Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Readings in French" by Larry Levis delves into the complexities of poetic inspiration, familial relationships, and the enigmatic personas of two distinct French poets: Gerard de Nerval and Pierre Reverdy. The poem is divided into three sections, each presenting a surreal and symbolic narrative of its own while collectively speaking to the overarching themes.

The first section invites the reader to look into the eyes of Gerard de Nerval, a 19th-century French poet known for his Romantic and often hallucinatory work. The imagery of "giant sea crabs rising" is startling, yet strangely apt. This could symbolize the vast and unsettling emotional depths Nerval himself often plumbed in his work. The crabs in their "vague red holsters" evoke the idea of concealed emotions or concealed truths. De Nerval's own struggle with mental illness also casts a long shadow here, suggesting that to understand or interpret him is to confront these disquieting depths.

The second section, focusing on Pierre Reverdy, is a complete shift in tone and imagery. Unlike Nerval, Reverdy was known for his surrealism and sparse style. Throwing "the editorial page / Out into the rain" may signify rejecting conventional wisdom or established literary norms. The scenario unfolds further with the narrator avoiding their father, hiding "under each vine," which could symbolize a search for a personal identity independent from one's heritage or family. Reverdy's poetic style often presented the world in fragments, and this fragmented familial relationship serves as a haunting and apt homage to him.

The third section unites the two preceding parts by bringing the narrator into a subway, alone. Subways can symbolize both solitude and movement, perhaps suggesting that life moves forward whether one finds answers or not. The critical point here, according to Levis, is to "avoid / Looking too closely into the eyes of your father, / That formal eclipse." This line resonates deeply, as fathers can represent authority, tradition, or the weight of familial expectation. To look too closely could be to risk losing oneself or, conversely, finding an unwelcome reflection.

In Levis's poem, the act of reading or interpreting another's work becomes a mirror in which one's own fears, hopes, and complexities are reflected. The experiences of looking into the eyes of Nerval and Reverdy serve as metaphors for the intimate, often unsettling experience of deeply engaging with another's poetic world. They also illustrate the idea that to understand a poem, or a poet, is not merely an intellectual exercise but a journey that may take one to unexpected and sometimes uncomfortable emotional landscapes.

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