Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "The Ninth of Ab," John Hollander intricately blends the natural and the urban, the historical and the personal, to explore themes of memory, loss, and continuity. The poem reflects on the solemn Jewish day of mourning, Tisha B'Av, which commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. Through vivid imagery and rich language, Hollander connects this historical sorrow with contemporary reflections and personal experiences.

The poem opens with a serene yet oppressive summer scene: "August is flat and still, with ever-thickening green / Leaves, clipped in their richness; hoarse sighs in / The grass." This description captures the heavy, almost stifling atmosphere of late summer, where the fullness of nature begins to feel burdensome. The moments of mowing, marking the "lengthening summer," symbolize the passage of time and the cyclical nature of life and seasons.

Hollander contrasts the natural tranquility with the sweltering heat of the city, suggesting that only the urban environment can truly encapsulate the "suffering of summer." The baking concrete and softening asphalt become metaphors for the wear and tear of time and the anguish embedded in history. Yet, in the rural or semi-rural settings—whether in "woods / Fringing a pond in Pennsylvania" or on a golf course—the nights are "starry, full of promise," offering a temporary escape from the weight of historical memory.

The poem then shifts to a more specific and poignant setting: a room where men gather to remember the destruction of the Temples. The men, with their improvised skullcaps, read from Lamentations, a text filled with sorrow and despair. The juxtaposition of this solemn ritual with the tranquil, almost idyllic surroundings of a golf course underscores the dissonance between past and present, urban and rural, sacred and mundane.

Hollander's depiction of the City, both as a historical Jerusalem and a contemporary Manhattan, serves as a central motif. The City is personified as a "girl with the curse, / Unclean," embodying the suffering and resilience of a people and a place marked by destruction and renewal. The poet anticipates his return to Manhattan, described with "concrete cliffs / Micaed with sunset’s prophecies of stars," a place where history and modernity converge in a landscape of resilience and permanence.

In the poem, the ritual mourning and remembrance are juxtaposed with the natural world's ongoing rhythms. The "katydids’ scherzo" and the "grunts / Of frogs" from a distant water hazard reclaim the night, grounding the poem in the continuous, indifferent cycles of nature. This contrast emphasizes the transient nature of human sorrow against the backdrop of the eternal natural world.

Hollander reflects on the broader implications of these moments of remembrance: "When the days are prolonged, and every vision fails to blaze / Up into final truth, when memories merely blur / A sweated lens for a moment, night is enough of a blessing." This passage captures the essence of human experience—striving for meaning and clarity amidst the haze of memory and the passage of time. The poem concludes with an affirmation of continuity and the inevitability of cycles: "the three canonical stars / Affirm what is always beyond danger of being disturbed / By force of will or neglect, returning and unstoppable."

In "The Ninth of Ab," John Hollander masterfully interweaves personal reflection, historical memory, and natural observation to create a rich, layered meditation on time, loss, and the enduring nature of human and natural cycles. The poem invites readers to consider how we remember and how we live with the weight of history, finding moments of beauty and continuity amidst the sorrow.

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