Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Sun" by James Dickey is a visceral and intense poem that grapples with themes of passion, suffering, and the destructive power of nature—specifically the sun—as a metaphor for overwhelming and consuming love. The poem is rich in apocalyptic imagery and conveys a sense of entrapment and desperation, capturing the dual nature of love as both nurturing and annihilating.

The poem opens with the speaker addressing the Lord, setting a tone of supplication and desperation. The night is described as "Consuming me," a phrase that immediately establishes a sense of being overwhelmed and devoured by forces beyond the speaker's control. The sun is depicted not as a source of light and life but as a relentless force that "turned / My face on, infra-red," suggesting a kind of exposure and vulnerability that is painful and invasive.

Dickey uses vivid, almost brutal imagery to convey the intensity of the speaker's experience. The description of the sun's effects is laden with suffering: "cracks circling / My eyes where I had squinted / Up from stone-blind sand." The metaphorical language here—linking the sun to eternal fire and coronas of flame—evokes a sense of grandeur and terror, emphasizing the overwhelming power of the sun as an almost divine force.

As the poem progresses, the speaker describes a moment of respite at twilight but quickly transitions to a confrontation with a "suffering woman" whose appearance is marked by the same fiery ordeal—her body "flame-shaken," her nose "clownish / With oxides." The interaction between the two characters is intense and painful, with the act of peeling off her bathing suit compared to skinning, intensifying the theme of vulnerability and exposure.

The couple's attempt to find solace in each other's company only heightens their agony, as even the slightest touch is excruciating: "in agony even at holding hands / the blisters / On our shoulders shifting / crackling." This description powerfully conveys the physical and emotional torment of their connection, suggesting that their love, much like the sun, is a destructive force.

Dickey masterfully captures the paradox of their experience in the final lines, where the couple finds themselves "In Hell, in love," a statement that encapsulates the dual nature of their relationship—profoundly intimate yet excruciatingly painful. The imagery of the moon backlashing from "the moon's brutal stone" suggests that even in the darkness, there is no escape from the searing impact of their love, which is as relentless and all-consuming as the sun itself.

Overall, "Sun" by James Dickey is a powerful exploration of the consuming nature of passionate love, using the sun as a metaphor for the overwhelming and often destructive power of intense emotions. The poem is a vivid portrayal of love's capacity to both nurture and destroy, leaving the reader with a deep sense of the tragic beauty and inherent pain of deeply felt passion.

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