons pass, the children grow, and the earth gives back what it took"—capture the cyclical nature of existence. The gravestones, "fallen this way and that," symbolize the randomness and inevitability of death.

As the speaker moves through the graveyard, he acknowledges the limitations of his understanding: "In sunlight, in moonlight, or in rain, it's always the same, whatever truth falls from the sky as slowly as dust settling in morning light or cold mist rising from a river, takes the shape I give it, and I can't give it any." This recognition of the subjective nature of truth and memory highlights the complexity of interpreting the past.

The poem concludes with an image of fleeting beauty: "new soft rays of late sunlight will fall through, promising nothing. They overflow the luminous thorns of the roses, they catch fire for a moment on the young leaves." This final image suggests a momentary glimpse of transcendence and beauty amidst the decay and transience of life.

"Jewish Graveyards, Italy" is a richly layered poem that uses the setting of graveyards to explore themes of memory, identity, and the passage of time. Through its vivid imagery and contemplative tone, the poem invites readers to reflect on their own connections to the past and the enduring impact of those who have come before.

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