Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Albert Goldbarth's poem "Stonehenge" delves into the creation and significance of rituals, contrasting the seemingly mad with the socially accepted, and the profound need for meaning and connection that underlies human actions. Through vivid and at times unsettling imagery, Goldbarth explores how rituals, whether personal or communal, anchor us in our humanity and provide a semblance of order and significance in an often chaotic world.

The poem begins with a stark depiction of two individuals in a madhouse: "Each morning he’d anoint the room’s four corners / with an arc of piss, and then—until / he was forcibly halted—beat his forehead open / on the eastern wall, the 'sunrise wall,' / incanting a doggerel prayer about God / the Flower, God of the Hot Plucked Heart." These actions, though extreme and disturbing, are described as meaningful rituals fashioned from the scant materials available to them in the madhouse. Their actions are not why they were institutionalized, but rather what they resorted to within the institution. The rituals they create are desperate attempts to impose meaning and maintain a sense of identity in an environment designed to strip them of both.

Goldbarth contrasts this with the "mega-boozhwah formulaic splendor" of his sister’s wedding. The wedding, with its opulent yet artificial details—a bouquet of plastic flowers matching the real one, a sculpted pastel sherbet Taj Mahal, and the endless soundtrack of "Fiddler on the Roof"—serves as a socially sanctioned ritual that, despite its extravagance, is as constructed and necessary as the madhouse rituals. The poet reflects on his own reaction, regretting his "academic sneer hauteur" and failure to lose himself in the moment, suggesting that these rituals, however formulaic, fulfill a deep human need.

The imagery shifts again to a more surreal and grotesque scene, where the poet describes stopping by a basement window of a noodle shop and witnessing a ritual involving a pig. The pig, "splayed on the table, / stunned but fitfully twitching," is cut open, revealing "many dozens of wasps" and various symbolic objects inside—a wooden doll of a man and woman, a sun, a moon, and a child's model of a house. This bizarre and fantastical ritual mirrors the complexity and layered symbolism of human practices, blending the grotesque with the sacred.

Goldbarth's exploration of rituals culminates in the reflection that we need these rituals: "We need this thing. There’s not one / mineral in Stonehenge that our blood can’t also raise." This line suggests that the same elemental forces that created Stonehenge, a monumental and mysterious human endeavor, reside within us. Our rituals, whether they take place in madhouses, at weddings, or in secretive basements, are attempts to connect with something larger and more enduring than ourselves.

"Stonehenge" by Albert Goldbarth is a profound meditation on the nature of rituals and their significance in human life. Through its vivid and sometimes disturbing imagery, the poem highlights the universality of the need to create meaning and order. Goldbarth’s work challenges readers to see beyond the surface of these rituals—whether socially accepted or personally devised—and recognize the shared human desire for connection, understanding, and significance.

Copyright (c) 2025 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...