Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Edward Hirsch’s "At the Grave of Wallace Stevens" is a meditation on the life and legacy of one of modernism?s most enigmatic poets. The poem, divided into five sections, intertwines reflections on Stevens? poetic ethos with the physical act of visiting his burial site at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut. Hirsch uses Stevens? themes of imagination, mortality, and the sublime to craft a eulogy that resonates with both reverence and introspection.

The poem begins with a contemplation of dissolution and transcendence. Hirsch juxtaposes images of gods "dissolving in mid-air" and the "towering stillness of a cathedral at dawn," evoking Stevens’ preoccupation with the tension between divinity and emptiness. The "solitary reader closing his book" mirrors Stevens? own philosophical isolation, a thinker deeply enmeshed in the act of poetic creation. The stanza’s imagery—raindrops breaking the surface of ponds, stars as "the white tears of nothingness"—pays homage to Stevens’ ability to find grandeur in the ephemeral and the abstract. The recurring motif of mirrors reflects Stevens? exploration of perception and reality, while the idea of "nothingness grieving over the disintegrating gods" encapsulates his secular search for meaning in a post-religious world.

In the second section, Hirsch imagines Stevens in life, blending the quotidian with the philosophical. He pictures Stevens as a "prodigious morning walker," invoking the poet?s well-known habit of composing his verses while walking to work at an insurance firm. The image of "a rose rabbi" suggests a figure both spiritual and grounded, someone who finds transcendence in the mundane. Hirsch’s portrayal of Stevens as "Imagination’s largest thinker" captures the essence of his poetic mission: to construct a radiant and imaginative reality in the absence of divine certainties. The mention of "mirrors on mirrors mirroring the emptiness" echoes the first section, reinforcing the central theme of reflection and the interplay between presence and void.

The third section shifts to the physical setting of the cemetery during a summer storm. Hirsch describes the atmospheric tension with vivid detail: "Mute thunder and luminescent air," "a wishbone / Of lightning turned upside down." This storm serves as a metaphor for the emotional and existential turbulence Stevens often explored. The scattering of holly sprigs and the blooming rosebushes suggest acts of commemoration and regeneration, yet the "heavy slab of Rhode Island granite" evokes the finality of death. The line "The ambassador of imagination is dead / And the guitars are silent" poignantly acknowledges the loss of a visionary voice, while the farewell tone underscores the permanence of this departure.

In the fourth section, Hirsch bids adieu to Stevens, celebrating his unique contributions to poetry. Calling him "the laudator of imperfection" and "improvisation’s king," Hirsch highlights Stevens? embrace of impermanence and his mastery of the poetic form. The juxtaposition of "dried fruit from California" and "tea imported from Ceylon" with "fresh ideas sailing in from anywhere" reflects Stevens? blend of the material and the metaphysical. Hirsch subtly critiques the mundane nature of Stevens? insurance career—represented by "fidelity bonds and surety claims"—while marveling at his ability to transcend such constraints through the imaginative realm. The final image of these worldly concerns being "traded in for a slope of trees" suggests a return to nature and simplicity, a theme recurrent in Stevens’ own work.

The final section synthesizes the poem’s themes, drawing attention to the physical and metaphorical landscapes of the cemetery. The "streams and ponds, muddy paths, curving lanes" evoke Stevens? vision of the sublime as something crafted from the ordinary. Hirsch asserts that Stevens taught readers "to imagine the sublime / In a bare place, filling in the spaces," encapsulating the poet’s legacy of transforming emptiness into meaning. The imagery of "a lake brimming with tears" and "the traffic winding along Asylum Avenue" ties the personal act of mourning to the broader continuum of life and death. The gleaming skyscrapers in the distance symbolize the intersection of the human-made and the eternal, an apt tribute to Stevens? dual identity as a modernist poet and a man firmly rooted in the everyday.

Hirsch’s "At the Grave of Wallace Stevens" is both a personal elegy and a reflection on the enduring power of Stevens’ poetry. By weaving together themes of mortality, imagination, and the sublime, Hirsch honors Stevens as a "maker of mournful summer melodies" and a "stylist of the void." The poem captures the profound sense of loss felt in the wake of Stevens’ death while celebrating the transformative legacy of his work, which continues to illuminate the spaces between silence and song, absence and presence.

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